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Matt Terelle offers up optimal DFS stacks for Week 4 of the NFL season. These GPP tournament stacks are worth considering on FanDuel and DraftKings daily fantasy sports games.
Hey there RotoBallers! Week 3 saw the Dallas, Baltimore, Kansas City, and New England offenses stay hot while Daniel Jones did his best to prove all of his haters wrong with a win over the Buccaneers in his first career start. The Browns offense continues to fall short of expectations while the Saints surprised with 33 points sans Drew Brees.
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 4 DFS stacks will be listed below, loosely sorted by my preference. This article will center on the main slate (1:00 PM and 4:00 PM Sunday) games across both DraftKings and FanDuel. Each stack will reference two pass-catchers along with their quarterback. The pass-catchers will be listed in preferential order but sometimes a three-man stack is in play as full-game stacks led to several wins in the Milly Maker in 2018. If you feel strongly about how an offense will perform in a given week then consider loading up on several offensive players from that offense. All references to team defense DVOA come from Football Outsiders while cornerback and wide receiver matchups and grade references come from Pro Football Focus. Data referring to a player's air yards comes from www.airyards.com.
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Week 4 DFS Stacks
Kansas City Chiefs @ Detroit Lions
QB Patrick Mahomes ($7,500 DraftKings, $9,200 FanDuel)
WR Mecole Hardman ($5,100 DraftKings, $6,500 FanDuel)
TE Travis Kelce ($7,200 DraftKings, $7,600 FanDuel)
Mahomes continues to laugh at touchdown regression as he has 10 passing touchdowns through three games, putting him on pace to throw over 50 scores for a second straight season. He will take on a Detroit pass defense in Week 4 that has been solid, ranking 10th in DVOA according to FootballOutsiders. Of course, Mahomes is matchup-proof as he proved against a tough Baltimore defense last week. The Chiefs have a 30.75-point implied team total this weekend, highest on the entire slate.
Hardman has been overshadowed by the work of Sammy Watkins and Demarcus Robinson but the Georgia rookie has been solid in his own right this season. After not recording a catch in Week 1, Hardman has six receptions for 158 yards and two scores over the past two weeks. The speedy rookie will see primary coverage from right corner Rashaan Melvin, who has been the weak link in a solid Detroit secondary. Melvin has just a 58.0 grade from Pro Football Focus since 2018.
Travis Kelce draws a tough matchup against a Detroit defense that has been stout against the tight end position but he remains one of the top options at the position and a favorite target on the most explosive offense in the league. From a price standpoint, I prefer pairing Mahomes with Hardman but Kelce is in play if you want to roll out a three-man stack or an onslaught approach to the game.
Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals
QB Russell Wilson ($6,100 DraftKings, $7,800 FanDuel)
WR Tyler Lockett ($6,300 DraftKings, $6,600 FanDuel)
TE Will Dissly ($3,600 DraftKings, $5,400 FanDuel)
Last week, we all got a reminder of what happens when the Seahawks actually let Russell Wilson throw the ball. His 50 pass attempts in Week 3's loss to the Saints were the most passes he has ever thrown in his career. You have to go back to Week 3 in 2017 to see his previous career-high, which was 49. Wilson rewarded fantasy gamers with 44.3 DraftKings points and 41.3 FanDuel points in the contest. He could be busy again this week against an Arizona offense that plays fast and can put points on the board.
After catching just one pass in Week 1, Tyler Lockett has been showered with targets over the past two weeks, seeing 26 over that span. He found the end zone for the second time in Week 3 and will continue to operate as Wilson's favorite target. He draws an exceptional Week 4 matchup against Arizona slot corner Tramaine Brock. Brock is getting lit up by opposing slot receivers, allowing big games to Danny Amendola (seven catches, 104 yards, one touchdown) and Nelson Agholor (8-50-2). Willie Snead only caught one pass in Week 2 but Player Profiler credits Brock with 93 receiving yards allowed to Baltimore pass-catchers during that game.
Dissly has been one of the biggest surprises this season, hauling in 12 catches for 124 yards and three scores. Russell Wilson clearly trusts the big tight end, throwing him a team-leading four targets in the red zone. The Cardinals are getting obliterated by enemy tight ends this season, allowing a stunning 23 catches for 348 yards and five scores to the position through three games. This is a strong three-man stack on Sunday.
New York Giants vs. Washington
QB Daniel Jones ($5,300 DraftKings, $7,300 FanDuel)
TE Evan Engram ($5,700 DraftKings, $6,800 FanDuel)
WR Sterling Shepard ($5,800 DraftKings, $6,500 FanDuel)
Daniel Jones impressed in his first NFL start, completing 23-of-36 passes for 336 yards and two touchdowns while running for 28 yards and two more scores in Week 3's win over Tampa Bay. Danny Dimes draws another excellent matchup in Week 4 as he will take on a leaky Washington pass defense that ranks 27th in DVOA through three weeks. Jones has quality weapons around him and offers the rushing upside that fantasy owners want to target in their QBs when filling out DFS lineups. This game has a 49.5-point over/under, tied for second-highest on the slate. With two bad defenses involved, this contest has an excellent chance to turn into a shootout.
Engram has had two huge games and one slow one through the first three weeks of the season. Overall, he has 23 catches for 277 yards and two scores. Engram has operated as the top option in the New York passing attack and should be a popular target yet again in Week 4.
Shepard returned from a Week 2 concussion to post a seven-catch, 100-yard, one-score outing in Week 3's win over the Buccaneers. Shepard draws a great Week 4 matchup against Washington's struggling secondary. Shepard will run the majority of his routes against Washington slot corner Jimmy Moreland, who has just a 57.6 grade over at PFF.
Under-owned Week 4 Stack
Washington vs. New York Giants
QB Case Keenum ($4,900 DraftKings, $7,200 FanDuel)
WR Terry McLaurin ($4,500 DraftKings, $6,300 FanDuel)
WR Paul Richardson ($3,700 DraftKings, $4,700 FanDuel)
While Case Keenum isn't playing good real-life football, he has been fantasy relevant through the first three weeks, throwing seven touchdowns and topping 300 passing yards twice. There is some danger that he could be replaced by Dwayne Haskins if he has another game similar to what he did in Week 3 when he threw three picks and lost two fumbles. Either way, no one is likely going to want to play Keenum this weekend as Washington takes on a weak Giants Defense. As expected, the New York pass defense is not playing well this season, ranking 31st in DVOA.
One of the best things Keenum has done is making Terry McLaurin into a viable WR2 in fantasy. For those who watched the Washington pass-catchers struggle in 2018, there's something to be said for that. McLaurin has been fantastic in his rookie year, catching 16-of-24 passes for 257 yards and three scores. In Week 4, he will run the majority of his routes against a fading Janoris Jenkins, who has earned just a 57.2 grade from PFF since the beginning of the 2018 season. If you aren't too familiar with Jenkins' body of work this season, he was the defender who allowed Mike Evans to post 190 yards and three touchdowns last week. Look for McLaurin to keep up his hot start this weekend.
Paul Richardson came alive in Week 3, hauling in 8-of-9 targets for 83 yards and a touchdown, giving him two scores in his past two games. Fully healthy after missing most of the 2018 season with a shoulder injury, Richardson has settled in as the No. 2 option in the passing attack. He draws one of the top cornerback matchups on the slate as he will run most of his routes in the coverage of rookie left corner DeAndre Baker. Baker has the lowest grade PFF grade on the slate (28.0) and is allowing 0.56 fantasy points per route covered, the highest mark in all of the Sunday afternoon games.
Thanks for reading, go win some money this weekend!
