Hitting on high-salary players is the first step to having success in NFL DFS on FanDuel.

These players take up the biggest chunk of your salary cap, and they need to deliver quality performances for your lineup to reach its ceiling.

With some help from our NFL DFS projections, here are four studs to target on this week's main slate, which starts at 1 p.m. ET.

All betting odds come from the NFL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

NFL DFS Stud Plays for Week 12

Jalen Hurts, QB, Eagles

FanDuel Salary: ($9,300)

When the Philadelphia Eagles are in a good spot -- which is the case this week -- it's tough deciding between Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley ($10,000). Truth is: both are great plays this week. I give Hurts a slight edge due to his TD upside.

The Eagles are on the road at the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night, and it's one of the best DFS environments of the slate. It's indoors. The total is 48.5 (second-highest of the slate). The spread is 2.5. Yes, please.

Hurts has posted at least 29.9 FanDuel points in three of his past four games. He's got nine -- yes, nine -- rushing touchdowns across his past five outings, registering at least one rushing score in all five of those games. He's also run for at least 56 yards in two of his last three games.

The Rams' defense is there for the taking. LA's defense has improved throughout the year, but they're still just 18th overall, including 23rd versus the pass, per numberFire's schedule-adjusted metrics.

According to our NFL DFS projections, Hurts paces the slate's QBs and carries the slate's overall top projection at 21.8 FanDuel points.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, WR, Lions

FanDuel Salary: ($9,500)

This feels a little point-chasey after Amon-Ra St. Brown had his best DFS output of the season last week, scoring 36.2 FanDuel points in the Detroit Lions' absolute demolition of the Jacksonville Jaguars. But St. Brown is in another smash spot this week at the Indianapolis Colts.

Indy is a pass-funnel D, sitting 6th against the run but 20th against the pass. They've allowed the 10th-most receiving yards per game to wideouts (154.6).

The Lions have the slate's top implied total (29.0), and while there's some blowout risk with Detroit a 7.5-point favorite, we've seen this Lions offense keep its foot on the gas even if they're up big.

ARSB has at least seven targets in four of the past five games, and he's scored a touchdown in eight consecutive games. Our projections have him as the slate's WR1, forecasting him to score 15.4 FanDuel points.

Christian McCaffrey, RB, 49ers

FanDuel Salary: ($9,500)

Christian McCaffrey's efficiency hasn't quite been there yet, and he hasn't found the end zone. But the usage is great, and he's a top play this week -- especially if it seems like his meh FanDuel outputs will decrease his popularity.

Through two games, CMC has totaled 12.6 and 13.7 FanDuel points. That's not bad considering the lack of TDs. He's played 94% and 88% of the snaps while handling 23 and 19 touches and gobbling up 12 total targets in that span. The San Francisco 49ers have given him elite usage from the get go.

This is something we haven't said much in recent years: San Fran is an underdog this week. They're on the road against the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay has a decent defense, ranking 13th overall and 15th versus the run. This game checks a few boxes as it's got a high total (47.5) and tight spread (2.5). We'll have to check the Lambeau weather this weekend, but some of the ingredients are in place for a shootout.

Also, with the Niners sitting at 5-5 and last in the NFC West, they have very little room for error. That could lead to them leaning on CMC even more than they have been.

Our model has McCaffrey as the slate's RB1 and projects him to score 19.2 FanDuel points.

Brock Bowers, TE, Raiders

FanDuel Salary: ($7,500)

What a rookie campaign Brock Bowers is having, and it appears the Las Vegas Raiders came out of their bye determined to feed their young tight end.

In Week 12, the Raiders' first game after their bye, Bowers amassed a comical 16 targets, hauling in 13 of them for 126 yards and a score. It's not like big-time usage is all that new for Bowers, though, as he's seen double-digit looks in four of his last six games and has logged a snap rate of at least 91% in each of his last three games.

While I don't often use a high-salary tight end, if a receiver was getting this kind of usage and was salaried at $7,500, I'd be all over it, so Bowers will be in my player pool this week.

The matchup isn't ideal as the Denver Broncos rank second overall defensively and second against the pass. But Bowers torched Denver for 8 grabs, 97 yards and a score back in Week 5, so he's fully capable of delivering on Sunday.

We project him for 10.7 FanDuel points, the second-most among TEs.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.