4 NFL FanDuel Studs to Target in Week 6

Spending your available salary in any DFS lineup on a stud can make or break your lineup. These high-salaried players will take up the majority of your budget, so it’s critical to carefully consider which ones you’ll want for each slate. Whether it’s trying to capture a safe floor in a cash game or chasing a huge game to help you win a tournament, nailing the expensive players is one of the keys to making winning NFL lineups on FanDuel.

Week 6 has some really exciting games with high totals, so let's look at some of the stars we can use this week.

Kyler Murray, QB, Arizona Cardinals

FanDuel Salary: $8,300
Projected Points: 21.5

Much has been said about the way Kyler Murray and the Arizona Cardinals have started the season, and pretty much none of it has been positive. The team has struggled mightily, and their 2-3 record doesn't reflect the negative sentiment from many observers. Murray has had to will the team to be able to move the ball and appear competent. This week, the matchup is good enough to give him a chance to bounce back.

Despite the struggles from the team, Kyler is still the fantasy QB5 so far this season. He's had to do it through volume, as his 215 pass attempts lead the league. He has two rushing touchdowns on the season, but we've yet to see a real eruption game from him via his legs. We know that he has the potential to break any slate through rushing for a few touchdowns, which we have seen throughout his career.

The Cardinals will play in a divisional matchup against the Seattle Seahawks. Seahawks' games have been fun for fantasy over the last few weeks, with 164 total points scored in their last two games. They are a particularly good matchup for quarterbacks, sporting the worst pass defense in the league, according to numberFire's schedule-adjusted metrics. They also have allowed the second-most adjusted fantasy points per drop back.

Arizona has an implied team total of 27.0 points, the second-highest on the slate. This environment should be perfect for Murray, and if he is going to have a breakout game this season, it should happen here. With great options like Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes on the slate, Murray may go overlooked in tournaments. We want to bet on players with high upside when they are unlikely to be popular, and Murray certainly fits the bill this week.

Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

FanDuel Salary: $8,800
Projected Points: 17.7

There's putting the team on your back, and then there's what Saquon Barkley is doing for the New York Giants. He leads the team in both rushing yards and receptions, and he has contributed to them having a shocking 4-1 record. He's currently the RB3 in half-PPR scoring, so it's safe to say the old Saquon is back.

Barkley has seen a huge workload -- 23 touches per game -- in an era where the running backs seeing more than 20 touches per game are few and far between. What we especially love to see is the 18.3% target share that he has carved out, since we definitely want to favor running backs who are involved in the passing game. His 3.9 yards after contact per rush is also one of the best marks for a back in the league, so he's performing well with his touches and not just getting volume.

The Giants are playing against the Baltimore Ravens this week. The Ravens aren't really a scary matchup for opposing backs. They have the 25th-ranked rush defense by our metrics and also allow the seventh-most adjusted fantasy points per carry. Baltimore has also given up 36 catches to running backs, which is the second-most in the league.

With the way things have played out this season, there's an argument to be made that Barkley is the number-one back in fantasy going forward. With a solid matchup this week, he's a viable option to use in all formats.

Stefon Diggs, WR, Buffalo Bills

FanDuel Salary: $8,900
Projected Points: 16.4

Being the number-one target in the Buffalo Bills' offense has paid off well for Stefon Diggs. He currently sits as the WR2 in half-PPR, trailing only the ridiculous output from Cooper Kupp. This week's game promises to have some fireworks, which could see Diggs shine the brightest.

Diggs had 102 yards and a touchdown last week for his third game this season reaching the century mark with a score. He is the target dominator in this offense, seeing a 25.6% share and 34% of the air yards. Diggs also is fourth in the league in red zone targets, so he is getting many important looks that help him score fantasy points.

This week, the Bills travel to play the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 6's marquee game. We all remember the insane shootout these teams played last year in the postseason, and we are hoping for something similar this year for fantasy purposes. The Chiefs are allowing the fifth-most fantasy points per target to wide receivers. We all saw Davante Adams tear them apart on Monday night, and Mike Evans also had 103 yards and two touchdowns versus KC the week before.

The big games allowed to wide receivers could continue this week. The Bills are favored in this game on the road and also have the highest implied team total. We're gonna want to play pieces from this game because it has a chance of going completely nuts again. Diggs is a great way to get in on the action -- whether you want to stack him with Josh Allen or use him as a bring-back in a Kansas City stack.

Travis Kelce, TE, Kansas City Chiefs

FanDuel Salary: $8,300
Projected Points: 14.8

Another piece of that game to target has to be Travis Kelce. He is coming off an epic four-touchdown game on Monday night despite only having 25 receiving yards. If this game is to truly reach the heights of last year's meeting, we could see Kelce score a few more touchdowns.

Kelce reclaimed the TE1 mantle in fantasy after Mark Andrews had staked his claim for the position earlier in the season. The absence of Tyreek Hill has helped Kelce see both a higher target share and a higher average depth of target than he had last season. Even though the Chiefs tend to mess around and try creative plays near the goal line, Kelce still leads all players with 15 red zone targets this season. He's the best target for the passing offense that is ranked first by our numbers.

This matchup could see a ton of pass attempts in it. Buffalo and Kansas City rank as the top two teams in pass rate over expectation, with some distance between the Chiefs and third place. Even if Buffalo has been good against tight ends this year, it might not matter if Kelce is able to see 10-plus targets.

Kelce would be a good play if he was a wide receiver, so he's obviously an elite play at fantasy's thinnest position. It might be tough to fit him in cash-game lineups, but it's certainly worth trying to get him in there. And he certainly makes for a fantastic tournament play.

Nicholas Vazquez is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Nicholas Vazquez also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username hbyanksman. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.