Every Friday, this article provides 7-10 FanDuel stacks. Most of these positively correlated combinations are best suited for tournament play. But some of the safer duos with high floors can be used in cash games. We'll discuss highly-owned stacks with some twists to make them more unique. We'll also unearth less common stacks for top-heavy contests and create strong lineup anchors with defensive stacks.
Highly-Owned Stacks
Philip Rivers ($8,000) + Antonio Gates ($5,800) = $13,800
Hosting Oakland, both players will be top-two owned at their respective positions. Rivers has three straight games with at least 350 yards and two touchdowns. Over the last five weeks, the Raiders have allowed tight ends to score a league-worst 72 percent more fantasy points than their typical output.
Twist: Because Oakland is so terrible against tight ends, Ladarius Green ($5,100) provides solid differentiation. But Steve Johnson ($5,700) seems likely to return this week, which may eat into Green's workload. All three pass-catchers could stack nicely with Rivers for similar prices, but Gates is the safest bet.
Carson Palmer ($8,200) + Larry Fitzgerald ($7,800) = $16,000
In Week 7 the Cardinals' top duo may be the highest-owned players at their positions. This stack is a little on the expensive side, but Arizona is projected to be the highest scoring team of the week. Over the past five weeks, Baltimore has allowed wide receivers to outperform their usual fantasy output by a league-worst 43 percent.
Twist: Keep an eye on the hamstring injury that limited John Brown ($6,700) in Thursday's practice. Even if he plays, the lower-priced Michael Floyd ($4,900) would privide a cheaper twist on a Cardinals arial stack. Floyd should build on last week's solid five-catch, 50-yard, one-touchdown effort.
Cam Newton ($8,100) + Greg Olsen ($6,400) = $14,500
The Eagles are better at stopping the run than the pass, which should set up a nice day for Carolina's top receiving threat. Both players will be in the top three at their positions in terms of ownership.
Twist: If you're looking to dive deeper for a low-owned stack, Ted Ginn Jr Jr. ($5,300) offers value and upside. He's a high-risk, boom-or-bust play without a five-catch game all year.
Less Common Stacks
Drew Brees ($8,400) + Willie Snead ($6,500) = $14,900
I always pay close attention to the top-scoring underdog of the week. The Saints face the Colts on the road in the only game with a 50+ point over/under. This is a shootout in the making. Snead isn't the value he was the past two weeks, but his price still hasn't caught up to his status as New Orleans' number one receiver.
Landry Jones ($6,000) + Martavis Bryant ($6,900) = $12,900
Keep an eye on Ben Roethlisberger's status, but I doubt he plays. Michael Vick is also out with a hamstring injury, leaving Jones as the last quarterback standing. Bryant will be highly owned after exploding back onto the scene with 137 yards and two touchdowns. They face the Chiefs, who are second-worst at allowing fantasy points to wide receivers. Because of Jones' low ownership, this stack offers cheap differentiation with high upside.
Zach Mettenberger ($5,900) + Delanie Walker ($5,500) = $11,400
Marcus Mariota has been ruled out with an MCL sprain. If you're looking for differentiation, why not throw a dart at the cheapest starting passer of the week? The Falcons got destroyed by 34-year-old Ben Watson last week, so Walker should have no trouble carving up this defense. With a stack this cheap, you can fill the rest of your roster with studs.
Defensive Stacks
St. Louis Rams ($4,500) + Todd Gurley ($7,400) = $11,900
Vegas projects the Browns to be the lowest scoring team of the week (if you ignore San Francisco's laughable Thursday night performance). Coming off the bye, the Rams have been preparing for Cleveland for two weeks. Both St. Louis and Gurley will be highly owned. This is a great value for the slam dunk defensive stack of the week.
Atlanta Falcons ($4,700) + Devonta Freeman ($8,700) = $13,400
The Falcons have the other chalk pairing of defense and running back. I realize I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth after recommending Zach Mettenberger earlier. This stack is the safer play and should be in more of your lineups. It's more likely that the inexperienced Mattenberger struggles.
Arizona Cardinals ($5,100) + Chandler Catanzaro ($4,900) = $10,000
The sportsbooks project Arizona to be the highest scoring and winner by the biggest margin this week. Hosting the offensively-struggling Ravens, the Cardinals offer the safest pairing of defense and kicker of the week.
Austin Lee mastered the art of backwards lip syncing, has seen Police Academy 4 more than any other movie, and once nearly started a brawl over a seat at a Star Wars premiere. For more of his DFS insights, watch The Footballguys Daily Fantasy Hour presented by Rotogrinders on Wednesdays at 9:30pm ET or listen to The Audible's FanDuel podcast on Friday mornings. Also check out his Normalized Strength of Schedule tool or hit him up for advice on Twitter.
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