Every Friday, this article provides 7-10 FanDuel stacks. Most of these positively correlated combinations are best suited for tournament play. But some of the safer duos with high floors can be used in cash games. We'll discuss highly-owned stacks with some twists to make them more unique. We'll also unearth less common stacks for top-heavy contests and create strong lineup anchors with defensive stacks.
Highly-Owned Stacks
Philip Rivers ($7,500) + Antonio Gates ($5,500) = $13,000
Because the Chargers played on Monday night, this week's prices don't reflect their strong arial performance. Gates and Rob Gronkowski will be the highest-owned tight ends of the week. As 10-point underdogs to the Packers, the Chargers will have to go pass-heavy to keep up with one of the league's most dynamic offenses.
Carson Palmer ($8,000) + Larry Fitzgerald ($7,500) = $15,500
The prolific Cardinals duo still feels underpriced to me. They're the only QB-WR combo that are both in the top five at their respective positions in FanDuel fantasy scoring this season. And they face a Steelers defense in Pittsburgh that's had more success stopping the run than the pass. Arizona should continue rolling.
Twist: Michael Floyd ($4,900) is seeing plenty of playing time and will have a couple of monster games this season. I don't like chasing so rare of an occurrence, but the upside potential and salary savings is tempting.
Blake Bortles ($7,300) + Allen Robinson ($6,700) = $14,000
While the over/under for the Jaguars hosting the Texans is only 43 points, it's easy to imagine this matchup of bad teams getting out of hand like last week's 31-38 Jaguars shootout at Tampa Bay. Allen Robinson is the upside play in the Jaguars' offense. With T.J. Yeldon and Denard Robinson banged up, the Jaguars will have no choice but to lean heavily on their passing game.
Twist: Using Allen Hurns ($6,500) will only save $200, but Hurns has been the more consistent producer and might provide that extra sliver of budget to upgrade one of your other players.
Less Common Stacks
Sam Bradford ($7,700) + Jordan Matthews ($6,600) = $14,300
The Giants defense is the only one in the league that allows teams to overperform by 30% in all the major passing categories. This is the week that Matthews gets things back on track.
Twist: Zach Ertz ($5,000) is coming off of a solid 60-yard game to face a Giants' defense that allows fantasy tight ends to overperform by a league-worst 91 percent. Stacking either of the Eagles top pass catchers in one of the highest scoring games of the week is a solid bet for success.
Cam Newton ($8,000) + Greg Olsen ($6,300) = $14,300
Facing the Seahawks in Seattle, the sportsbooks project Carolina to be the lowest scoring team of the week. Maybe the odds are stacked too much against the Panthers, or maybe there are just enough negatives to chase away ownership of a highly productive stack. Covering tight ends is Seattle's biggest weakness. The Panthers don't need to score a ton to make this stack work if almost all of the fantasy goodness flows through their top two playmakers.
Defensive Stacks
New York Jets ($4,800) + Chris Ivory ($7,300) = $12,100
New York hosts Washington on Sunday, and Vegas projects Washington to score the second fewest points of the week. The Jets are one of only three defenses that deliver a negative fantasy impact to all four offensive skill positions. And in the case of Washington, I use the work "skill" loosely. Ivory will have his work cut out for him against one of the league's better run defenses. But volume will help him reach value.
Denver Broncos ($5,000) + C.J. Anderson ($6,600) = $11,600
The Broncos defense against the Browns is a no-brainer, even with the game in Cleveland. Anderson is the tougher sell. With Ronnie Hillman dealing with a hamstring injury and Juwan Thompson nicked up, the stage is set for Anderson to finally deliver on fantasy owners' hefty draft day investment. I think he finally rises to the challenge.
Detoit Lions ($4,300) + Matt Prater ($4,500) = $8,800
Feeling bold? Both the Lions and Prater have been mediocre fantasy performers this year. But they're three-point favorites hosting the Bears. Chicago showed signs of life by taking out the Chiefs on Sunday, but they're still the mistake-prone Bears after all. This cheap stack isn't for the faint of heart, but provides nice differentiation for a top-heavy payout structure.
Austin Lee snowboarded the sweet powder of Whistler-Blackcomb, nearly performed a high-flying trapeze stunt, and spent much of his childhood playing the Star Wars Customizable Card Game. For more of his DFS insights, watch The Footballguys Daily Fantasy Hour presented by Rotogrinders on Wednesdays at 9:30pm ET or listen to The Audible's FanDuel podcast on Friday mornings. Also check out his Normalized Strength of Schedule tool or hit him up for advice on Twitter.