Stacking has become second nature for a large portion of the DFS populous. It’s a very common strategy, especially in GPPs, to throw together a stack or two and hope that the roster correlation that you built into your lineup sets yourself apart from the field. It’s a great way to raise your overall ceiling and gain more exposure to certain players and teams that you are targeting.
The Following stacks are my personal ideas for Week 4 at the time the article was written. I will likely add a few more and I am sure a couple of these won’t make the final cut. Using our Domination Station in conjunction with my stacks is the best way to attack our ladder system approach for contests.
Top Stacks of Week 5
Carson Palmer + Larry Fitzgerald
The Cardinals are 6.00 point underdogs and will be playing from behind. The Eagles have allowed the second most passing yards to opposing quarterbacks in the NFL and Carson Palmer leads the league with 45.8 passing attempts per game. He’s actually on pace to set the NFL record in attempts.
Game theory suggests that the Eagles will be playing with a lead and the Cardinals will be playing from behind most of this game. That should only raise the ceiling of both Palmer and his receivers. Larry Fitzgerald gets a pristine matchup against a defense that was just roasted by Keenan Allen for 135 receiving yards working primarily out of the slot. He has run almost 65% of his snaps this year out of the slot and should rack up a solid amount of targets and is currently Palmer’s favorite red zone target.
Carson Palmer + Jaron Brown
Jaron Brown has been running as the number two wide receiver, playing 94.6% of the snaps this season. He has over 70-yards receiving or a touchdown in all three games that he has started. Last week, with John Brown back in the fold, Jaron played his season high in snaps so we don’t need to be too concerned about a healthy receiving corps.
Carson Palmer + WR + Zach Ertz
By stacking Zach Ertz with either one of the receivers on the Cardinals with Palmer, we raise our scoring ceiling. Just like running backs, teams that are favored have a very high correlation with tight end success rate. When favored and expected to score a lot of points that means a team is likely going to be in the red zone often. Tight ends on average receive around 20% of all red zone targets. Ertz hasn’t been a red zone threat early in his career but he has a superb floor because of how involved he is. He currently leads the NFL in targets, catches, yards, and air yards for tight ends.
Dak Prescott + Zeke Elliot Jordy Nelson or Randall Cobb
Dak Prescott + Zeke Elliot + One Packers WR (Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, or Geronimo Allison)
Dak Prescott + Dez Bryant + One Packers WR (Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, or Geronimo Allison)
Aaron Rodgers + Packers WR + Dez Bryant
Aaron Rodgers + Packers WR
I highlighted how much I love Dak Prescott in both my cash game article and GPP article this week. He is in a tremendous spot to pour on the points against the Packers in what could quickly turn into a shootout. In the 2016 playoffs, these two teams combined for a 65-point game.
Zeke Elliot is on pace for nearly 70 receptions this season and has been very active in the passing game. Dez Bryant has received more than nine targets in three of the four games the Cowboys have played (the only low target game was against his kryptonite, the Giants).
If the Cowboys offense is running hot there is a good chance that Zeke should have quite a few red zone carries in Week 5. I can easily see a game where he gets 20 carries, 6 receptions, 140 total yards, and two touchdowns. By using Dak and Zeke together you’re basically theorizing the Cowboys are going to score 4+ touchdowns and that the two of them are responsible for all of them. As long as the Cowboys offense scores a bunch of touchdowns then you are sitting pretty. If they don’t then you’re going to be in trouble.
Game theory suggests if the Cowboys offense goes buck wild that the Packers will need to play in catch-up mode. With Rodgers likely not having Ty Montgomery, there is a good chance that he carries the offensive load even more than usual. If Davante Adams is also out, that means we could be looking at 45-50 passes without Montgomery and Adams on the receiving end of them. Randall Cobb and Jordy Nelson will soak up a few extra targets and be the first couple reads for Rodgers. Players like Geronimo Allison and even Martellus Bennett are worth a look but are better kept for large field GPPs.
Deshaun Watson + DeAndre Hopkins
Deshaun Watson + Will Fuller
Deshaun Watson + Texans WR + Travis Kelce
I am not really sure why nobody is talking about Deshaun Watson this week but I am not upset about it. I keep hearing people worry about the Chiefs defense and the pressure they’ll put on Watson. In Week 1, the Texans allowed eight sacks on the quarterback. In Week 2-4, they allowed just six total sacks. Watson might get pressured but he does a fantastic job evading the rush and scrambling for yards.
As Watson extends the play it opens up opportunities for long gains by the speedster, Will Fuller. In his first game of the season, Fuller scored two touchdowns. That really isn’t Fuller’s game though and anybody plugging him in on Sunday hoping for a bunch of red zone looks will likely be disappointed. However, he is a phenomenal deep threat and can catch a long pass behind the defense on any given snap.
Fuller’s speed will also open up the field for DeAndre Hopkins who leads the league in targets and receptions. Hopkins has been Mr. Consistent through the first four weeks of the season by catching at least 7 receptions and 70 yards in every single game. With a lot of the field on Dez Bryant, as the industry has been throwing his name around a ton, Hopkins might end up under-owned in Week 5.
By running the stack back with the opposing tight end, Travis Kelce, who already has two 20-point games under his belt this season, we are raising our scoring ceiling if the game turns into a shootout. As good as both of these defenses are at getting to the passer, both quarterbacks are extremely talented at extending plays. Broken plays often turn into big gains.
Eli Manning + Odell Beckham Jr
Eli Manning + Evan Engram
Eli will be under-owned in Week 5 but not for savvy DFS players. The Giants are projected to score 9.0 more points this game than their season average. Eli has thrown 96 passes over the past two games and the Giants have all but given up on their running game.
Odell Beckham Jr. and Evan Engram have been the primary beneficiaries of the increased passing attempts. Beckham will likely carry a decent amount of ownership with the lack of high-end options to choose from. However, Engram will carry moderately low ownership, as Charles Clay has been more productive and is very close in price point.
Brian Hoyer + Pierre Garcon
Brian Hoyer + Pierre Garcon + Ty Hilton
This is my favorite large field GPP stack of Week 5. Hoyer has thrown 86 passes in the past two games and the 49ers should be able to move the ball through the air against the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts have been gashed through the air and have given up 23.5 PPG on DraftKings to opposing quarterbacks.
Garcon is priced the same as Larry Fitzgerald on Fanduel, which makes him the better stack on that site, although I don’t mind his price on DraftKings either.
With a healthy number of targets, I think Garcon can have a great game against his former team. If Hoyer and Garcon are lighting it up through the air there is a good chance the Colts will have to throw the ball to keep pace, as their running game is non-existent.
If the Colts move the ball through the air against the 49ers, which shouldn’t be too hard, Ty Hilton will benefit the most. The 49ers are a bottom 12 team in PPG against at the QB positions and the WR position. Hilton is a big play threat from anywhere on the field and lines up across the formation.
Jay Cutler + DeVante Parker
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me four times, ah screw it, I can’t quit you!
Cutler keeps ruining a lineup every weekend but DeVante Parker keeps surprising. Unfortunately, the two haven’t been lighting it up together but this should keep ownership levels down.
The Titans have allowed 25.7 PPG to opposing quarterbacks on DraftKings (2nd worst) and 24.2 PPG to opposing WR1’s (the worst). They have allowed 8 touchdowns to opposing wide receivers which is 2 more than every other team in the NFL.
Cutler to Parker could be a low single digit owned stack with enormous upside in Week 5.
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