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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 Tyler Lockett (PR/KR/WR) + Seattle Seahawks Defense
Whatever the case is Tyler Lockett's season has been an up and down one as he was predicted to be a breakout player heading into the year and hasn't had must production until recently. On the season he has 63 targets for 39 receptions, 559 receiving yards and a touchdown along with 114 rushing yards and an additional touchdown. Breaking it down even further and Lockett has started to come alive over the past 3 weeks as he has 20 targets for 16/234/1 through the air and another 85 rushing yards and his other touchdown on the ground. He is becoming one of Russell Wilson's favorite targets over the past three weeks and should see around 5-8 targets again this week in a good home matchup against the Cardinals. Lockett also handles all the punt and kickoff return duties for the Seahawks and has 27 punt returns for 236 yards with a 62-yarder being his longest. He has returned 22 kickoffs for 578 yards and a 46-yard return is his longest there and although he hasn't broken a return for a touchdown yet this season he looks primed to do so at anytime as he is getting plenty of opportunities and has showed last season that he has the ability to do so at any moment. Pairing up Lockett with the Seahawks defense makes a lot of sense as the Seahawks are playing at home against the Cardinals who have been elmiminated from the playoffs and they are a team that the Seahawks only allowed 6 points to back in Week 7. The Seahawks are always one of the highest touted defensive team plays each week based on name value alone but to be fair 2016 hasn't been that banner year as far as stats go that they have seen in past years. They have 36 sacks, 11 interceptions, 5 fumble recoveries, 1 safety and 1 return touchdown on the season so far. You are hoping for a few sacks in this game as they had 4 back in Week 7 and also hoping for a couple of forced turnovers and of course that return touchdown from Lockett to help you double dip in fantasy points.
Secondary Option: WR Tavon Austin + Los Angeles Rams 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 Devonta Freeman + K Matt Bryant, Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers are a tougher draw for Devonta Freeman and the Falcons this week compared to their easy matchup against the 49ers last week. The Panthers are the 8th best ranked team against opposing teams running backs allowing 72 rushing yards 0.5 touchdowns and 6 receptions for 47 receiving yards and 0.1 touchdowns through the air. On the flip side Freeman is coming off his biggest game of the season as he rushed for 139 yards and 3 touchdowns and added a pair of catches for 16 more yards against the 49ers last week. Freeman now has 930 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns on the year along with 41/346/2 through the air. It is a tough matchup so the ownership is likely going to be lower this week and based on his performance against the Panthers back in Week 4, Freeman still found room on the ground as he rushed 13 times for 57 yards and a touchdown and added 2 catches for 7 yards. The Falcons are still looking to lock up the division title and have an outside shot at picking up the #2 seed in the NFC. This game is predicted to be one of the highest scoring games on the week as Vegas has it predicted as a 52 point over/under game with the Falcons as a modest -2.5 favorite so there are going to be yards and points to be had in this one. Pairing kicker Matt Bryant with Freeman gives you both the running back yardage and if he fails to get into the endzone and they have to settle for a field goal you get the kickers points as well. Matt Bryant has been one of the best kickers on the season as he is 29 of 31 on field goals on the season and 48 of 49 on extra points. The Falcons score alot of points each week and Bryant is one that always seems to get his no matter what as his worst game of the season was 6 fantasy points when he didn't kick a single field goal but had 6 successful extra points made. Bryant has 10 games where he has kicked multi field goals and has been one of the most consistent kickers in the league this year.
Secondary Option: RB Ezekiel Elliott + K Dan Bailey, Dallas Cowboys
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 Ben Roethlisberger + RB LeVeon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers
One of the best rival games each year is the Ravens and Steelers and this week should be no different as the two are battling for the division title right up until the last week. If the Steelers win this game they clinch the division so you are going to expect them to come out slinging the ball and it all starts with Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback who threw for 264 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another one back in Week 9 against the Ravens. Roethlisberger has had a fine season with 3540 passing yards and 27 total touchdowns in 13 games this season. That averages out to 272 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns a game and those are the numbers you are shooting for in this game as his floor. We all know his ceiling is much higher as he has 4 games of 300+ yards, and 6 games of 3+ touchdowns already this season. When stacking quarterbacks with running backs it always seems as if the Roethlisberger and Bell stack is the best one out there. Bell is not only one of the leagues best pure running backs on the ground as he has 1146 yards and 6 touchdowns rushing he also is an incredible receiver as he has 90 targets for 72 receptions, 601 receiving yards and another touchdown via the passing game. Those numbers are through 11 games as he was suspended for the teams first 3 games. All seven of his touchdowns have also come over the past six games as he continues to find the endzone and put up some massive fantasy numbers. If there was ever a time to stack Roethlisberger and Bell together this week looks like the week to do so.
Secondary Option: QB Dak Prescott + RB Ezekiel Elliott, Dallas Cowboys
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 Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers + WR Brandin Cooks, New Orleans Saints
The Buccaneers and Saints have the second highest Vegas over/under at 52.5 points and the Saints being a -3.0 favorite. There are going to be points to be had in this game as both teams have solid passing games with strong quarterback play and stud wide receiver options. On the Buccaneers side you have Mike Evans who is having a career year with 153 targets for 84/1159/10 stat line and with the Bucs fighting for a playoff spot they will likely lean on him in a big way this week. It wouldn't be shocking if Evans had a 12+ target game here with plenty of looks in the endzone as this game could turn into a back and forth touchdown battle. Evans has 3 games where he has scored 2 touchdowns this year and on the other side of the game Brandin Cooks has 2 games where he has had 2 touchdown games. If you play both of these guys as a stack and they combine for 4 touchdowns you are going to right near the top of the leaderboard in your contest this week. Cooks has put together a solid season with 102 targets for 70/1056/8 stat line and with Drew Brees at quarterback any single week can be a huge one for him. We are looking for offensive fireworks in this game and hoping we get it with the Evans and Cooks combo.
Secondary Option: WR Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos + TE Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs
If you have any additional questions or comments please feel free to hit my up on Twitter @JamesBrimacombe