This piece will identify some of my favorite NFL DFS stacks of the weekend. Be sure to use our Stacking tool within our Player Models to find the highest projected stacks, the stacks that figure to be chalky, and more. Our Correlation Dashboard is also an excellent resource for finding hidden edges in stacking positions and games.
You can also plug these stacks into our Lineup Builder to hand-build the rest of it, or you can optimize it with our projections. And if you like to create multiple lineups, our Lineup Optimizer allows you to effortlessly create up to 150 lineups.
The Lineup Optimizer has endless customization opportunities.
Tony Pollard + Darnell Mooney
- Tony Pollard ($6,100 DraftKings, $6,300 FanDuel)
- Darnell Mooney ($4,800 DraftKings, $6,100 FanDuel)
Ezekiel Elliot has all but been ruled out this week against the Bears with his MCL injury, meaning we are getting an underpriced, mega-chalk Tony Pollard as the lead back against one of the worst run defenses in the NFL. The Cowboys currently have the fourth-highest implied team total on the slate at 26 and are 9.5-point home favorites against a Bears team coming off a short week after an emotional win on Monday night at Foxboro.
The Bears have now ceded the third most rushing attempts in football, along with the sixth most rushing yards and fifth most rushing touchdowns. Dak Prescott only threw the ball 25 times last week in a game the Cowboys controlled basically throughout, and I would expect that trend to continue this week as they are yet again big home favorites against a bad team. We are looking at a likely 20+ touch workload for Pollard here against a team that just traded away one of their best defensive players Robert Quinn. It’s a dream spot for Pollard, and it is going to be difficult to fade him in any format, even with his sky-high projected ownership.
One way to get around this ownership is to play him with a Bear coming back, and Mooney is the preferred option. The Bears do not like to pass a lot, but they’ve yet to find themselves in a spot where they were down big and were absolutely forced to throw like they could be this week. If there is one place the Cowboys are a tad vulnerable, it’s in their secondary, as they’re both elite at stopping the run and getting to the quarterback.
Mooney is the unquestioned WR1 for Chicago and is actually ninth in the entire NFL in target share among wide receivers. More importantly, he is only $4,800 on DraftKings this week and could see quite a bit of volume if this game plays out the way Vegas thinks.
DeAndre Hopkins + Adam Thielen + Irv Smith Jr.
- DeAndre Hopkins ($7,400 DraftKings, $7,900 FanDuel)
- Adam Thielen ($6,200 DraftKings, $6,200 FanDuel)
- Irv Smith Jr. ($3,500 DraftKings, $5,000 FanDuel)
It is great to have DeAndre Hopkins back in our lives after he missed the first six games of the season due to a suspension. He looked like his usual dominant self in his return to the lineup last week against the Saints, catching 10-of-14 targets for 103 yards. With Marquise Brown out for the next four weeks at least, Hopkins is going to return to his voluminous role he’s been accustomed to these past few seasons. This game has the third-highest total on the main slate this week and features two defenses ranked in the bottom 11 in defense DVOA.
On the Minnesota side, it’s going to be quite difficult to fit Justin Jefferson and his $9,100 salary, so a creative way around that is to play both Adam Thielen and Irv Smith. Thielen has quietly been coming on of late, seeing eight or more targets in three of his past four games while posting at least 15.2 DK points in each of those contests. Pairing him with Irv Smith also helps knock out the tight end position, which is always a sharp way to go about stacking, considering it’s the hardest position to get right each week. It’s also the spot on the field where Arizona is weakest on defense, as they’ve allowed the most receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns to the position.
This is a nice way to get exposure to a high total game while giving the rest of your lineup quite a bit of flexibility in terms of remaining salary. Feel free to tack on either Kyler Murray or Kirk Cousins to this, though I do not deem it necessary, as you can capture most of Kyler’s production through D-Hop, while the Smith/Thielen pairing costs a combined $9,700 and does not need a ton of production to hit value.
Derrick Henry + Titans D/ST
- Derrick Henry ($8,400 DraftKings, $10,000 FanDuel)
- Titans D/ST ($3,600 DraftKings, $4,400 FanDuel)
Happy Derrick Henry vs. the Texans week.
For those who are unaware, in Henry’s last three games vs. the Texans, the big dog has posted lines of 32/211/3, 22/212/2, and 34/250/2. Just absurd stuff.
After getting thoroughly embarrassed on Monday night football by the Bills, the Titans have now rattled off four straight wins while allowing 22 points or fewer in each of those wins. We will touch on the defense in a minute. Let’s begin with the matchup for Henry, who will get a Texans defense allowing the most DraftKings points to opposing running backs through seven weeks. They have also allowed both the third most rushing yards and yards per carry and third most rushing touchdowns. This is a dream spot. Let us not forget Houston just let Josh Jacobs go for 143 yards and three touchdowns on just 20 carries last week.
Instead of running this back with someone on the Texans, it’s easier to just stack Henry with his own defense in a spot where Houston has a 19 implied team total. This Titans defense has at least one interception and three sacks in each of their past three games. Davis Mills has five interceptions and four fumbles on the season.
Obviously, this stack is not that cheap, as Henry is the second highest-priced running back on DraftKings, while the Titans are the fourth highest-priced defense. It is, however, extremely correlated, as we know Tennessee is not afraid to give their bell-cow 30+ carries if they are ahead.
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