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
Looking at the kick returner options this week there was not a lot that stood out to me. The one name that got me somewhat excited is Jamison Crowder, as not only does he handle all the punt return duties for Washington he also has carved out a significant role in the offense. Crowder is averaging 6 targets a week on offense and has a line of 24/283/3 on the season and gets a nice matchup against the Detroit Lions. The Lions are the 5th worst defense when it comes to giving up fantasy points to the wide receiver position as they are giving up 14 receptions for 182 yards and 1.5 touchdowns a game. With Jordan Reed possibly being out with a concussion this weekend Kirk Cousins is going to spread out those targets to the wide receivers and Crowder could see close to double digit targets. Crowder has returned 10 kicks on the season as well with 1 of those going for an 85-yard punt return touchdown. Washington's defense has a tougher matchup against the Lions pass happy offense but with not much of a run game they can focus on shutting that down this week. Washington's defense has had 8 sacks, a fumble recovery and a return touchdown while only allowing 30 points to Baltimore and Philadelphia combined. Stacking Crowder and Washington's defense will be very contrarian as there are other options in Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson on offense and the defense is not one that stands out as they are on the road in Detroit.
Secondary Option: WR Adam Humphries + Tampa Bay Buccaneers 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 DeMarco Murray + K Ryan Succop, Tennessee Titans
We just saw what Lamar Miller did to this Indianapolis Colts defense on Sunday Night Football as he had 178 total yards and a pair of touchdowns. It is hard not to just insert DeMarco Murray into your lineup this weekend and hope for similar numbers as the Titans are on the rise and have a chance to separate themselves from the Colts in the AFC South Division. The Titans are a -2.5 Vegas point favorite and this game has an over/under set at 48 points. Murray is having a huge year so far as he is averaging 87 rushing yards, 4 catches and 28 receiving yards and a touchdown each game. So far this season Murray has seen 20, 19, 21, 27, 32, and 21 total touches in each of his 6 games. That is 23 touches a game on average and this week against the Colts you have to think that number will reach closer to 30. Murray will be one of the higher owned players in DFS this week as the RB position doesn't have any other clear cut stud RB's who are guaranteed that many touches. Both the Chiefs and the Falcons are in great spots for the running game against the Saints and the Chargers awful run defenses but both of those teams have RBBC approaches right now with Ware/Charles and Freeman/Coleman. With Murray you get all the touches in a great matchup so paying up for him makes a lot of sense. With Murray projected to be very highly owned pairing him with his kicker Ryan Succop makes a lot of sense. Succop will likely be a fairly low owned kicking option this week as he has only kicked 6 field goals on the season and with Murray gaining a lot of yards on the ground he could put the Titans in more field goal opportunities this week.
Secondary Option: RB Devonta Freeman + K Matt Bryant, Atlanta Falcons
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 Philip Rivers + RB Melvin Gordon, San Diego Chargers
This could be the perfect storm type of game for Philip Rivers this week against the Atlanta Falcons in the Dome. The Falcons have given up the third most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks with 298 yards and 2.3 touchdowns given up on average. Rivers is averaging 275 yards and 2 touchdown passes a week through 6 games and is coming off a huge division victory over the Denver Broncos. This game has the highest over/under at 53.5 points with the Falcons being a -6.5 favorite. In any game script, Rivers is in line to put up some big numbers as if the Chargers get off to a quick start it will likely be through the air and if they are losing there will be plenty of garbage points to be hard for Rivers and company. With the star RB position being hard to fit in a RB2 this week, it could be Melvin Gordon that fits the bill as many in the industry will see his yards per carry of 3.39 and be scared off. What I see is the 21.6 touches per game and the 7 touchdowns on the season. Pairing Rivers with Gordon makes sense as Danny Woodhead and Keenan Allen are out for the year so Gordon is seeing more looks in the passing game as he has 14 catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. Combining Rivers 12 passing touchdowns and Gordon's 6 rushing touchdowns you are looking at an average of 3 touchdowns out of this combo on a weekly basis. With a prime matchup against the Falcons there is no reason to not think the two can combine for that average once again this week.
Secondary Option: QB Andrew Luck + RB Frank Gore, Indianapolis Colts
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 Allen Hurns, Jacksonville Jaguars + WR Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders
Next to the the Chargers/Falcons game this game with the Raiders against the Jaguars is the one that I want to target. Allen Robinson makes the most sense as the top option for the Jaguars as he is the big name and has been the favorite of Blake Bortles over the past year and a half but the last two games have me worried as he only has caught 8 passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. Robinson has yet to put up more than 72 yards on the season and has just 3 touchdowns on the year. Last week we saw Allen Hurns see 11 targets for 5 catches and 74 yards. The price is right on Hurns throughout the industry and the matchup is one of the best he will see all season. The Raiders defense is third worst when it comes to allowing fantasy points to the wide receiver position as they have given up a 14/205/1.2 average so far this season. Both Hurns and Robinson make for great plays this week and you really can't go wrong with either one but Hurns offers some nice salary relief. On the flip side the Jaguars pass defense is also one that you want to target as they are the 6th worst team at giving up fantasy points to opposing wide receivers with a 15/177/1.4 line. Also just like the Jaguars the Raiders have a pair of options at wide receiver to consider in Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper. I prefer Cooper because of the 25 targets and 16/267/1 line over the past two games. Cooper and Hurns together gives you plenty of upside and if this game is a back and forth shootout type it will be due to both passing games going off.
Secondary Option: WR Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers + WR Torrey Smith, San Francisco 49ers
If you have any additional questions or comments please feel free to hit my up on Twitter @JamesBrimacombe