When you are thinking of stacking players in DFS you automatically think of going with a quarterback and a wide receiver and most times there are also plenty of other DFS players that are thinking the exact same way as you when stacking them together. Now with so much information available weekly you are having to find new ways to differentiate yourself from the masses in GPP tournaments. One way to differentiate your team in GPP's is to look for "The Other Stack", which is one that is uncommon and one that will be very low owned if played together but one that also will offer upside to score some big points if it hits.
STACKING WR OR RB (KR/PR) WITH TEAM DEFENSE
One way to get off the common QB/WR stacks is to look for offensive players that have a big role in the offense but also return punts and/or kickoffs and hope to hit a home run by stacking that player with his teams Team Defense. If that player breaks a touchdown on a return you would essentially double dip and get the 6 fantasy points for that individual player as well as the 6 points for the Team Defense.
1) WR Tavon Austin (PR/KR/WR) + Los Angeles Rams Defense
Tavon Austin leads the NFL with 12 punt returns to date and so far he has yet to break one for a touchdown as his longest return was for 47-yards. The Rams are lacking talent on offense so Tavon Austin also plays one of the bigger roles there as he has 9 rushes for 50 yards and 23 catches for 218 yards and a touchdown on 45 targets. A lot of Austin's work is on short designed plays for him to try to get a catch and run and go the distance. This week he gets a plus matchup against the Lions who are the 10th worst pass defense and have given up 13/171/1.4 per game to the wide receiver position. Look for this game to stay close throughout and Austin to see 6-8 targets and having 3-4 punt return opportunities. Stacking Austin with the Rams defense gives you the double dip opportunity but it also gives you a solid defense to put up points by themselves as well. The Rams have 7 sacks, 4 interceptions, 3 fumble recoveries and 1 return touchdown over the past three games and are starting to find themselves on the defensive side of the ball. Stacking a WR/PR with a teams defense is only something you want to do in GPP's and this is the perfect combo on the week as both Austin and the Rams defense will be fairly low owned.
Secondary Option: WR John Brown + Arizona Cardinals Defense
STACKING RUNNING BACK WITH KICKER
When thinking of a stack in DFS the last one that comes to mind is stacking anyone with a kicker. We typically don't care about kickers in fantasy as we often look for the kicker with the high over/under, best matchup, kicking at home, kicking indoors, accuracy, long field goals, etc. This is where you can gain an edge/advantage in big field GPP's as you can look to pair a strong running back play with a low owned kicker to help differentiate your team and help reduce the ownership percentage of a chalky running back play on the week.
2) RB LeSean McCoy + K Dan Carpenter, Buffalo Bills
LeSean McCoy is likely to be the chalk of all chalk this week as he gets a plus matchup against the San Francisco 49ers who have given up an average of 133 yards and a touchdown to the running back position. McCoy has yet to have a game this season where he seen less than 19 touches total (20, 19, 20, 25, 20). He has made the most of those touches as he 17 carries for 89 rushing yards, 3.8 receptions, 19 receiving yards and 0.8 touchdowns a game. He knows how to create fantasy points with his touches and he should have plenty of opportunities to do some damage this week in a home matchup against the 49ers. The Bills are a -9 point favorite according to Vegas and are in the midst of a 3-game winning streak as their defense has allowed 37 points to the Cardinals, Patriots and Rams in that span. We know that McCoy will be the highest owned running back on the weekend as the matchup is just too good to pass up so to offset some of the heavy ownership it makes sense to pair him with his kicker Dan Carpenter who might not be on a lot of peoples mind. Carpenter is 7 for 9 so far in field goals this season and also has 12 extra points. With the Bills being such heavy favorites this game could get out of hand early in the 2nd half and some drives could end in a FG opportunity and possible points for Carpenter.
Secondary Option: RB Lamar Miller + K Nick Novak, Houston Texans
STACKING QUARTERBACK WITH RUNNING BACK
Looking back on 2015 we saw a lot of the big scores in GPP's consist of unlikely combos at the QB/RB positions. A Ben Roethlisberger stack with his starting running back in DeAngelo Williams or Le'veon Bell seemed to be a negative correlation on paper but it actually turned out to be one that was a huge advantage for the DFS players that weren't afraid to zig zag off your typical QB/WR stack. Another great example of this type of combo from last season was with the Kansas City Chiefs and QB Alex Smith with RB Jamaal Charles. If you can find the right QB or RB that is popular on the week and pair him with his teams QB or RB you are going to have an against the grain stack regardless if one of the two players are highly owned.
3) QB Drew Brees + RB Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints
We all know that Drew Brees can put up plenty of points at home in the dome and with the division rivals Carolina Panthers coming to town it is once again shaping up to have all the makings of shoot out type of game. Through the Saints first two home games against the Raiders and Falcons, Brees has completed 64 of 96 passes for 799 passing yards and 7 touchdowns. It has the feeling of just penciling in Brees for a 300+ yard 3 touchdown type of game as the Saints try to keep up with the Panthers. The Panthers were known as a top tier defense last season but this year they are ranked as the 12th worst defense against opposing quarterbacks. The over/under on this game is set at 53.0 points with the Panthers being the -2.5 road favorites. With such a high over/under you have to like both Brees and the running game here as the game will be played at a fast pace and Brees also doesn't hesitate to check down to his running backs. So far this season Mark Ingram has 19 targets in the passing game for 16 receptions, 125 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. Add in Ingram's numbers in the running game 54/221/1 and you have to think he will have plenty of touches in this game and the possibility of catching a touchdown from Brees is high.
Secondary Option: QB Brian Hoyer + RB Jordan Howard, Chicago Bears
STACKING OPPOSING TEAM WIDE RECEIVERS
One of the forgotten stacks is pairing wide receivers up from the same game on opposite teams. You want to look for a game with a tight point spread and with a high over/under that has potential to be a shoot out type. Teams that might play in a pass friendly dome or that lack a running game also help in this situation and are a positively-correlated non-QB/WR stack worth considering in GPPs. It also makes sense to stack one of the quarterbacks in this situation and even mix and match with each teams quarterback and a variety of different pass catchers on both teams.
4) WR Jeremy Maclin, Kansas City Chiefs + WR Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders
Jeremy Maclin has a great matchup against the Raiders this week in a rivalry game that always has a back and forth feel to it. The Raiders are the worst team in the NFL at defending the WR position as they have given up 15/219/1.4 line to that position so far this season. Only the Dolphins and Saints have given up more fantasy points to the wide receiver position. With the Chiefs it is easy to identify the top play in the offense as Jeremy Maclin is the clear cut choice as Alex Smith's favorite target. Maclin hasn't had his big breakout game yet this season as he has a line of 20/244/1 on 37 targets but if this game can stay close in a back and forth type of battle he should see upwards of 8-10 targets and plenty of chances at making some big plays. On the flip side of this game you have Amari Cooper coming off his best game of the year with 12 targets for 6/138/1. Cooper has 26 receptions for 456 yards and 1 touchdown on the year but looks to be on track to start finding the endzone once again. Expect an offensive showing in this game with both Maclin and Cooper being their respective quarterbacks favorite targets.
Secondary Option: TE Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers + WR Brandin Cooks, New Orleans Saints
If you have any additional questions or comments please feel free to hit my up on Twitter @JamesBrimacombe