This piece will identify some of my favorite DFS stacks of the weekend. Be sure to use our Stacking tool found within our Player Models to find the highest projected stacks, the stacks that figure to be chalky, and more. Our Correlations page is also a great resource to find hidden edges in stacking positions and games.
Quarterback + Tight End + Opposing Running Back
- Lamar Jackson ($7300 DraftKings, $8400 FanDuel)
- Mark Andrews ($4900 DraftKings, $6500 FanDuel)
- Derrick Henry ($8000 DraftKings, $8200 FanDuel)
The Ravens passing offense has been among the biggest disappointments in fantasy football this year, but there is simply too much talent for this to continue all season. The Lamar Jackson boom week is coming, and Week 11 provides an ideal setting.
Baltimore is coming off a disappointing 23-17 loss to New England on Sunday Night Football. The Ravens have lost two of their last three games and need to get their offense rolling before a Thanksgiving rematch with their bitter rival, Pittsburgh.
Tennessee’s defense has been brutal all season. They have allowed the fifth-most schedule-adjusted fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks, including 308 passing yards at home to Philip Rivers in Week 10. The Titans defensive line has only generated a 3.7% sack rate, ranking only better than 32nd ranked Jacksonville.
After losing Pro Bowl offensive lineman Ronnie Stanley (ankle) for the season and placing guard Tyre Phillips on the injured reserve, the Ravens will rely more than ever on offensive production from Jackson’s arm and legs.
On FanDuel, Jackson has surprisingly dropped to the third most expensive quarterback behind Aaron Rodgers and rookie Justin Herbert. I expect Jackson’s ownership to be low, especially coming off consecutive subpar QB16, QB18, and QB7 performances.
The season-ending knee injury to tight end Nick Boyle will open up even more opportunity for teammate Mark Andrews. Despite tallying seven receptions for only 61 receiving yards, Andrews’ Week 10 stat line was good enough to register as the overall TE1. At the uninspiring fantasy tight end position, his multi-touchdown ability brings the highest upside of any available tight end.
Andrews has two games with multiple touchdowns and has finished as an overall Top 3 fantasy tight end on four separate occasions. Tight End is the toughest weekly DFS position to fill, and our FantasyLabs Bales Model has Andrews with the highest projected point floor (7.9) and ceiling (16.5) on DraftKings.
This is a clear revenge spot for the Ravens, who were defeated at home by the Titans 28-12 in last year’s AFC Divisional Playoffs. In that game, Derrick Henry steamrolled Baltimore for 195 rushing yards at 6.5 yards per carry. While Tennessee will not have starting left tackle Taylor Lewan (torn ACL) for this rematch, the Ravens will also be missing several key defensive linemen.
Baltimore DE Calais Campbell and run-stopping NT Brandon Williams are both ruled out, leaving a huge void in the Ravens run defense. Last week, New England’s Damien Harris tallied 159 rushing yards and 5.5 yards per carry against Baltimore.
Henry comes with a steep price tag, but his floor is secured by high weekly volume. He has seen at least 18 carries in every game this season, and has 20 or more carries in six games.
The price of this stack is steep, but the projected ownership is surprisingly low. On our Bales Model on FantasyLabs, Jackson is projected for around 13-16% ownership with Henry only projecting at 5-8%.
Using my normal weekly settings in the FantasyLabs Optimizer, this stack presented in the lineup with the top projected total on FanDuel.
This stack is based on a belief in Jackson, Henry’s volume, and Andrews rare positional upside. There aren’t many times you can build a Lamar Jackson stack that will be this contrarian.
Quarterback + Wide Receiver + Wide Receiver + Opposing Wide Receiver
- Ben Roethlisberger ($6700 DraftKings, $8000 FanDuel)
- Diontae Johnson ($5900 DraftKings, $6400 FanDuel)
- Chase Claypool ($6100 DraftKings, $6400 FanDuel)
- D.J. Chark ($5700 DraftKings, $6200 FanDuel)
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has transformed the Steelers passing attack after recovering from offseason elbow surgery. Despite ranking just 27th among all quarterbacks in yards per attempt (6.7), he is in the midst of one of the most efficient seasons of his 17-year career.
Roethlisberger ranks fifth in passing touchdowns (22) and has tallied consecutive QB7 and QB3 performances. He now faces a Jaguars defense that has allowed the eighth-most receiving yards and ninth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. Here are the wide receiver tandem performances allowed by Jacksonville over just the past two weeks:
- Will Fuller (5/100/1), Brandin Cooks (3/83/1)
- Davante Adams (8/66/1), Marquez Valdes-Scantling (4/149/1)
- Keenan Allen (10/125), Jalen Guyton (2/84/1)
The first Pittsburgh stacked receiver must be Diontae Johnson. In the games he completed and was not injured, Johnson has averaged 11.8 targets, seven receptions, 84.4 receiving yards, and 0.8 touchdowns. He is the clear WR1 for the Steelers and his route tree variation ensures his involvement in the offense.
There is a strong case to be made for double-stacking Roethlisberger and Johnson with another Pittsburgh wideout.
When deciding between Chase Claypool and JuJu Smith-Schuster, I favored the rookie Claypool based on red zone usage and efficiency. Claypool ranks second among all wideouts with nine total touchdowns. He has also seen a huge increase in volume, with 32 targets over Pittsburgh’s last three games. Claypool’s 4.42 speed has facilitated 16 targets of 20 yards or more, eighth-most among all wideouts.
I’m completing this stack with Jaguars alpha-WR D.J. Chark. Jacksonville rookie quarterback Jake Luton has used his strong arm to already facilitate chemistry with Chark.
In Week 9, Chark registered the overall WR5 performance with 12 targets, seven receptions, 146 receiving yards, and a touchdown. Always with a high air yards count, Chark should see plenty of opportunities in a game Jacksonville is expected to be trailing. Similar to the old Allen Robinson days, Chark could match 3x value with extreme garbage time production.
Using the FantasyLabs Optimizer, I prioritized this four-player stack and generated the following DraftKings lineup:
The Chark projected ownership at 0-1% provides roster variation, and Roethlisberger’s sub-$7k price allows enough salary relief for big plays at other positions such as Keenan Allen and Ezekiel Elliott.
If Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin follows his trend of keeping road games close when the Steelers are a big favorite, both offenses will post big fantasy performances.
Quarterback + Wide Receiver + Opposing Wide Receiver
- Kirk Cousins ($6,200 DraftKings, $7,100 FanDuel)
- Adam Thielen ($6,300 DraftKings, $7,900 FanDuel)
- Amari Cooper ($5,400 DraftKings, $6,900 FanDuel)
When selecting a DFS stack, it’s important to project a specific game script. Will the game be close? A blowout? High-scoring? When reviewing the Week 11 slate, I want to have exposure to the passing attacks in the Dallas-Minnesota game.
At first glance, this stack appears contrarian. The Vikings are a seven-point home favorite which could equate to a heavy Dalvin Cook/Andrew Mattison ground attack. The Dallas passing game has struggled mightily, ranking only 27th in overall offensive DVOA and 28th in passing DVOA per FootballOutsiders. However, the return of veteran quarterback Andy Dalton should make this a high-scoring, close battle.
Dalton’s return should provide a boost to their talented wide receiver core. Wide receiver Amari Cooper’s season has gone very much under the radar. He ranks seventh among all wideouts in targets (83) and receptions (59) on a Dallas team that runs the most pass plays per game (46.2). The Cowboys also play at the fastest pace of any NFL team at only 22.5 seconds per play. When Dallas has been trailing by more than seven points, they are even faster with only 20.7 seconds per play.
Dallas’ defense has allowed the second-most fantasy points and receiving touchdowns to opposing wide receivers. While Minnesota would prefer a run-heavy game script, if the Cowboys’ offense can put up points, the Vikings will need to attack Dallas through the air. The Cowboys already lost top cornerback Trevon Diggs for several weeks with a broken foot. Diggs was the only Dallas cornerback that ranked inside the Top 96 cornerbacks in cornerbacks in coverage rating per PFF.
The Cousins-Thielen connection has always been strong, even in games with low pass volume. Thielen is always a central part of the offense, regardless of the attempts. There have been six games this season where Thielen had a target share at 25% or higher.
He also brings upside, and has the sixth-highest ceiling in Week 11 on DraftKings, per the FantasyLabs Bales Model.
Cousins has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks this season, ranking first in yards per attempts (8.8) and second in Production Premium (+34.8) per PlayerProfiler. Like most quarterbacks, he is at his best in a clean pocket. Cousins’ 78.6% clean pocket completion percentage ranks sixth at the position.
Dallas’ defensive line brings minimal pressure, ranking 20th in adjusted sack rate (FootballOutsiders). If the Dallas offense can score points, Cousins should have no problem generating solid fantasy passing production.
Using the optimizer, I set several positional rules to try and maximize my favorite structural lineups plays.
The two most important rules from the above list are:
- Pair QB with at least 2 RB, WR, TE from the same team
- Pair QB with at least 1 RB, WR, TE from the opponent
Using DraftKings, I was able to generate the following stack:
This allows me to get exposure to the Cousins-Thielen stack as well as RB Dalvin Cook, who had a monster game (7 receptions, 183 yards, 1 touchdown) against Dallas last season. This also includes Cooper as well as Diontae Johnson from the Pittsburgh stack above.
The general narrative on this game is a big Vikings win, led by a massive rushing performance from Cook. If Dallas puts up a tough fight coming off their bye, this game could actually finish as the highest-scoring game on the Sunday main slate. If the efficient Kirk Cousins gets volume, he will put up a monster week with Thielen as the direct beneficiary.
Running Back + Defense/Special Teams
- Damien Harris ($5,700 DraftKings, $5,800 FanDuel)
- Patriots D/ST ($3,000 DraftKings, $4,300 FanDuel)
This RB + D/ST stack is a nice contrarian option because of the one-dimensional production of New England running back Damien Harris.
The full-point per reception on DraftKings and 0.5 PPR on FanDuel causes many DFS players to shy away from running backs that don’t catch passes. However, the lead RB for the Patriots has always been an exception.
Harris is coming off a fantastic 121 rushing yard performance against Baltimore in the Patriots surprise 23-17 win on Sunday Night Football.
This week, Harris will face a Houston defense that has allowed the second-most schedule-adjusted fantasy yards to opposing running backs. The Texans have allowed a league-high 1389 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns to opposing rushers.
Houston’s explosive offense is a challenge for the New England defense, but backing Bill Belichick in any game is never a bad idea. The Patriots allow the fifth-fewest fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks and fourth-fewest to opposing tight ends.
Harris’ reasonable price allows for representation from almost every stack listed above.
Look for Bill Belichick’s defense to limit the Texans offense and control game script with Harris. This affordable RB + D/ST stack could be the center piece to a winning Week 11 DFS lineup.
