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 a great 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.
Patrick Mahomes + Travis Kelce + JuJu Smith-Schuster + Marquise Brown
- Patrick Mahomes ($7,700 DraftKings, $8,700 FanDuel)
- Travis Kelce ($6,600 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel)
- Juju Smith-Schuster ($5,300 DraftKings, $6,400 FanDuel)
- Marquise Brown ($6,200 DraftKings, $6,900 FanDuel)
This one will not sneak up on anyone but will be extremely tough to avoid due to two things; the first of which is the Chiefs’ slate-leading 29.75 implied team total. Second — and this is more of a DraftKings issue — is the cost (or lack thereof) of the KC pass catchers. You could make the argument that Travis Kelce is underpriced at just $6,600, being that Tyreek Hill is now in Miami. He should step into a high-20s target share role this season as the clear alpha of the Chiefs’ passing game and will not be priced under $7,000 very often.
The other pass catchers on the Chiefs are all priced at $5,200 and below, making this stack extremely popular. JuJu Smith-Schuster’s price stands out above the rest because he, alongside Kelce, figures to be the de facto WR1. Marques Valdes-Scantling, Mecole Hardman, and Skyy Moore are not in play for cash games and would only be viable if game stacking in single-entry stuff; otherwise, they are best left for large field play.
However, both Kelce and Smith-Schuster will make their way into a ton of optimals this week. Naturally, the way to run this back would be with Marquise “Hollywood” Brown on the Cardinals side, as he is now the WR1 for the Kliff Kingsbury, at least until Deandre Hopkins returns from suspension in Week 7.
Not listed here are the other pass-catchers for Arizona: Zach Ertz, Rondale Moore, and AJ Green. Ertz is firmly in play in all formats (monitor his injury status) — especially on DraftKings — where he’s a very reasonable $4,400. Moore and AJG are both large field only for me in this spot.
This game as a whole is highly likely to be the highest-scoring game on the slate, but that doesn’t necessarily mean we know where the points are going. There is not really a need to get too cute here and veer off from the main two pass-catchers from each team if playing single entry/three max stuff.
Let the MME bros try and figure out which part-time wide receiver is going to catch a touchdown, and we will focus on the good plays.
Cole Kmet/Darnell Mooney + Elijah Mitchell
- Cole Kmet ($3,700 DraftKings, $5,000 FanDuel)
- Darnell Mooney ($5,700 DraftKings, $6,200 FanDuel)
- Elijah Mitchell ($5,400 DraftKings, $6,700 FanDuel)
This stack is not something to touch in cash games, but it’s one that will give nice leverage in tournaments of any size. I realize the Bears have one of the lowest team totals on the slate, however, they are incredibly concentrated in terms of where the targets are going.
As currently constituted, their wide receiver corps outside of Darnell Mooney consists of 25-year-old rookie Velus Jones and Chiefs castoff Byron Pringle. The bottom line here is that Mooney and Cole Kmet are going to get all the targets they can handle all season long.
San Francisco was very susceptible to giving up production to opposing wideouts last season, as it ranked bottom 10 in fantasy points allowed to the position. In addition — and this is probably more noteworthy for DraftKings purposes considering the full PPR scoring — the 49ers allowed the fifth-highest catch rate to opposing wide receivers, and fourth-highest catch rate to opposing tight ends in the NFL last season. This is not entirely surprising, as Kyle Shanahan is known to rely heavily on analytics, which preaches that it’s okay to allow underneath production all day long while simply refusing to get beat deep.
The Bears’ roster is one of the worst in the league, and the Niners should not have a problem controlling this game from start to finish. We know how they want to play; establish the you know what out of the ball while simultaneously dominating time of possession.
Enter Elijah Mitchell, who Kyle Shanahan has shown he trusts implicitly to be his bell cow when healthy. We can expect him to get close to 20+ carries in this spot as they likely keep Trey Lance on a short leash in just his third NFL start. Mitchell is a favorite to find the paint and should challenge for the 100-yard bonus.
On the other side, there should be a bunch of opportunities for short receptions for both Mooney and Kmet; and at their respective prices, this could lead to 4x salary performances. If one of them finds the end zone they will absolutely smash their salary-based expectations.
If you are feeling frisky you can throw Justin Fields onto this stack, as he is cheap and has additional upside with his legs, however, with the Bears team total being as low as it is, I would keep that to large field play only.
Joe Mixon + Bengals D/ST
- Joe Mixon ($7,100 DraftKings, $8,300 FanDuel)
- Bengals D/ST ($3,600 DraftKings, $4,400 FanDuel)
When you think of stacking, most people assume it’s with a quarterback and his pass catchers. However, there are other ways to stack, and that includes pairing a running back with his defense. It’s pretty simple when you think about it, right? A team is winning, the defense is shutting the other team down, so they have little incentive to keep their foot on the gas on offense meaning we should see an uptick in rushing attempts for that team.
This week the matchup that stands out is Joe Mixon paired with the Bengals defense. This is probably slightly better suited for FanDuel with their flatter defense pricing, but it still works great on DraftKings as well. The Steelers currently have an implied team total of 19, which is tied with the Giants for third worst on the slate, trailing only the Jets, Falcons and Bears. Mitch Trubisky, while an upgrade over the corpse of Ben Roethlisberger, is not very imposing, especially on the road in the division against the reigning AFC Champs.
The Bengals were middle of the pack in most defensive metrics last season, but they should absolutely be able to generate pressure against the Steelers’ bottom-five offensive line in this spot.
While the Steelers were not terrible against the pass last season, they were one of the worst teams in the NFL at stopping the run. They ranked dead last in yards per carry allowed and second-worst in total rush yards allowed and did very little in the draft or free agency to fix these problems.
The Bengals have a completely revamped offensive line, which was one of their biggest problems last season. Joe Mixon should have a field day in a game Cincinnati should control. As it stands, Mixon has a rushing prop of 70.5 which is top-five on the slate, and if the game plays out the way Vegas thinks, he should easily eclipse 20 carries in this spot.
He’s also -155 to score a touchdown on DK Sportsbook which is the third-shortest on the slate behind Jonathan Taylor and Derrick Henry. There’s a strong chance the Steelers get trucked in this game, and the two biggest beneficiaries of that occurring will be Mixon + Cincy D.
