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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 Jamison Crowder (PR/WR) + Washington Defense
Jamison Crowder has played an average of 46 snaps a game this season on offense and over three games he has been targeted by Kirk Cousins 25 times for a 16/175/2 stat line. That's an average of 5 catches and 58 yards with touchdowns in 2 of 3 games and is not bad for an under priced and under the radar type of player against a Cleveland Browns team that just gave up a 7/120/1 stat line to Jarvis Landry who plays a similar role as Crowder. On top of Crowder's offensive production this season he also has the ability to return punts as he has 5 return attempts on the season so far for a 21 yard average with a 50-yard return being his longest. He has yet to break one free for a touchdown return but he always has a chance and a game in which Washington gets a weaker Cleveland team this week at home, he should have plenty of punt return opportunities and all that it takes is one good return. Washington's defense has been modest so far this season with 7 sacks, 3 interceptions, and 2 forced fumbles so far this season but this will be a plus matchup for them against a Browns team that is starting Cody Kessler for the second straight week.
Secondary Option: WR Tavon Austin + Los Angeles Rams
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 Melvin Gordon + K Josh Lambo, San Diego Chargers
For a player that could not find the endzone in his rookie season, Melvin Gordon is surely making up for it in 2016 as he has scored at least one touchdown in each of his 3 games this season and has 4 total touchdowns on the year. Everything is trending upwards for Gordon in this home matchup against the Saints who are coming off a performance where the Atlanta Falcons ran all over them as Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman combined for 26 carries for 194 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns, 8 receptions, 102 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown. The Falcons pounded the ball with their duo of running backs and with the Chargers now missing Danny Woodhead for the season it is going to be a full workload for Gordon in this game. Gordon has averaged 20 carries and 3.5 receptions over the past two games and is in line for a similar usage against the Saints this week. Gordon has saw an increase in targets as the year has progressed with 0, 3, and 7 so on top of what he can do in the running game, quarterback Philip Rivers is going to be looking to also get him involved in the passing game. A game between the Saints and Chargers equals a fast paced type of game that both teams should be able to move the ball with ease up and down the field and plenty of scoring opportunities should be had by both teams which means both kickers are in play here. Josh Lambo makes for a nice stack with Melvin Gordon as Lambo is averaging 2 field goals and 3 extra points a game through the teams first 3 games and that same type of performance should be had once again this week against a bad Saints defense.
Secondary Option: RB C.J. Anderson + K Brandon McManus, Denver Broncos
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 Matthew Stafford + RB Theo Riddick, Detroit Lions
One of the more obvious stacks of the week will probably be the combo of quarterback Matthew Stafford and wide receiver Marvin Jones. I can't fault you for going in that direction as the two have been on the same page all season so far but a way to zig zag somewhat on this popular stack might be to go with the unconventional QB/RB stack. The Bears defense has struggled through 3 games and Stafford is in a really good spot here to put up some big points in the passing game. He is off to a solid start to the 2016 season with 7 touchdown passes and 985 passing yards and he torched the Bears defense last season in the two games they played for 703 passing yards, 7 passing touchdowns, and 47 yards rushing. This will be a multi touchdown type of performance again for Stafford and pairing him with their pass catching back in Theo Riddick makes a lot of sense as he already has 16 receptions, 130 receiving yards and a touchdown through the air this season and has shown that he is Matthew Stafford's favorite target that is not named Marvin Jones. With Ameer Abdullah placed on injured reserve there is also additional opportunities in the running game for Riddick as he will split carries with rookie Dwayne Washington. The Stafford and Riddick stack makes for the best QB/RB stack on the board and even if you want to look at a triple stack and add Marvin Jones in there you would be differentiating your team and if the Lions offense can score some big points the production is probably coming from these three players alone. It could be a solid GPP team core that has all three players with high ownership percentages but played as a triple stack will be very low owned.
Secondary Option: QB Drew Brees + RB Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints
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 Brandin Cooks, New Orleans Saints + WR Travis Benjamin, San Diego Chargers
The New Orleans Saints and San Diego Chargers game has the highest over/under total at 53.5 points. One of the key areas in trying to predict which players will score big fantasy points is doing a game script and finding out which game will have a back and forth scoring battle. The Saints and Chargers fit the bill on this week and after a disappointing Week 3 for Brandin Cooks where he only caught 2 of 8 targets for 13 yards he will be looking to get back on track with Drew Brees. If this game is going to be the shootout that everyone thinks it has to be Brandin Cooks that gets 8-10 targets and converts them this time around. Travis Benjamin is on the flip side for the Chargers and has had a fine season through the teams first 3 games with a 17/229/2 stat line as he has become one of Philip Rivers favorite targets after losing both Danny Woodhead and Keenan Allen to season ending injuries. Both Cooks and Benjamin have already had multi touchdown games to their name this young season and the potential of them both going off in the same game this week is a possibility. Stacking WRs from opposing teams comes with some risk but if the game is anywhere near what Vegas predicts at 53.5 total points, you have to figure both Cooks and Benjamin will be two key reasons why.
Secondary Option: WR Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers + Jeremy Maclin, Kansas City Chiefs
If you have any additional questions or comments please feel free to hit my up on Twitter @JamesBrimacombe