When you are thinking of stacking players in DFS you automatically think of going with a quarterback and a wide receiver and most times there are also plenty of other DFS players that are thinking the exact same way as you when stacking them together. Now with so much information available weekly you are having to find new ways to differentiate yourself from the masses in GPP tournaments. One way to differentiate your team in GPP's is to look for "The Other Stack", which is one that is uncommon and one that will be very low owned if played together but one that also will offer upside to score some big points if it hits.
Stacking WR (KR/PR) with Team Defense
One way to get off the common QB/WR stacks is to look for offensive players that have a big role in the offense but also return punts and/or kickoffs and hope to hit a home run by stacking that player with his teams Team Defense. If that player breaks a touchdown on a return you would essentially double dip and get the 6 fantasy points for that individual player as well as the 6 points for the Team Defense.
1) WR Tyler Lockett + Seattle Seahawks Defense
Tyler Lockett had a fantastic rookie season for the Seahawks as he contributed on offense and special teams in the return game. In a full 16 game season he caught 51 passes for 664 yards and 6 touchdowns while handling 33 kick returns and 40 punt returns and a touchdown in each of the return games. Out of his 8 total touchdowns, 25% came in the return game as he has shown his speed and explosiveness on both offense and on special teams. Against the Dolphins this week at home Seattle looks to have one of the best defensive matchups and will create plenty of punt return opportunities for Lockett. Even if Lockett doesn't break a return touchdown he still offers plenty of upside on the offensive side of the ball as he is in position to have an even bigger role in the offense in year two. You get some good upside with both Lockett on offense and the Seahawks defense in general and if Lockett so happens to break a return for a touchdown it would be gravy on the already strong DFS plays this weekend.
Secondary Option: WR Tavon Austin + Los Angeles Rams
STACKING Running Back with Kicker
When thinking of a stack in DFS the last one that comes to mind is stacking anyone with a kicker. We typically don't care about kickers in fantasy as we often look for the kicker with the high over/under, best matchup, kicking at home, kicking indoors, accuracy, long field goals, etc. This is where you can gain an edge/advantage in big field GPP's as you can look to pair a strong running back play with a low owned kicker to help differentiate your team and help reduce the ownership percentage of a chalky running back play on the week.
2) RB Spencer Ware + K Cairo Santos
Spencer Ware is going to be a very popular play in Week 1 based on his matchup, salary and opportunity. It is hard to roster players like this when it comes to big GPP tournaments because you don't want to have a player that will be 30%+ owned as it will only see your team move up the leaderboard along with 30%+ of the field. You typically like to have that player that is under 10% owned and has a huge game while helping your team move up the leaderboard. Going with an untraditional stack of pairing your running back up with their teams kicker can give you that very low percentage owned as a combo. The Chiefs have a home game with an implied team total of 25 points and are favored by 7 points. Those are all areas that favor the Chiefs running and kicking game and pairing them up together not only gives you upside in GPP's, it also helps to lower your ownership against the field on a chalky RB play such as Spencer Ware.
Secondary Option: RB Adrian Peterson + K Blair Walsh
STACKING quarterback with Running Back
Looking back on 2015 we saw a lot of the big scores in GPP's consist of unlikely combos at the QB/RB positions. A Ben Roethlisberger stack with his starting running back in DeAngelo Williams or Le'veon Bell seemed to be a negative correlation on paper but it actually turned out to be one that was a huge advantage for the DFS players that weren't afraid to zig zag off your typical QB/WR stack. Another great example of this type of combo from last season was with the Kansas City Chiefs and QB Alex Smith with RB Jamaal Charles. If you can find the right QB or RB that is popular on the week and pair him with his teams QB or RB you are going to have an against the grain stack regardless if one of the two players are highly owned.
3) QB Dak Prescott + RB Ezekiel Elliott
To win a GPP you are going to have to take risk and find that one or two players that no one else is thinking about. With Dak Prescott this week, he is just too cheap and players are just going to plug him into lineups based on price alone. When those same players that are plugging Prescott into their lineups, their first thought is going to be should I pair him with Dez Bryant and have the QB/WR combo at a very modest combined price? This combo could be the highest owned on the slate as it is the easiest one to even think about at the top of your head. Taking a step back and looking at the big picture, do you really want a QB/WR combo that is going to be 10%-15% owned? Probably not in a GPP lineup but maybe in a Cash lineup. Going with a QB/RB combo in this game might be the perfect way to create a team that gives you a very low combined ownership and helps you move up the leaderboard without having to share the same players as the masses in GPP's. The Cowboys have an implied team total of 26 points and while both Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott are set to make their NFL debuts, they also are the two main players on offense and the ones that will touch the ball more than anyone else on offense.
Secondary Option: QB Ben Roethlisberger + RB DeAngelo Williams
STACKING opposing team wide receivers
One of the forgotten stacks is pairing wide receivers up from the same game on opposite teams. You want to look for a game with a tight point spread and with a high over/under that has potential to be a shoot out type. Teams that might play in a pass friendly dome or that lack a running game also help in this situation and are a positively-correlated non-QB/WR stack worth considering in GPPs. It also makes sense to stack one of the quarterbacks in this situation and even mix and match with each teams quarterback and a variety of different pass catchers on both teams.
4) WR T.Y. Hilton Indianapolis Colts + WR Golden Tate Detroit Lions
The Lions and Colts have the highest over/under on the board this week at 51.0 points and the Colts are the favorite at -3.5 points. The Raiders and the Saints is the other game to target in this situation as it is also at 51.0 points and a pickem currently. I like the stack of T.Y. Hilton and Golden Tate this week because of the their prices. They are both priced higher than their teammates, Donte Moncrief and Marvin Jones and will likely have a lower ownership rate as people will flock to the lower priced value plays. With Hilton and Tate you get big play ability every time a pass is thrown their way. Hilton is entering his fifth season with the Colts and has seen 100+ targets every season in the league and is coming off a 134 target 69/1124/5 season where Andrew Luck missed a majority of the year. Golden Tate has been great ever since he came to Detroit two years ago as he has seen 272 targets in those two seasons for a combined 189 receptions, 2,144 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.
Secondary Option: WR Brandin Cooks New Orleans Saints + WR Amari Cooper Oakland Raiders
If you have any additional questions or comments please feel free to hit my up on Twitter @JamesBrimacombe
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