Last week, as in every week, the DFSers who brought home GPP winnings were the ones who successfully identified the slates' high-octane stacks. Those who correctly assumed Jared Goff and the Rams would continue the tradition of shredding the beaten-up Texans were rewarded handsomely, while those who loaded up on the Vegas-darling Falcons were not. Which two stacks are shaping up as your Week 11 favorites? (Let's keep it to QB/WR or QB/TE, but feel free to talk up power stacks and cross-stacks within games.) Give us:
1. your safest and most confident stack, one fully suitable for a low-risk cash lineup, and
2. at least one low-cost and/or low-ownership stack that you feel can seriously tilt GPPs this weekend
Justin Bonnema: My top stack of the week is Tom Brady/Brandin Cooks. Cooks saw his highest target share of the year in Week 10 with Chris Hogan on the bench, and he tied Rob Gronkowski as the Patriots’ leading receiver in yards last week. This game is going to be all offense and I am going to have a lot of exposure to it. But I’m sure the crowd will feel the same way, so it won’t do you any favors from an ownership standpoint in GPPs.
Going off the radar, Kirk Cousins/Jamison Crowder screams value thanks to Crowder’s salary and their projected ownership, which our Steve Buzzard has at 3% and 5% respectively on both DraftKings and FanDuel. Crowder looked healthy last week and has drawn 24 targets over his last 2 games, catching 13 of them for 199 yards. Some might fear the Saints defense, and I get that, but this game is going to feature a lot of scoring and a lot of throwing. Cousins had a couple of rough games and bounced back in a big way last week. Maybe this is a mistake given the way the Saints defense has been playing and the fact that their offense runs the fourth slowest pace in the league. But I think this duo could swing tournaments with the crowd off of them.
Jason Wood: There are a few stacks I like this week.
Alex Smith/Travis Kelce – Smith remains one of the top-rated fantasy producers at his position, while Kelce is, of course, alongside Zach Ertz and Gronkowski as the best tight end. With Kansas City coming off a bye week (Andy Reid is exceptional following byes) and facing the lowly Giants, who have allowed at least one touchdown to opposing tight ends every week for two months and counting, this is a dream situation.
Carson Wentz/Zach Ertz – This is a more expensive option, but a safe one given their level of play all year combined with the inconsistent nature of the Cowboys back seven. That’s particularly big with Sean Lee likely missing the week.
A less conventional stack better suited to GPPs is Eli Manning/Sterling Shepard. Shepard is finally healthy and dominated statistically last week. He'll remain a target hog over the final six weeks of the year, and the Kansas City defense has been susceptible despite its reputation.
James Brimacombe: My favorite stack of the week is Wentz/Alshon Jeffery. I have seen a lot of people already on Wentz and Ertz this week, so I think that Jeffery might be lower-owned than what he should be. Jeffery is coming off a 6-catch, 84-yards, 2-touchdown performance against the Broncos in Week 9, and the week before had another touchdown against the 49ers. Wentz-to-Jeffery has connected for three touchdowns over their last two games, and in this primetime game against the Cowboys, the two have potential to keep the connection going and produce another big game.
Also, I am with Bonnema on the Cousins/Crowder stack. The duo has connected for 13 completions for 199 yards across 24 targets over the past 2 games. Cousins is desperate for a weapon in this offense, and getting nothing from Terrelle Pryor or Jordan Reed, he is finally looking in Crowder's direction and trying to feed him the ball. It is hard to pass up on Crowder on the cheap this week, especially with his 12-target average over the past 2 games.
Justin Howe: Looks like I’m not alone on the Cousins/Crowder pairing. I’m hoping their ownership doesn’t skyrocket over the week’s news cycle, but this looks absurdly cheap. The Saints have greatly boosted their pass defense reputation in recent weeks, but most of that has been due to the play of rookie cornerback Marson Lattimore, who plays on the boundary and virtually never comes inside. Crowder runs roughly 80% of his routes from the slot, where nickelback Kenny Vaccaro is solid but could struggle to contain the lightning-quick Crowder. Cousins and Crowder teaming up for 7 catches and 90 yards – you don’t even need a touchdown to pull GPP value from here! – would make this one of the week’s strongest stacks. And you can enjoy it while filling out solidly elsewhere.
For lower risk (and cash play), it makes all the sense in the world to pair Alex Smith and either Kelce or Tyreek Hill. Kansas City matches up with a Giants defense that’s talented but appears to have given up; they’ve allowed 51 and 31 points in their last 2 games. Opponents are both running and throwing on them with great ease, and Kansas City’s streamlined offense means virtually all of their production will flow through these three guys. Hill in particular gets a strong GPP boost; for whatever reason, he’s averaging just 38 yards and 0.0 touchdowns at home this year, but 93 and 0.8 on the road.
Dan Hindery: The safest stack for cash games is Alex Smith/Kelce. Kansas City has an implied team total of 28 points and the New York Giants’ biggest weakness is defending the tight end. They’ve allowed a touchdown to an opposing tight end every single week this season. It is hard to pass on Kelce in cash games this week, and Smith is also a top option who comes at a $700 discount from Brady.
I will go with a very under-the-radar stack and point to Joe Flacco/Mike Wallace. We have Flacco projected for 2% ownership and Wallace projected for 4% on DraftKings. The duo is attractive because it comes at a combined cost of just $8,700 ($4,900 for Flacco and $3,800 for Wallace). The Ravens’ struggling pass offense was able to regroup and get healthier over the bye week; Flacco is asking for more aggressive play calling and said he wants to take more deep shots. Wallace is a deep ball specialist and it isn’t hard to imagine him getting behind the awful Green Bay pass defense for a long touchdown. If Wallace does catch a long score, this duo could easily top 40 points and hit 4-5x the $8,700 salary. Over the past three weeks, the Packers have given up 331 passing yards to Drew Brees, 361 to Matthew Stafford, and 297 to Mitchell Trubisky. The Packers have multiple starters in the secondary who are listed as questionable, too, which could make the already attractive matchup even better.
Jeff Pasquino: I think I mentioned my favorite stack on another thread (this one) and that's Jared Goff. I would pair him with Todd Gurley; that's my hot take approach this week, to look for QB/RB stacks, which are often overlooked. The key is to find pass-catching running backs. guys like Rex Burkhead (Brady) and Jerrick McKinnon (Case Keenum), for example.
One stack that will go WAY underowned and overlooked is Jay Ajayi and the Eagles defense. Dallas gave up a ton of sacks last week and they are going to be short on their offensive line options again this week. Philadelphia is relatively cheap on FanDuel (the only place you can play them on a main slate, aside from FantasyDraft or Yahoo) and the projected ownership is very low.
For other great stacks and takes, be sure to look at our GPP lineups and also watch the latter part of the Power Grid show!
