RADIO
Last week, in this very same weekly piece, we highlighted the perils of stacking in daily fantasy. Poor weeks by Derek Carr, Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree in a seemingly ideal matchup against the Detroit Lions derailed countless lineups.
Well, Week 12 provided an example of how stacking can win you a million dollars. Draftkings user "keasy" stacked Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and wide receiver Doug Baldwin, who combined for nearly 80 fantasy points in a Sunday shootout with Pittsburgh, en route to winning the weekly Millionaire Maker GPP tournament. Both players were less than four percent owned, which gave "keasy" a leg up on more than 96 percent of the other lineups.
Hitting on a high-scoring, low-owned stack is almost always going to help you cash in GPPs. These are some of the top stacks to consider for Week 13, sorted roughly from most expensive to least expensive.
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High-Priced Stacks
Carolina QB Cam Newton and TE Greg Olsen at New Orleans
Each week there seems to be at least one stack that jumps off the screen as the obvious, too-good-to-be-true play. This, ladies and gentlemen, is Week 13's stack. Both Newton and Olsen torched the Saints in the first meeting back in Week 3 and, amazingly, the New Orleans defense has only gotten worse.
Newton passed for 315 yards and two touchdowns, both to Olsen. Newton also rushed for a score. Those totals would seem well within reach again the second time around. Newton and Olsen are both among the most expensive players at their respective positions, and should have high ownership in GPPs, but this is a no-brainer cash game pairing.
New England QB Tom Brady and WR Danny Amendola vs. Philadelphia
Love him or hate him, Brady just continues to dominate. Despite entering Sunday's game against Denver without Julian Edelman, Dion Lewis and Danny Amendola, and then finishing it without Rob Gronkowski, Brady still passed for 280 yards and three touchdowns. The Patriots aren't suddenly going to abandon their passing attack, particularly against the Eagles' weak secondary.
Amendola is expected to return from a knee injury, according to a report by Bleacher Report's Jason Cole. Monitor his status closely as Sunday approaches, but if he's active, he's the pass-catcher to stack with Brady. If you need an even cheaper alternative, consider tight end Scott Chandler, who finished with 58 yards and a touchdown against the Broncos, and should start in place of an injured Gronkowski.
Moderate Stacks
Chicago QB Jay Cutler and WR Alshon Jeffery vs. San Francisco
Cutler catches a lot of flak, and most of it deservedly so, but let's give credit where it's due. Since returning from a hamstring injury in Week 4, he has an impressive 12-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Of course, it's helped that Cutler has had his top target Jeffery in the lineup for five of those eight games. Of those five games, Jeffery has at least 90 yards in four of them.
Chicago hosts San Francisco, which is coming off a nice defensive showing in a 19-13 loss to Arizona. But let's not overthink this. Jeffery is a No. 1 wide receiver still being priced in the No. 2 range, and Cutler will come cheaper than most quarterbacks. This is a stack with high upside, but also a relatively high floor.
Oakland QB Derek Carr and WR Amari Cooper vs. Kansas City
The Chiefs had major issues trying to contain Buffalo Bills wideout Sammy Watkins in the first half this past weekend. In fact, Kansas City has struggled defending wide receivers all season, as they've allowed 16 total touchdowns to wideouts. This bodes well for the Raiders duo of Cooper and Michael Crabtree, both of whom are solid plays.
Cooper and Crabtree both have 12 receptions of 20-plus yards this season. But Cooper has five catches of 40-plus yards (third in the NFL), compared to zero for Crabtree. Carr will take a few deep shots to Cooper and if the two connect on a touchdown or two, this will be a stack that pays major dividends.
Miami QB Ryan Tannehill and WR Jarvis Landry vs. Baltimore
Tannehill is about as inconsistent as a quarterback can possibly be, but there's plenty to like about his situation this week. He's facing a Ravens defense that just allowed a combined 289 yards and two touchdowns to Josh McCown and Austin Davis. And the Dolphins will have a new play-caller in Zac Taylor, who is taking over for the fired Bill Lazor.
Landry is coming off a sensational 13-catch, 165-yard outing, and while those totals might not be attainable, he should fare well against an average secondary. This is a risky pairing, but one that could pay off.
Bargain Stacks
Washington QB Kirk Cousins and WR DeSean Jackson vs. Dallas
Cousins' home and road splits are pretty radical this season. Cousins has a 11-2 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 113.0 quarterback rating in home games, compared to 5-8 and 69.8 on the road. Luckily for fantasy owners he's at home again this weekend for a Monday night matchup with the Cowboys.
Dallas' defense has actually performed well this season -- it's allowing the seventh-fewest passing yards per game (225). But the concern here lies on offense, where Dallas will likely struggle to consistently move the ball without Tony Romo against an underrated Redskins defense. Jackson always looms as a big-play threat, but he's also a sneaky stack with Washington's defense as coach Jay Gruden indicated this week he'll get a few punt return opportunities.
Indianapolis QB Matt Hasselbeck and WR T.Y. Hilton vs. Pittsburgh
We all just saw Russell Wilson carve up the Steelers' defense, but let's not expect a five-touchdown performance from the veteran Hasselbeck. The 40-year-old backup has been a savior for Indianapolis, and an unlikely source of value for fantasy players. He's thrown two touchdowns in each of the last two games and should be able to at least repeat that against the Steelers.
Hilton has been up and down this season, but when he's on, he's dangerous. He finished with 95 yards and caught both of Hasselbeck's scores this past Sunday. Pittsburgh has allowed the second-most yards by receivers this season, so the matchup sets up nicely for this cheap pairing.
Tennessee Titans QB Marcus Mariota and TE Delanie Walker vs. Jacksonville
Mariota has been the definition of boom-or-bust in his rookie season. The booms have been so great, however, that it's easier to justify rolling with him in DFS. Four weeks ago, Mariota tore apart the Saints for 371 yards and four touchdowns. This past weekend against the Raiders, he finished with 218 yards and three touchdowns.
The Titans faced the Jaguars just two weeks ago, and Mariota finished with 231 yards and no touchdowns, though he did score his only rushing touchdown to date. Walker, as he's been all season, was Mariota's top target, turning eight catches into 109 yards for his only 100-yard outing so far. The narrative surrounding the Titans lately has centered on the team's woeful 11-game home losing streak. It's worth a GPP roll of the dice that Mariota and Walker, motivated to end that dubious stretch, come out firing.
