Using our Stacking tool found within our revamped Models 3.0, this piece will identify some of the top stacks of the weekend. Check out our new Correlations page as well to find hidden edges in stacking positions and games.
Quarterback + Wide Receiver
- Blake Bortles ($4,700 DraftKings, $7,200 FanDuel)
- Marqise Lee ($4,300 DraftKings, $5,600 FanDuel)
Using FantasyLabs to stack a quarterback and wide receiver could win you $197,000 on FanDuel or DraftKings if you choose the correct stacks. This week’s No. 1 rated stack for DraftKings in the Bales Model, Bortles and Lee take on an Indianapolis Colts team that has allowed the third-most points per game (PPG) to quarterbacks on DraftKings (22.8) and FanDuel (20.8). While not quite as friendly to wide receivers, the Colts have still surrendered the eighth-most PPG to that position on DraftKings (38.3) and FanDuel (30.8). The Jaguars are three-point road favorites implied to score 23.3 points in Indianapolis.
Only the great rookie Mitchell Trubisky ($4,600) has a lower salary at quarterback on DraftKings, and it’s Bortles’ 100 percent Bargain Rating that makes this stack more appealing on that site. Bortles has been good as a favorite in his career, averaging 20.20 DraftKings PPG with a +4.49 Plus/Minus and 72.7 percent Consistency. He’s been even better when favored in division games, producing 21.40 PPG with a +5.93 Plus/Minus and 83.3 percent Consistency in six games. [Writer’s note: Sh*t, I think I just convinced myself to play Bortles. I must be desperate]. Marqise has been erratic at best, but he does have two double-digit target games this season (including last week) and leads the Jaguars in target market share this season. Lee has been held out of practice so far this week but isn’t believed to be in danger of missing the game. Monitor his status on our injury dashboard.
Running Back + D/ST
- Le’Veon Bell ($9,100 DraftKings, $9,700 FanDuel)
- Pittsburgh Defense ($3,200 DraftKings, $4,500 FanDuel)
Currently the top-rated FanDuel stack in CSURAM88’s Model and also projected for the most points, Bell and his defense welcome Cincinnati to Heinz Field as five-point favorites. Bell is the highest-priced player at any position on FanDuel, but he also has the highest projected ceiling (30.6) and an amazing 87.39 percent of the Steelers’ rush attempts. Further, he leads the NFL with 27 red zone opportunities, including 11 from inside the 10-yard line. In 20 games with a salary of $9,000 or higher on FanDuel, Bell has generated 21.01 PPG and a +4.00 Plus/Minus with 50 percent Consistency.
As noted in this week’s Defense Breakdown, Pittsburgh’s defense currently leads the league in allowing only 25 percent of drives to end with an offensive score. The Bengals are currently tied for the second-fewest implied points (17.8) in Week 7, and the Steelers have the highest projected sack total (4.0). It’s probably no surprise they’re the No. 1 rated defense in virtually all of our Pro Models.
Quarterback + Running Back + Tight End
- Philip Rivers ($5,300 DraftKings, $6,900 FanDuel)
- Melvin Gordon ($7,000 DraftKings, $7,700 FanDuel)
- Hunter Henry ($4,200 DraftKings, $5,200 FanDuel)
The typically stingy “No Fly Zone” Denver Broncos’ pass defense has looked more human this season, currently allowing 15.3 points per game to quarterbacks on DraftKings (11th-fewest) and FanDuel (14th-fewest). Rivers has not been great against the Broncos recently, posting 13.84 PPG with a -2.96 Plus/Minus on DraftKings and a -2.43 Plus/Minus on FanDuel in his last five games. That said, Philip is rarely this cheap: In 10 games on FanDuel with a salary of less than $7,500, he has averaged 18.75 PPG with a +2.71 Plus/Minus and 70 percent Consistency. When priced at $6,000 or less on DraftKings, he has averaged 18.90 PPG and a +3.01 Plus/Minus with 66.7 percent Consistency.
Gordon has virtually been the Chargers’ offense the past two weeks, turning 45 carries and 20 targets into 313 total yards, three touchdowns, and 36.65 DraftKings and 31.4 FanDuel PPG. As noted by Matthew Freedman in this week’s Running Back Breakdown, the Chargers haven’t been afraid to feed Melvin the rock against the Broncos:
In his three workhorse games against the Broncos, Gordon has averaged a robust 22.7 carries and five targets per game.
The Chargers have apparently figured out that Antonio Gates is #old and Henry is #good, turning Hunter loose on over 75 percent of the snaps the past two weeks, during which time he’s run 59 routes and been targeted 15 times. The Broncos have allowed only 531 receiving yards to wide receivers (second-fewest) but have surrendered 333 yards to tight ends (10th-most), yielding the fifth-most PPG to the position on both DraftKings (16.3) and FanDuel (13.3). Even though he was used sparingly for the first four games, Henry has been targeted inside the 10-yard line four times this season (11th-most among tight ends).
Quarterback + Wide Receiver + Opposing Wide Receiver
- Marcus Mariota ($6,900 DraftKings, $8,200 FanDuel)
- Rishard Matthews ($5,500 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel)
- Ricardo Louis ($4,200 DraftKings, $4,500 FanDuel)
The Cleveland Browns have surrendered a league-high 14 passing touchdowns to quarterbacks (tied with New England), and the Tennessee Titans are right behind them with 13 given up. You won’t find two teams playing each other this week that have allowed more combined passing touchdowns to quarterbacks. Playing this week as a 5.5-point road favorite, Mariota has been very good on the road in his young career, averaging 19.57 PPG with a +2.64 Plus/Minus on DraftKings and 18.81 PPG with a +2.18 Plus/Minus on FanDuel.
Matthews owns a team-high 24.78 percent target share in Tennessee and has caught at least three passes in every game this season. It should be noted that Matthews’ matchup is not the greatest, especially if shadowed by Jason McCourty.
Louis was one of the players highlighted in Freedman’s Wide Receiver Breakdown:
Louis has 30 targets over his last four games, and he’ll run the supermajority of his routes against cornerbacks Adoree’ Jackson and LeShaun Sims, both of whom have poor PFF grades lower than 55.0.
Good luck this week!
