4 NFL FanDuel Studs to Target in Week 8

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.

It's been a weird season in the NFL so far, but that's part of the fun of fantasy football. Let's see which star players are the best in Week 8.

Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

FanDuel Salary: $9,200
Projected Points: 23.1

Establishing himself as one of fantasy's elite quarterbacks, Jalen Hurts has made himself into a quarterback we can consider rostering every week. He trails only Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes in fantasy points per game, and those two are not on the main slate this week. Hurts should be in a great position to score a ton of fantasy points again this week.

Only Nick Chubb has scored more touchdowns on the ground than Hurts this season, and Chubb has one more game played. Hurts leads all quarterbacks in rushing attempts by nine and has already had his bye week. His passing numbers aren't eye-popping, but they are an improvement on last season and enough to make him a top fantasy signal-caller.

The Philadelphia Eagles are the only remaining undefeated team in the league. They are big favorites to keep that going this week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh has been below average against quarterbacks this season, ranking 22nd in adjusted fantasy points allowed per drop back. They've also surrendered the 11th-most rushing yards to quarterbacks.

The Eagles are sporting the second-highest implied team total on this slate. Whenever you have a quarterback who is a significant rushing threat near the goal line and also has great weapons to throw to, it's a recipe for fantasy success. Our projections have Hurts as the highest-scoring quarterback by more than four points, making him the obvious top option at the position.

Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

FanDuel Salary: $9,500
Projected Points: 17.5

The New York Giants are 6-1, and Saquon Barkley is looking back to his best. These two things are something that even the most optimistic Giants fans probably had a hard time envisioning ahead of the 2022 campaign. Barkley has stayed healthy and seen the workload necessary to be a great option every week.

Barkley leads all running backs with 143 carries this season. He has also been targeted 30 times, with at least four in five of seven games this season. The Giants have ramped up his red zone rushing role, with 12 red zone carries in the last two weeks, compared to 10 across the previous five games. A running back who gets that kind of usage checks all the boxes for what we want in a high-salaried running back.

The Giants get to face the Seattle Seahawks in an intriguing game for fantasy purposes. Seattle is 22nd in adjusted fantasy points allowed per carry against backs. They are also getting smashed by running backs in the passing game, allowing the third-most fantasy points per target. We just saw Austin Ekeler catch 12 balls against Seattle last week, and Barkley could see that kind of success this Sunday.

New York is a 3.0-point underdog in this game, but Barkley's role has proven to be game-script independent. He should be able to run efficiently in this game, and if he gets the kinds of volume he has been getting all season, Barkley has a very high ceiling.

Tyreek Hill, WR, Miami Dolphins

FanDuel Salary: $8,700
Projected Points: 15.4

Many thought that Tyreek Hill should be downgraded in fantasy heading into this season. It wasn't unreasonable, as he went from playing with one of the best quarterbacks in the league to one who hadn't had a ton of success yet in the NFL. It's safe to say those fears should be put to bed now.

Hill has more catches and more yards per game this season than he did in any of his years with the Kansas City Chiefs. His average depth of target is only 0.1 yard lower than it was last season, so that hasn't suffered much in his new offense. His underlying usage metrics are outstanding -- 31.7% of the team's targets and 38.8% of the air yards.

Tyreek can definitely continue his success this week, as the Miami Dolphins face the Detroit Lions. Detroit hasn't been able to stop much of anything this season. They are the worst defense overall, and the worst D against the pass, according to numberFire's metrics.

Miami's implied team total is the highest on the slate. HIll's projection doesn't look great, but his upside with the volume he's seeing and the matchup is as high as anyone's on the slate.

George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers

FanDuel Salary: $6,900
Projected Points: 8.2

We don't have Mark Andrews or Travis Kelce on this slate, so tight end does not look pretty. Our projections do not have a single tight end pegged for more than nine FanDuel points. George Kittle was once in the conversation for one of the best fantasy tight ends in football, and we can look at him for a stud this week.

Kittle started off the season slowly but is definitely trending upward. He has 19 targets over the last two games and is the number-one fantasy tight end in half-PPR scoring in that span. Kittle isn't as consistent as Andrews and Kelce are because he is asked to block more than a typical elite pass-catching tight end is. However, his ceiling is as high as anyone's at the position, with three 150-yard games out of 22 appearances in the previous two seasons.

The San Francisco 49ers have used Kittle more as a receiver of late because they have been trailing in games. This week, they don't have an easy matchup against the Los Angeles Rams. San Francisco is favored, but it's expected to be a tight one (1.5-point spread), so the Niners could wind up playing from behind. The Rams' are the second-worst team in pressure rate in the NFL, so Kittle may not be needed to block as much as he has been in other games.

Most people will likely use tight end to save salary this week, but Kittle's ceiling is worth going for in tournaments.

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.