4 NFL DFS Stud Picks for Week 14

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 14

Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles

FanDuel Salary: ($9,200)

I'm not sure there's a quarterback with as much upside on the Week 14 main slate than Jalen Hurts. Hurts is averaging a slate-high 22.2 FanDuel points per game, and his Philadelphia Eagles have Sunday's highest implied total (29.0) for a home date against the Carolina Panthers.

Hurts continues to offer slate-shattering upside on a weekly basis thanks to a healthy mix of passing and rushing production. He's completing a career-best 68.4% of passes this season, and while the overall pass volume is down -- Philly is dead-last in PROE (pass rate over expectation) -- he's made up for it with his rushing production. Hurts has scored 12 rushing touchdowns in 12 games while averaging 10.3 rush attempts and 40.4 rushing yards per game. He's scored multiple times on the ground in three separate games, helping him flirt with 30 FanDuel points three times.

That's certainly on the table against a Carolina side that's 31st in schedule-adjusted defense, according to numberFire's metrics. The Panthers are allowing a league-worst 30.5 points per game, and that's translated to monster fantasy totals for opposing quarterbacks. Carolina has given up 19.3 FanDuel points per game to the position -- sixth-most in the NFL. Their 0.52 passing fantasy points allowed per dropback is the second-highest mark in football, and they're right around league average in rushing production allowed to QBs.

Matchup-wise, Hurts is in what feels like a can't-miss spot. My biggest reservation here is the potential for Philly to blow out Carolina so badly that they don't need a full Hurts showing, but it's not like he hasn't produced in blowouts. His two highest-scoring games came when the Eagles won by 20 and 28 points.

That eases some concerns about the 12.5-point spread, and it makes Hurts the top high-salary quarterback on Week 14's main slate.

Saquon Barkley, RB, Philadelphia Eagles

FanDuel Salary: ($10,000)

With some key Week 14 NFL DFS value plays popping ahead of Sunday, I'm near the point of wanting at least one of Hurts or Saquon Barkley in every lineup. Barkley could benefit even more than his quarterback if the Eagles get into a positive game script, and he's proven to have week-winning upside throughout 2024.

Barkley enters Week 14 averaging a league-best 147.2 scrimmage yards on 26.7 adjusted opportunities per game. He's seen 3.7 red zone rush attempts and 0.8 red zone targets per game, culminating in 13 total touchdowns. That's propelled him to 24.6 FanDuel points per game -- 2.0 points higher than the next closest quarterback and most among any player.

Carolina, meanwhile, has one of the worst run defenses in the NFL. They're 31st in adjusted run defense and are allowing a league-worst 166.8 rushing yards per game. In turn, they've surrendered the most FanDuel points per game to opposing running backs.

The only thing we really need to worry about with Barkley is a lack of pushback from the Panthers' offense to keep this competitive . But Carolina has looked much better of late, winning two of their last four games while dropping three-point games to the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I don't foresee Philly having much trouble here, but Saquon's still shown a monster ceiling even when the Eagles blow out teams. In two of the four games they've won by double-digits, Barkley has notched 25.7 and 44.2 FanDuel points.

Our NFL DFS projections forecast him for 20 FanDuel points -- the highest projection among non-quarterbacks.

Puka Nacua, WR, Los Angeles Rams

FanDuel Salary: ($8,600)

This isn't my favorite slate to allocate a large portion of salary to wide receiver, but if I'm looking for a top pass-catcher, Puka Nacua is the guy. Nacua has scored at least 14 FanDuel points in all five games he finished, and he's in a sneaky-strong spot at home against the Buffalo Bills.

Although Puka is still looking for his first true ceiling game of 2024, he hasn't burned anyone yet. Nacua's averaging 16.3 FanDuel points in the five games where he's played at least 50% of snaps. He has team-leading marks in 32.7% target share and 37.1% air yard share in those games, further pacing the Los Angeles Rams with averages of 4.4 downfield targets (10+ yards) and 1.2 red zone targets. That's resulted in averages of 7.4 receptions and 102.4 scrimmage yards per game.

Two of those five games came against top-six pass defenses, and four of the five games were against teams in the top half of the league in schedule-adjusted pass defense. As such, I'm not especially considered about this matchup -- even if Buffalo has a strong secondary.

The Bills are ninth in adjusted pass defense, and they've let up the third-fewest FanDuel points to wide receivers. But they're closer to the middle of the pack in FanDuel points per target allowed; they've just let up the lowest target rate to the position. Still, we should expect Puka to see plenty of targets regardless. He's been targeted at least eight times in all five of his full games this season.

Nacua's targets should hold steady this week, and there's a chance he cracks double-digit looks if the Bills get up early. LA is already eighth with a 63.4% pass rate over the last five weeks, and we could see that number rise with Buffalo favored by 3.5 on the road. With Puka indoors and in a potentially negative game script, Puka is a high-salary WR to prioritize.

Brock Bowers, TE, Las Vegas Raiders

FanDuel Salary: ($8,000)

Typically, tight end is where I like to save salary. I'm a sucker for the $5,000 to $6,000 range at the position, especially if that helps me get up to one of the high-salary studs at running back or receiver.

But there's a good amount of value elsewhere on this slate, and it's shaping up to be one of the best tight end Sundays of the season. Four tight ends have at least a $7,000 salary -- and that's not even including Travis Kelce ($6,800).

As such, I think this is a week you'll dig yourself a hole if you fade the top guys at the position. If your value tight end goes for 12 FanDuel points, that's still strong point-per-dollar production. But when upwards of five tight ends have the upside for double-digit targets, it's going to be hard to make up ground if the field prioritizes the position.

Consequently, I'm looking to get more than my usual amount of exposure to Brock Bowers this week. Bowers leads the entire NFL in receptions (84) and is pacing all tight ends in yards per game (74.6). He's been trending up of late, cracking 24 FanDuel points twice in the last three weeks. That's partially coincided with Aidan O'Connell taking over at quarterback. In two full games with AOC, Bowers owns a 33.8% target share and 40% red zone target share, notching 19 total receptions.

The role is as good as it gets, but Bowers' matchup is what really separates him from the pack this week.

The Las Vegas Raiders will take on a middling Tampa Bay Buccaneers secondary this week, one which ranks 28th in adjusted pass defense. The Bucs haven't let up a high target rate to tight ends this season, but I don't think we need to sweat Bowers' volume. And when Tampa has given up tight-end targets, fantasy points have followed as they're allowing the sixth-most FanDuel points per target to the position.

It doesn't hurt that this game has the main slate's second highest over/under (46.5) and that Vegas is a 6.5-point 'dog. That should only increase Bowers' potential volume, making him the clear high-salary tight end to target in Week 14.

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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.