4 NFL FanDuel Studs to Target in Week 11

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 11 has some studs that we may not have considered in the past. Let's take a look at one from each skill position.

Justin Fields, QB, Chicago Bears

FanDuel Salary: $8,700
Projected Points: 19.7

Just a few weeks ago, considering Justin Fields in this space would have been insane. He was 27th in fantasy points per game for quarterbacks after Week 6. The Chicago Bears made some big changes to how they ran their offense after that week, and Fields is reaping the benefits.

The Bears' coaching staff finally decided to let Fields run the ball starting in Week 7, and, boy, has that paid off. They've called 34 designed runs in three weeks, and he has rushed for a total of 385 yards and four touchdowns in that span. When you combine that with multiple passing touchdowns in each of those games, you have a quarterback who has nearly unlimited potential. Fields has easily been the QB1 for the past three weeks, and he has back-to-back games with more than 40 FanDuel points.

The Bears are on the road this week after playing the last two games at home, but they get a good matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. Atlanta's defense is 30th overall and 30th against the pass, according to numberFire's metrics. The Falcons have yet to face a true rushing quarterback, but the fact that they are dead last in pressure rate doesn't bode well for them.

Chicago is a road underdog, but this game actually has the highest total on the main slate. We won't have to worry about the weather in the dome, which we can't say about every game this weekend. Rushing upside at quarterback is often described as a cheat code for fantasy football, and Fields has taken that to another level. It's given him a floor/ceiling combination that is very difficult for anyone else to match.

Saquon Barkley, RB, New York Giants

FanDuel Salary: $9,700
Projected Points: 18.6

We talked about Saquon Barkley as our stud running back last week, and he delivered. The New York Giants' game plan seemed to be to just give him the ball and let him do his thing against a weak Houston Texans run defense. Their plan should be the same this week.

Barkley carried the ball a whopping 35 times in the Giants' win over the Texans on Sunday. That was his most carries in a game in his career. Unfortunately, it came at the expense of his pass-game volume, as he only had one target, which he caught for eight yards. He leads the league with 25.2 touches per game and is also first with 931 rushing yards.

The reason we can expect a similar workload for Barkley this week is because of the Giants' opponent. They'll face the Detroit Lions, who have struggled to stop any offense in any way this season. They are the worst defense by our numbers -- both overall and against the run. They are also 23rd in adjusted fantasy points per target to running backs, so Barkley could get going in the passing game again.

Teams love to run against the Lions, doing so at the fifth-highest rate in the NFL. The Giants run at the fourth-highest rate, so this suits them well. New York has an implied team total of 24.25, which is one of the higher ones on this slate, a slate that is projected to be lower scoring than most. Barkley has tons of upside with his huge volume and is worth his lofty salary this week.

A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles

FanDuel Salary: $8,400
Projected Points: 16.8

The Philadelphia Eagles made a big move during the past NFL draft to acquire A.J. Brown. They wanted to get another weapon in the passing game and see how things would work from there for the offense. They have the third-best passing offense, according to our metrics, so it's safe to say things are going pretty well.

Brown had never been an elite target hoarder with the Tennessee Titans, but that has changed since his move to Philly. He now sees 28.7% of the team's targets to go with 43.2% of the team's air yards. When you have a receiver who is a dangerous deep threat and accumulates yards after the catch, that volume can lead to explosive results. Brown had his worst game of the season this past Monday night, but he'll have every chance to bounce back on Sunday.

Philadelphia will be on the road to face the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts got a win last week but remain in a bit of disarray. They are a team that funnels opponents toward the passing game, as they are the third-best team against the run. They have been decent against receivers on a per-target basis, but they have allowed Davante Adams and Terry McLaurin to have big games in recent weeks.

The Eagles lost Dallas Goedert to an injury after Monday's game, and it seems unlikely that his replacement will earn the same amount of targets that he did. This could mean even more volume for Brown going forward.

Brown is our highest-projected wide receiver despite not carrying the highest salary. He's a great option this week.

Mark Andrews, TE, Baltimore Ravens

FanDuel Salary: $7,700
Projected Points: 13.1

It's another barren week at tight end, and the loss of Goedert doesn't help the position's overall strength. At least we get Mark Andrews back on the main slate. He was limited in practice on Wednesday after missing Week 9, so his status is something to monitor.

If Andrews does play, it's hard to make a case for any other tight end to match him. He ranks as one of the best tight ends target share and air yards share. His 10.7-yard average depth of target is also one of the best for his position. Andrews trails only Travis Kelce in red zone targets at the position this season and will be in good spot to do damage this week.

The Baltimore Ravens face the Carolina Panthers in Week 11. Baltimore is fresh off their bye but is still without a reliable target at wide receiver. They can have success throwing the ball against Carolina's 20th-ranked pass defense, so Andrews should be getting fed. Against tight ends specifically, the Panthers are 23rd in adjusted fantasy points per target.

With Andrews being the main man in the passing game for a team with the highest total on the main slate this week, he's definitely in play in all formats. It makes a ton of sense to go with a stack of Andrews and Lamar Jackson this week.

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.