RADIO
Hey there RotoBallers! Week 7's action saw Todd Gurley continue to be an unstoppable force in fantasy. The Colts, and Marlon Mack, dismantled the Bills while the Vikings and Chiefs continued their high-scoring ways with big games. For Week 8, we are looking at potential shootouts between the Broncos and Chiefs, Steelers and Browns, Bengals and Buccaneers, and the Packers and Rams. Those are good games to focus on, especially in cash lineups.
The goal of this weekly column will be to locate some of the best DFS stacks each week. Stacking, or pairing a quarterback with one of his pass-catchers, is a great way to maximize point scoring. This method is generally viewed as a strategy in tournaments, but I also have no problem using safe, high-floor stacks in cash games, as well.
The top Week 8 DFS stacks will be listed below, loosely sorted by salary. The focus will be on the main slate (1:00 PM and 4:00 PM EST Sunday) games across both sites. All references to team defense DVOA come from Football Outsiders while cornerback and wide receiver matchups and grade references come from Pro Football Focus.
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High-Priced Week 8 DFS Stacks
Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger and WR Antonio Brown vs. Cleveland
There might be some trepidation about playing Roethlisberger after his three-interception Week 1 clunker against the Browns, but keep two things in minds. First, Week 1 in Cleveland was extremely cold and rainy, which affected both teams' passing attacks. Second, Roethlisberger has played much better at home than he has on the road over the past several years, which is no secret to most fantasy gamers. The Browns have developed into one of the best pass defenses in the league, which does give some cause for concern. That being said, the Steelers have an elite offense and too often this season we've seen elite offenses trump talented defenses on the football field. Big Ben is a very strong tournament play in DFS contests this weekend, although it would be wise to look elsewhere in cash games.
Antonio Brown will be fresh coming out of his Week 7 bye and will look forward to tormenting a familiar foe in the Cleveland Browns. Brown is averaging 10.0 catches for 137.5 yards over his past two meetings with Cleveland. The Browns' promising rookie cornerback Denzel Ward will likely see plenty of Brown on Sunday. While Ward is developing into an excellent corner in the pros, Cleveland has been allowing big games to opposing wideouts. Mike Evans went for seven catches and 107 yards in Week 7 while Tyrell Williams (3/118/2), Amari Cooper (8/128/1), and Michael Thomas (12/89/2) have all feasted against the Cleveland secondary this season.
Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers and WR Davante Adams @ Los Angeles Rams
Rodgers continues to show strong rapport with No. 1 wideout Davante Adams, having connected with his talented receiver for six touchdowns in six games this season. Overall, the Rams have a strong pass defense this season, ranking seventh in DVOA, but before getting right against C.J. Beathard in Week 7, they had allowed big games to enemy quarterbacks over the three previous weeks, including a 322-yard, two-touchdown game to Case Keenum, 198 yards and three touchdowns to Russell Wilson, and 422 yards and three touchdowns to Kirk Cousins. We know Rodgers should have to throw often to keep up with an explosive Los Angeles offense in this potential shootout.
Adams has been a rock-solid WR1 this season, scoring six times in six games and reaching at least 132 receiving yards in each of his past two games. Adams is expected to draw primary coverage from right cornerback Marcus Peters, who has struggled in his first year with the Rams, grading out at just 47.1 according to Pro Football Focus. The Adams to Rodgers stack is one of the most bankable pairings in all of fantasy.
Moderately-Priced Week 8 DFS Stacks
Cincinnati QB Andy Dalton and WR A.J. Green vs. Tampa Bay
Dalton let a lot of fantasy gamers down in Week 7 as he struggled to move the ball in what appeared to be a plus matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. That being said, Kansas City's pass defense has shown improvement since the beginning of the season and currently ranks 12th in DVOA. That should give gamers some confidence in shaking off his slow performance and going back to Dalton this week in a fantastic matchup against a very vulnerable Tampa Bay secondary. Tampa Bay's pass defense ranks last in the league in DVOA and is allowing the most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks.
Dalton's top target A.J. Green proved in Week 7 that he can be productive even when the rest of the offense struggles. Green finished with 117 yards when the Cincinnati offense only gained 239 total yards the entire evening. Green will mostly face off against Carlton Davis and Brent Grimes, neither of whom has a grade higher than 60.2 at PFF. This sets up as another smash spot for Green.
Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes and TE Travis Kelce vs. Denver
It's no secret that Mahomes has been playing extremely well this season. The second-year quarterback draws a tough matchup against Denver's No. 2 ranked pass defense in DVOA. That being said, his elite supporting cast essentially makes Mahomes matchup-proof in fantasy. From a pure point projection standpoint, treat Mahomes as a top-three quarterback option on this weekend's slate.
While many will look to stack Mahomes with burner Tyreek Hill, there's reason to consider pairing him with star tight end Travis Kelce, instead. Denver's defense has struggled to contain enemy tight ends for years and ranks 23rd in DVOA against the position this season. Kelce has made it a habit of destroying the Denver defense of late, averaging 8.33 catches for 123.67 yards and three total touchdowns over his past three games against them.
Bargain-Priced Week 8 DFS Stacks
Los Angeles QB Jared Goff and WR Robert Woods vs. Green Bay
Goff's numbers have dipped over the past two weeks, mostly because Todd Gurley and the running game has been so dominant that they haven't had to lean on the passing attack as much, asking Goff to attempt less than 30 passes in each of the past two games. That could change this week as the Packers have an explosive offense and a run defense that is one of the better units in the league. While no one can be expected to shut down Gurley with the way he's been playing, it is likely that the Rams pass more frequently than they have over the previous two weeks in what should be a shootout.
Robert Woods continues to go overlooked as a locked-in WR1 for fantasy purposes. Woods is No. 8 among wide receiver scoring on FanDuel and No. 9 on DraftKings. With Cooper Kupp sidelined for another week, look for Woods to see an uptick in slot snaps against Packers rookie corner Josh Jackson. Woods should contend with Brandin Cooks for the team lead in targets for as long as Kupp is injured.
Indianapolis QB Andrew Luck and WR T.Y. Hilton @ Oakland
The Colts head into Oakland with the Raiders in disarray following their bye week trade of Amari Cooper, signaling full-blown tank mode for Jon Gruden's team. Andrew Luck has been trending upwards all season and ranks first in the league in pass attempts. He will take on an Oakland secondary that ranks 31st in pass defense DVOA and is allowing the 10th-most fantasy points per game to the quarterback position.
T.Y. Hilton is historically better at home on the turf but his matchup with Oakland is too good to pass up. The veteran wide receiver proved he was all the way back from a hamstring strain in Week 7 when he caught two touchdown passes against the Buffalo Bills. He draws a fantastic matchup against Raiders right corner Daryl Worley. The speedy Hilton should be able to run circles around the slow-footed Worley and his 4.64 40-yard dash time. The Luck-Hilton stack is cheap and has plenty of upside in Week 8.
"YOLO" Contrarian Stack
Carolina QB Cam Newton and RB Christian McCaffrey vs. Baltimore
While playing Newton isn't exactly contrarian, his home matchup against a tough Ravens pass defense should serve to suppress his ownership this weekend. Baltimore's pass defense ranks sixth in the league in DVOA this season. Of course, we know that the true allure to using Newton is for his rushing upside and not based strictly on his arm. While the Ravens have been stout against opposing receivers, they have shown a weakness against pass-catching running backs, ranking 23rd in pass defense DVOA against the position. Christian McCaffrey is coming off two straight slow games but he also ranks third in the league among running backs with 40 receptions and fourth with 46 targets. He should be a huge part of Carolina's game plan against Baltimore in Week 8.
