On the Week 15 FanDuel main slate, there are seven games with an over/under of at least 47.5 points, which makes for some nice team and game stacks across the league. There are also seven teams implied to score at least 27.25 points, which should lead to some 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 draft percentage projections.
Indianapolis Colts
Philip Rivers ($7,100) and T.Y. Hilton ($6,800)
The first stack I like this week is an Indianapolis Colts stack with Phillip Rivers and T.Y. Hilton. The Colts are taking on division rival Houston Texans at home this week as 7.5-point favorites. They also have an implied team total of 29.0 points -- the fourth-most on the main slate.
Many DFS players won’t look to Rivers this week when they start to build their lineups, but that’s not to say they shouldn’t. The quarterback has played better with each and every game in his first season as a Colt, and he has another great matchup this week against a Texans defense who has allowed 27.6 points per game this season - the eighth-most across the league.
After throwing only four touchdown passes in his first five games to start the season, Rivers has gone on to throw 16 in his last eight games. He’s also thrown for more than 300 passing yards or multiple touchdowns in seven of those eight games.
Just two weeks ago, we saw the Colts take on the Texans in Houston, where Rivers went on to throw for 285 yards and 2 touchdowns. He and Hilton were in sync from the start of the game, connecting 8 times for 110 receiving yards and a touchdown.
I’ll be going back to the duo this week, who have really started to show true chemistry over their past three games. Throughout those three games, Rivers has targeted Hilton 23 times, which has translated to a team-leading 22.12% team target share. Hilton has been able to reel in 17 of those 23 targets for 277 receiving yards and 4 touchdown receptions.
Hilton will basically see the exact same matchup this week as he did two weeks ago against the Texans. Per Pro Football Focus (PFF), he’ll be lining up against Texans cornerback Keion Crossen for most of the game. PFF is currently giving Hilton a 27% advantage in this matchup -- one he should dominate once again.
Los Angeles Rams
Cam Akers ($6,700) and Los Angeles Rams D/ST ($5,000)
It took 13 weeks, but we’re finally witnessing Cam Akers take over as the Los Angeles Rams lead running back. He’s led the Rams backfield with a 63% and 79% snap count over the past two games, touching the ball a combined 53 times in those two games.
This week, he’ll have a chance to have his biggest fantasy game of the season against the worst team in the league, the New York Jets. That’s saying a lot considering the rookie running back is coming off a game where he ran the ball 29 times for 172 rushing yards and scored 20.4 FanDuel points.
Per our numbers, Akers is projecting very well this week. He’s currently projected to score the sixth-most FanDuel points at the running back position while offering the fourth-best FanDuel value. He’s also projecting to score 0.78 touchdowns, which ranks as the third-best among all running backs.
Considering Akers has seemingly taken over as the lead back for a Rams team that is implied to score 30.50 points in this matchup, I like stacking him up with the Rams' defense. With the Rams being 17.5-point home favorites in this matchup, it’s a perfect game script to run this type of stack.
Playing the Jets was intriguing enough to start the Rams' defense this week, but this is actually one of the league’s hottest defenses right now. They’ve scored a defensive touchdown in three straight games while racking up 6 turnovers and 10 sacks as well. This has ultimately led to them averaging 15.66 FanDuel points over their past three games.
Per our team rankings, the Rams have the league’s best defensive rating this season. They rank first in pass coverage and second at stopping the run. While the Jets haven’t been a threat running the ball or passing the ball all season, it just goes to show you how good this Rams' defense has been this season.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tom Brady ($7,900) and Chris Godwin ($7,200)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense has had it’s ups and downs this season, but when they’re playing at their best, they offer tremendous upside from a fantasy perspective. This week, the Bucs face the Atlanta Falcons, who have one of the league’s worst pass defenses and won’t be able to match up with the Bucs’ offensive talent.
For starters, Brady should be able to pick apart this defense, which has allowed the most FanDuel points per game to opposing quarterbacks this season.
The veteran quarterback has thrown at least two touchdown passes in each of his last four games and thrown multiple touchdown passes in seven of his last eight. I like that trend to continue this week against a susceptible Falcons defense.
We’ve already seen Brady have massive upside this season, like when he scored 33.46 FanDuel points back in Week 4 against the Chargers, or Week 7 when he scored 36.86 FanDuel points against the Raiders. And while he’s not locked in for 30 points this week against the Falcons, he certainly offers such upside.
Now, when it comes to correlating your Bucs stack with Brady, you can definitely attack it with any of his big three wide receivers: Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, or Antonio Brown. This week, I’m going to go with the guy who has the best matchup against the Falcons, Godwin.
Per PFF, Godwin is expected to line up against Falcons slot cornerback Isaiah Oliver, a cornerback we’ve picked on all season. PFF is giving Godwin a 58% advantage over Oliver, which ranks as the best wide receiver advantage in Week 15.
While we have yet to seen Godwin have a ceiling game with Brady this season, this matchup is perfect for them to get there. Let’s not forget Godwin gave up the number 12 to Brady this off-season. Brady still owes him one of those ceiling games.
Kansas City Chiefs and New Orleans Saints
Patrick Mahomes ($8,900), Tyreek Hill ($9,300), and Alvin Kamara ($7,800)
The last stack I like this week is going to be a game stack between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New Orleans Saints.
For the second week in a row, I’m going back to the Chiefs stack of Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill. This is a stack you can essentially consider every single week, and I’m going to attack it this week once again.
The defending Super Bowl champs are heading to New Orleans this week to face a Saints team that is fighting for the first playoff seed in the NFC. And while the Saints’ defense has been one of the league’s best this season, they don’t scare me enough to stop this lethal Chiefs offense.
Per our algorithm, Mahomes is projected to be the second-highest scoring quarterback on the main slate this week. He’s also projected to lead in pass attempts, passing yards, and passing touchdowns at his respective position.
The fourth-year quarterback has been on a tear dating back to November 1st, throwing for more than 318 passing yards in six straight games. He’s also thrown 17 touchdowns over that stretch of games, or 2.83 passing touchdowns per game.
One Chiefs player, in particular, has been on the receiving end on 9 of those 17 touchdowns, and that is Tyreek. His numbers do not slow down there, either, as he’s gone on to average 11.8 targets and 119.8 receiving yards per game over the Chiefs’ last six games.
Per PFF, Tyreek has one of the best wide receiver/cornerback matchups this week. He’s set to line up against Saints slot cornerback Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, who will struggle to keep up with the speedy wide receiver. PFF is giving Hill a 53% advantage in this matchup, the second-best advantage of any receiver playing in Week 15 (just behind Godwin).
With a 52.5-point over/under, this game is projected to be the highest-scoring one of the week. There’s some real shootout potential in this game, especially considering we got word Friday morning that Saints starting quarterback Drew Brees is ready to return this week as well. His return will give the entire Saints offense a boost.
That is why I like running this stack back with Alvin Kamara. Ever since Brees went down with his rib injury back in Week 10, Kamara’s fantasy production decreased dramatically.
In Week’s 1-10, when Brees was the starting quarterback, Kamara averaged 23.7 FanDuel points per game. From Week’s 11-14, when Taysom Hill was under center, Kamara averaged only 12.6 FanDuel points per game.
Fortunately for us, Kamara’s salary on FanDuel this week was set with the assumption Taysom would be starting for the Saints once again. Now that Brees is set to return from injury, Kamara got a bump up in our projections, and is now offering the best FanDuel value for any running back in Week 15.
Fire up this game 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)