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 Ted Ginn Jr (PR/KR/WR) + Carolina Defense
This week is a hard week in general to find a kick returner paired with a defense just because there is not a clear cut defense on the slate that is in a great matchup. The Panthers are a desperate team right now with a 1-5 record and are coming off a Week 7 bye so they are looking to get back on track with a home victory against the struggling Cardinals team as well. Ted Ginn Jr is coming off his most productive game of the year against the Saints where he was targeted 8 times for 5 catches and 54 yards and also seeing a couple of carries for 6 yards. Ginn is clearly a boom or bust player on offense and through 6 games he has a 14/191/0 stat line but we know that he can break a long touchdown at any point as he has proven that throughout his career and is coming off a 2015 season where he posted a 44/739/10 line. On top of all of Ginn's offensive production he also gives you an extra boost in the return game which you could turn into 6 points for both him and your defense if he were to break one for a touchdown. So far on the year Ginn has returned 15 punts for 335 yards and a long of 59-yards and 15 kickoffs for 94 yards and a long of 16-yards. The Panthers defense has also taken a step back this year as they have given up an average of 29 points a game to their opponents but they still have 12 sacks, 6 interceptions, 2 fumbles and best of all 2 touchdowns through 6 games. The defense gets a tough task this week as they face the top RB in the league in David Johnson but they also get Carson Palmer in the passing game who has looked awful so far this season. Palmer has been sacked 16 times so far this year and has given up 5 interceptions so the Panthers defense should be able to put up some numbers on him this week.
Secondary Option: WR Tyler Lockett + Seattle Seahawks 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 Spencer Ware + K Cairo Santos, Kansas City Chiefs
We now are in Week 8 of the NFL season and have 7 Weeks of data we can use to our advantage to find the best matchups on the slate. At the running back spot you have Spencer Ware against the Indianapolis Colts run defense that has allowed 109 rushing yards and 0.9 touchdowns per week on the ground along with 5 catches and 53 yards and 0.6 touchdowns receiving to the RB position. The Colts are the 5th worst team against the run as far as fantasy production is concerned and will be playing against a Kansas City Chiefs team that will look to slow down the pace of the game and try to control it with the running game. With the news that Jamaal Charles is injured once again and is coming off a performance where he only saw a single carry it looks like the RB job going forward belongs to Spencer Ware. This will be the second week in a row that the Chiefs have a good run game matchup as last week Ware ran for 17/77/0 and added 2/54/1 through the air. Ware should see similar numbers this week and 20 touches should be his floor and with that type of volume against a poor Colts run defense it would be hard to see him put up less than 100 yards and a touchdown. Ware is going to be a very popular play this week so finding a way to stack him with his kicker Cairo Santos makes a lot of sense to help lower the potential ownership on him. Santos is 11 for 13 on field goals so far this season and is coming off back to back multi field goal games.
Secondary Option: RB Devontae Booker + 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 Russell Wilson + RB Christine Michael, Seattle Seahawks
Once again we are chasing the bad defense to load up against and the Saints fit that bill every single week. When the Saints play at home it is no secret that points are going to be scored in bunches and for the Seahawks this year points have been hard to come by so this could potentially turn out to be a coming out party of sorts. The Saints have the 8th worst passing defense and are dead last against the run. It makes perfect sense to load up on Russell Wilson and Christine Michael in this game as all the scores on offense should come from either one of them. You are hoping that the Saints can put up points on the other side of this game so the Seahawks will be forced to make plays as well. Wilson only has 5 touchdown passes on the season but he has been passing the ball a lot as he doesn't have a game under 225 passing yards. Going with Christine Michael at running back you are going to get some lower ownership as many will be on Devontae Booker, David Johnson or Spencer Ware. Michael has 406 rushing yards and 4 rushing touchdowns on the year and also has been targeted 23 times for 18/90/1 stat line through the air. You are hoping for a shoot out style game here and 4 touchdowns from the Seahawks offense with 3 from Wilson and 1 from Michael on the ground and possibly another through the air.
Secondary Option: QB Alex Smith + Spencer Ware, Kansas City Chiefs
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 Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders
This Oakland versus Tampa Bay game has the second highest Vegas total on the board at 49.5 points with Oakland being the -1.0 point favorite. It looks to be a back and forth type of game that will remain close until the end. This are the type of games you want to stack players from both teams and hope that they can both be big reasons why the game has such a high score. Mike Evans is shaping up to be the highest owned wide receiver on the weekend as his price is reasonable and his volume is unreal right now and not to mention he has a fantastic matchup against the Raiders. The Raiders have the fourth worst pass defense against opposing wide receivers as they are giving up 15 receptions and 205 yards and a touchdown on average each week. Evans is averaging 12.3 targets a week and is easily the favorite of Jameis Winston who is not afraid to throw jump balls in his direction. Evans has been targeted 9 times in the redzone and has converted that into 5 catches for 4 touchdowns. On the flip side in this game we have the Raiders who have two strong wide receiver players in Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper. Cooper has had an alright type of season with many what ifs as he has just missed out on several touchdown opportunities. He has a single touchdown on the year but has 40 receptions and 614 yards to go along with it. The touchdowns have to come at some point and putting some trust in him to do so against the middle of the road Buccaneers pass defense makes a lot of sense. Evans will be a super popular play but pairing him with Cooper will help your team to be a little less chalky as others will likely pair Evans up with Julio Jones.
Secondary Option: WR Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons + WR Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers
If you have any additional questions or comments please feel free to hit my up on Twitter @JamesBrimacombe