There are plenty of appealing stacks this week, and we’ll identify a few of those using the Levitan Player Model. Our Stacking Tool makes this process much easier, so let’s check out what Week 12 has in store for us.
QB-WR (DK): Carson Palmer-Larry Fitzgerald
Even the casual football fan is aware that Palmer is not the player he was last year. His WRs have been banged up and some (Michael Floyd and John Brown) have been underperforming. Luckily for the Cardinals, the Falcons are in the bottom 10 against the run and the pass per Football Outsider’s Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average (DVOA). David Johnson is already the chalk, but Palmer should be relatively low owned. The Falcons can put some points up in a hurry, so Palmer could be looking at 40-50 attempts in this game at just $5,300 on DraftKings
Fitzgerald gets the best matchup of all the Cardinals receivers and will get Brian Poole (per our Matchups tool). He hasn’t been bad this season, but he’s small (5’9″). There’s a chance that Desmond Trufant covers Fitz for part of the game, but Fitz has yet to score fewer than 10 DK points in any game this season, so he’s a relatively safe option with considerable upside.
QB-TE (FD): Cam Newton-Greg Olsen
This is the most expensive stack you can make on FanDuel (aside from a Tom Brady–Rob Gronkowski stack, which is dangerous because of Gronk’s uncertain health). The Raiders currently rank 28th in DVOA against the pass. Oddly enough, they’ve done a solid job of slowing down WR1s even though they typically give up a ton of yardage. They have a bend-don’t-break defense, but they’ve also been giving up quite a few points lately. Newton has scored over 20 FD points just once in the last four games, so he’s perhaps more of a play in guaranteed prize pools than cash games.
Olsen has a 91 percent Bargain Rating and the highest projection at 12.4 points. That’s 1.5 points higher than the next TE. Olsen also is tied for first at the position with nine Pro Trends.
RB-D/ST (DK): Spencer Ware-Chiefs D/ST
This is projected to be one of the lowest-owned RB-D/ST stacks of the week (per our FantasyLabs ownership projections). This stack is probably best for GPP lineups due to the questionable matchups and poor performance as of late. Ware hasn’t exactly killed it since Jamaal Charles re-injured his knee. Still, the Broncos carry a lackluster +1.02 Opponent Plus/Minus, so there’s a chance that Ware can get back on track in this game.
The Chiefs defense has allowed over 20 points just three times this season, but they’ve struggled to reach the QB, ranking just 25th in sacks. However, they rank first in interceptions and forced fumbles — and that’s the upside we look for in a GPP defense.
QB-RB-WR (FD): Russell Wilson-Thomas Rawls-Doug Baldwin
Before putting this article together, I had very heavy exposure to this exact stack. Is it surprising? No. The ownership projections show this to be one of the chalkiest stacks of the week, so it may be one to turn away from in some GPP lineups in case it implodes. However, it’s a tough stack to fade. Wilson has scored over 24 points in three straight games. He has turned his season around and is currently the No. 2 QB in the Levitan Model.
Rawls is the newest workhorse for the Seahawks, their third of the season. With only Alex Collins posing as a potential threat for touches, Rawls has a good chance to finish the game with 18-25 touches. As for Baldwin, he’s expected to see plenty of rookie Vernon Hargreaves III, who has been struggling mightily and is rated as Pro Football Focus’ fifth-worst CB in the entire league! Baldwin’s target share has been lower than what we typically look for (per Bryan Mears’ Market Share Report), but he could be in for a monster game with one of the best matchups of the week.
QB-RB-WR-WR (DK): Ryan Tannehill-Jay Ajayi-Jarvis Landry-DeVante Parker
Tannehill could end up as a decent fantasy QB one day, but it’s tough to rely on him now when he’s averaging just 26 attempts over his last six games. To put that into perspective, Drew Brees and Kirk Cousins are currently averaging more completions per game than Tannehill is attempting passes. Gross. The 49ers defense is notorious for being burned on the ground, but they’ve been unimpressive against the pass as well, so Tanny has a chance in this game to score some points.
Ajayi is the chalk as he squares off against the worst run defense in the entire league. He’s a very appealing option this week, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he scored multiple touchdowns.
Landry has been banged up over the last couple of weeks, but he’s ramped up his activity and is ready to ball once again. As stated earlier, it’s a bit tough to trust Landry when he’s not getting peppered with targets, but for what it’s worth the Dolphins offensive coordinator has noted they will attempt to look his way more often.
Parker appeared to be in for a lost season earlier in the year because of his inability to stay healthy, but he appears to be ready to roll late in the year. He has 13 receptions, 182 yards, and a TD in his last two games, so he’s very appealing at just $4,700.
Good luck this week!
