On the Week 16 FanDuel main slate, there are six games with an over/under of at least 46 points, and it should be a relatively high-scoring week across the league. There are also eight teams implied to score at least 24 points this week, which should give us plenty of high-scoring players
In this article, I will reflect my favorite DFS stacks for this week. These decisions are made by using player projections, Vegas implied team totals and player ownership projections.
Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson ($9,300) and Baltimore D/ST ($4,500)
I’m starting this week with a rather unique Baltimore Ravens team stack. I’m going to be stacking quarterback Lamar Jackson with the Ravens' defense. This is not a stack you can do with just any quarterback, and Jackson really may be the only who can make it work. The Ravens are playing the Cleveland Browns this week and have an implied total of 29.75 points, while the Browns are implied to score only 19.75 points.
Being that Jackson plays such a big role in the Ravens’ rushing game, you could essentially look at this as a running back-defense stack. However, Jackson offers much more upside than your typical running back as he also produces well throwing the ball.
Per our projections, Jackson is slated to throw for 248 passing yards and 1.96 passing touchdowns in this game. On top of that, he’s also being projected for 10 rushing attempts, 53.63 rushing yards and 0.50 rushing touchdowns -- the most of any quarterback on the main slate. He offers both the highest floor and ceiling of any quarterback this week and is a safe play in all formats.
The last time the Ravens played the Browns was back in Week 4. In that game, Jackson threw for 247 yards and three touchdowns. He also had nine rushing attempts and 66 rushing yards, finishing the day with 26.48 FanDuel points.
Like I said, this isn’t a normal stack, but you can pair Jackson with the Ravens D/ST. This defense hasn’t allowed a team to score more than 20 points dating back to October 6th. During that nine-game stretch, they’ve had 25 sacks, 16 turnovers and five defensive touchdowns.
Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan ($7,700) and Austin Hooper ($6,000)
I’ll be targeting Matt Ryan and Austin Hooper this week as they are set to face a vulnerable Jacksonville Jaguars team. The Falcons are implied to score 27.00 points, which is the third-most on this week’s main slate.
It’s been an up-and-down season for the Falcons this year, but they’re coming off an impressive win last week against the San Francisco 49ers and should carry that momentum into this week against the Jags.
Per our DFS projections, Ryan is forecasted to be within the top three of signal callers in attempts, yards and touchdowns this week. When healthy, Ryan has been solid this year, averaging the fifth-most FanDuel points per game among quarterback who have played 10-plus games this season. He’s also thrown for more than 300 yards in nine of 13 games as well as tossed multiple touchdown passes in nine of 13 games.
I like stacking Ryan with Hooper this week. Per PFF’s tight end matchup chart, Hooper is expected to be covered by Jags’ safety Ronnie Harrison. PFF currently has Hooper at a 14% advantage over Harrison, which ranks as the fifth-best tight end matchup on the main slate.
The Jags have been average at covering tight ends this season. They’ve allowed 10.1 FanDuel points per game to opposing tight ends, which has resulted in giving up seven receiving touchdowns to the position, tied for the fourth-most across the league.
While Hooper did miss three games earlier this season due to a knee injury, he’s still tied for third at the position with six touchdowns. That is a major reason as to why he’s currently leading all tight ends with 12.22 FanDuel points per game.
Denver Broncos
Phillip Lindsay ($6,300) and Denver D/ST ($5,000)
The Denver Broncos have a great matchup at home this week against the Detroit Lions. They’re currently favored to win this game by 6.5 points, which sets up as a great game script for Phillip Lindsay. They Lions are implied to score only 15.50 points, making this a great game script for the Broncos' defense.
While Lindsay has played good football at times throughout this season, he hasn’t produced fantasy football numbers quite like he did last season. His matchup this week couldn’t be better for him to get back on track to some of his old numbers.
The opportunity has been there for Lindsay this season. Since the Broncos’ Week 10 bye, Lindsay has seen 15-plus touches in four of five games. Per our models, he’s expected to see 15-plus touches again this week, which should be more than enough to have a big game against a poor Lions’ rushing defense.
Detroit has allowed 25.4 FanDuel points per game to opposing running backs, the fourth-most across the league. With Lindsay being priced as the 21st-most expensive running back on the slate, you’re getting a bargain play with a terrific matchup, allowing you to spend big elsewhere.
I like using Lindsay alongside the Broncos D/ST this week. They’ll get to face Lions’ third-string quarterback David Blough, who has thrown five interceptions in his three starts this season. Per our schedule-adjusted metrics, the Broncos passing defense currently ranks 10th overall and should have a field day versus Blough.
Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson ($8,300) and Tyler Lockett ($7,600)
I think you can run this stack in several different ways -- including a game stack with the Arizona Cardinals -- but I personally prefer stacking Russell Wilson with Tyler Lockett.
Per our projections, Wilson is going to be the second-highest scoring quarterback on the main slate. We have him projected to throw 2.46 passing touchdowns against the Cards, which ranks as the most of any quarterback. He’s also $1,000 cheaper than Lamar Jackson and is a slightly better point-per-dollar value than Jackson.
Wilson always offers rushing upside, too. He’s currently projected to have the third-most rushing attempts as well as the third-most rushing yards of any quarterback on the main slate.
While Wilson is essentially matchup-proof, he gets one of his easiest matchups of the season this week against Arizona. Per Pro Football Reference, no team has given up more FanDuel points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season than the Cardinals.
I like pairing Wilson with Lockett. While I think D.K. Metcalf is a great play here, as well, I lean toward Lockett.
Per PFF’s wide receiver/cornerback matchup chart, Lockett is expected to be covered by Cards cornerback Byron Murphy. PFF currently has Lockett at a 20% advantage over Murphy, which ranks as the 11th-best wide receiver matchup on the main slate.
Only a handful of wide receivers have been able to get separation like Lockett has this season. Per NFL's Next Gen Stats, Lockett is currently averaging 3.3 yards of separation per route run -- that ranks eighth-best among all receivers.
Going by PFF’s DFS Ownership Projections, both Wilson and Lockett are expected to be owned in less than 9% of FanDuel lineups this week. Getting them at below 10% ownership would allow you to make contrarian lineups with this Seahawks stack.
Griffin Swanson is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Griffin Swanson also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username GriffDogg_. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. (edited)