4 NFL FanDuel Stacks for Week 8
Stacks are usually the backbone of the best FanDuel lineups, especially in tournaments. Brandon Gdula's piece examining hit rates and correlation for stacks is a must-read article whether you're already familiar with stacking or new to the concept.
This piece will lay out my favorite weekly stacks. So, read on to see the stacks I'm firing up this week.
Minnesota Vikings
Kirk Cousins ($7,800), Justin Jefferson ($9,000), and Irv Smith Jr. ($5,000)
Bring-back Options: DeAndre Hopkins ($7,900) and Rondale Moore ($5,500)
Cousins is a flawed quarterback. Still, he makes the most of playing indoors. According to Pro Football Reference, Cousins has completed 69.6 percent of his passes, averaged 274.1 passing yards per game, and thrown 83 touchdowns compared to only 21 interceptions in 39 games in a dome for the Minnesota Vikings.
Cousins' dome numbers alone are grounds for using him, but he also has a plus matchup. The Arizona Cardinals are the 11th-worst pass defense by our metrics. Cousins can carve them up.
When he does, Jefferson is likely to be the apple of his eye. The third-year wideout has excelled this year. According to Sports Info Solutions (SIS), Jefferson is ninth in target share (28.8 percent) and 28th in intended air yards (506) despite Minnesota already having its bye. Further, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Jefferson's third in yards per route run (2.74 Y/RR) out of 53 wide receivers targeted at least 30 times in 2022.
The third-year wideout has converted voluminous targets and efficiency into excellent production. Jefferson is fourth in receptions per game (7.7) and third in receiving yards per game (109.0). He can explode this week if Cousins' dome domination continues.
Finally, Smith is a matchup-drive suggestion. Per Football Outsiders, the Cardinals have allowed the second-most receiving yards per game (71.9) to tight ends this season. According to Pro Football Reference, Arizona is tied for the most touchdowns (six) allowed to the position. Smith is an exciting option to round out a double-stack with Cousins and/or as part of a game stack with the Cardinals.
Washington Commanders
Brian Robinson ($6,000) and Washington D/ST ($3,400)
The Washington D/ST is a screaming value against Sam Ehlinger. As I noted earlier this week, per PFF, Ehlinger was sacked 25 times and was slow to throw the football in 10 games during his final collegiate season. Meanwhile, the Washington Commanders are great at pressuring and sacking quarterbacks. According to Pro Football Reference, the Commanders are fifth in pressure rate (26.2 percent) and tied for seventh in sacks (19). The Washington D/ST is an excellent value pick.
However, let's take things a step further. If Washington has a good game script, the defense can go nuts against a 2021 sixth-round pick making his first NFL start. Meanwhile, in that same game script, Robinson can steamroll the suddenly sieve-like run defense for the Indianapolis Colts.
Indy's offensive struggles have grabbed headlines, but they've yielded 423 rushing yards at 5.35 yards per carry to running backs since Week 5. Meanwhile, the Commanders have used Robinson as a battering ram in the last two weeks. The powerful rookie has rushed 17 times for 60 yards and a touchdown and 20 times for 73 yards, adding two receptions for 13 yards in Week 7. Since Week 6, the Commanders have attempted 49 passes and 56 rushes with non-quarterbacks in neutral game scripts.
The Colts are only 3.0-point favorites. The clash should be in a neutral game script for most of this week's contest. However, it's not unfathomable that Ehlinger struggles in his first start and for the Commanders to be in a positive game script. As a result, Robinson and the Washington D/ST are a fun tournament stack.
Houston Texans-Tennessee Titans
Phillip Dorsett ($5,300) and Derrick Henry ($10,000)
King Henry is the stud in this game stack. He continues to shoulder a crazy workload for the Tennessee Titans. Despite having a bye already, Henry is second in the NFL in rush attempts (134). He's converted his hefty volume into 89.3 rushing yards per game and five touchdowns.
In addition, Henry has made waves in the passing game, too. The bowling-ball back's 2.11 Y/RR is the second-highest mark among 52 running backs targeted at least 10 times this season. Per PFF, he's been targeted on 25.8 percent of his routes. Henry has caught multiple passes in four straight contests, reeling in at least three receptions three times and reaching at least 30 receiving yards three times.
Henry's been on fire lately, entering this week with a four-game streak with more than 130 scrimmage yards. Thankfully, the Houston Texans are ill-equipped to slow his roll. Houston has the third-worst run defense by our metrics. They've allowed nine touchdowns to running backs and per-game averages of 173.8 scrimmage yards and 5.5 receptions. In short, this is an eruption spot for Henry, and the numberFire projection algorithm agrees, projecting Henry as the slate's RB1.
Dorsett is a contrarian pick in a tantalizing matchup. We rank the Titans as the 10th-worst pass defense. They've been eviscerated by what Football Outsiders deems as "other" wideouts. In fact, Tennessee's permitted the most receiving yards per game (74.8) to No. 2 wideouts and the most receiving yards per game (70.5) to "other" wide receivers.
The Titans have also been a trainwreck against deep passes. Opposing quarterbacks have completed 21 of 35 passes (60 percent) of at least 15 air yards for a scintillating 705 yards and four touchdowns. Unfortunately, field-stretching second-year wideout Nico Collins hasn't practiced this week because of an injury, making him unlikely to suit up.
Dorsett is the best bet to serve as a vertical weapon in his stead. According to SIS, Dorsett has a 12.0-yard average depth of target (aDOT) this year and it's at 14.3 yards for his career. He also ran 26 routes last week, only one less than Chris Moore's 27 and 11 fewer than Brandin Cooks' 37. Dorsette's a journeyman receiver, so there's a legitimate chance he faceplants. Still, Dorsett was rock-solid last week, hauling in two receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown on three targets. He is a contrarian tournament pick who saves salary.
Detroit Lions-Miami Dolphins
Amon-Ra St. Brown ($7,200) and Raheem Mostert ($6,800)
The Miami Dolphins have the highest implied total (27.50) on FanDuel's main slate, and the Detroit Lions have the sixth-highest implied total (24.00). This game should be a fantasy bonanza and is likely to be a popular game to stack. Tua Tagovailoa and pass-catchers Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, and Mike Gesicki have stacking appeal. However, I'm also digging Mostert.
In fact, Mostert was the first player featured in my values plays piece for this week. I suggest checking out that artle for an in-depth analysis of why Mostert's an excellent pick this week. The short version is that Mostert's a genuine game-script-proof lead back on a favored team in a cupcake matchup.
St. Brown is the obvious bring-back in this game stack. While the Dolphins have many compelling stacking options, ARSB is the runaway best option from Detroit.
The second-year wideout has been quiet lately, enduring a sprained ankle, a bye week, and getting knocked out of last week's game because he exhibited signs of ataxia, barring him from re-entering the game. It would be unwise to forget how sharp ARSB was out of the gate this year. St. Brown was targeted on 32.4 percent of his routes and had 2.48 Y/RR through Week 3. He also averaged 7.7 receptions and 84.3 receiving yards per game in that time, adding three touchdowns and 68 rushing yards for good measure.
ARSB has a get-right matchup this week. Miami's the 12th-worst pass defense by our metrics. Per Pro Football Reference, they've allowed the seventh-most FanDuel points per game to wide receivers. St. Brown stands out in our projections, ranking as the WR11 with the 10th-highest value score -- the measure of points per $1,000 of salary -- among wideouts on FanDuel's main slate.
Joshua Shepardson is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Joshua Shepardson also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username bchad50. 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.
