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Hey there RotoBallers! Week 7 saw a surprising shootout between the Vikings and Lions while the Green Bay offense finally roared to life with 42 points. Anyone who played Aaron Rodgers in DFS certainly came away with some cash. The Saints continue to roll right along despite being without Drew Brees, moving to 5-0 without their future Hall of Fame quarterback.
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 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 8 DFS Stacks
Seattle Seahawks @ Atlanta Falcons
QB Russell Wilson ($7,200 DraftKings, $8,600 FanDuel)
WR Tyler Lockett ($7,000 DraftKings, $7,200 FanDuel)
WR D.K. Metcalf ($5,000 DraftKings, $6,600 FanDuel)
This has the potential to turn into a shootout with a struggling Atlanta team putting up little resistance for enemy passing attacks this year. It looks like Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (ankle) will be suiting up in this one, which is what we want to see as it should assure more passing attempts for Russell Wilson. If for some reason Ryan can't go, downgrade the matchup for Seattle significantly. Wilson has been throwing more often than he did last season, which has led to exceptional fantasy production for the veteran signal-caller. Wilson should have little trouble picking apart an Atlanta pass defense that ranks 31st in DVOA this season. The Falcons' rush defense ranks fourth, which is another plus for Wilson as Seattle could struggle to get the run game going.
Lockett remains the top option in the Seattle passing game and a quality DFS option most weeks. Lockett has scored four times in seven games and he should be able to do whatever he wants against a leaky Atlanta secondary in Week 8. Atlanta will use slot corner Damontae Kazee in primary coverage against Lockett in what should be a huge mismatch. Kazee has just a 59.0 grade from Pro Football Focus and is allowing 0.37 fantasy points per route defended. Rookie D.K. Metcalf is not as safe as Lockett but the speedy rookie has the potential to go off for a massive game against Atlanta this weekend. The monstrous Metcalf and his 4.33 wheels will be hard for Isaiah Oliver and his 4.50 wheels to keep up with on the turf.
Houston Texans vs. Oakland Raiders
QB Deshaun Watson ($7,100 DraftKings, $8,400 FanDuel)
WR DeAndre Hopkins ($8,100 DraftKings, $8,200 FanDuel)
WR Kenny Stills ($4,700 DraftKings, $5,700 FanDuel)
Deshaun Watson continues to be one of the top fantasy quarterbacks in the game, buoyed by excellent rushing stats that keep his floor high. This week, Houston draws an excellent home matchup against an Oakland offense that has been much better than expected this season. That is a plus for Watson as Oakland should be able to score enough to force the Texans to keep passing. When Watson does pass, he will stare down a pass-funnel Oakland defense that ranks 30th in pass defense DVOA and a stout 11th against the run. Watson is a top-two quarterback option from a projected-point standpoint on this slate.
Hopkins finally got back in the end zone in Week 7, finishing with nine catches for 106 yards and a score. That marked the first time Nuk scored since the first week of the season. He draws a beautiful Week 8 matchup against Oakland right corner Trayvon Mullen, who has a 51.0 grade from Pro Football Focus this season. Mullen, a rookie, has played sparingly this season and will have his hands full with the perennial All-Pro.
Kenny Stills will take over as the team's No. 2 receiver after Will Fuller suffered a severe hamstring injury in Week 7. While second-year receiver Keke Coutee will also see an uptick in work, Stills has game-breaking speed and the ability to go for a long touchdown any time he touches the ball. Left corner Daryl Worley runs just a 4.64 40 and is in for a nightmare matchup against Stills' 4.38 wheels.
Buffalo Bills vs. Philadelphia Eagles
QB Josh Allen ($6,500 DraftKings, $7,700 FanDuel)
WR John Brown ($5,900 DraftKings, $5,900 FanDuel)
TE Dawson Knox ($2,900 DraftKings, $4,600 FanDuel)
Josh Allen draws an excellent Week 8 matchup against another pass-funnel defense as the Eagles have been tough against the run and shredded by opposing passing attacks. Allen has tons of upside against Philadelphia this weekend, both as a passer and a runner. The Eagles pass defense ranks 20th against the pass while Allen has passed for multiple touchdowns in two straight games and has also tacked on three rushing scores during the season.
If you are playing Allen, you will definitely want to pair him with top wide receiver John Brown. Brown has been excellent with Buffalo this season, catching at least five passes in five of his six contests while going for at least 51 yards in each of his games played. Brown should be able to toast Jalen Mills, who runs just a 4.61 40-yard dash. I would probably just pair Allen with Brown but if you want to round out the three-man stack with a contrarian play, rookie tight end Dawson Knox is worth a look. Knox has started to become a bigger part of the offense, having drawn five targets in each of his past two games.
Under-owned Week 8 Stack
Tennessee Titans vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
QB Ryan Tannehill ($5,100 DraftKings, $6,900 FanDuel)
WR Corey Davis ($4,400 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel)
WR A.J. Brown ($4,100 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel)
In a sentence that feels sort of strange to write, Ryan Tannehill breathed life into a stagnant Tennessee passing game in Week 7. Tennessee turned to Tannehill after benching former starter Marcus Mariota during Week 6 and the initial results were encouraging as Tannehill passed for 312 yards and two touchdowns. More importantly, Tannehill found a way to get top receivers A.J. Brown and Corey Davis going in the win. One of the worst defenses in 2018, Tampa Bay found a way to shore up their run defense in 2019 but they continue to struggle to stop the pass. While the Bucs are the top run defense in the league according to the DVOA metric, they rank just 25th against the pass. We know the Titans like to skew run-heavy but this is a week where Derrick Henry may struggle to get going, which would conceivably push more work onto Tannehill's plate.
Corey Davis was looking like a colossal first-round bust earlier in the season but it is possible that Mariota was the primary culprit. He finally got going in Week 7, finishing with six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. Davis draws a plus matchup against left corner Carlton Davis, the owner of a 57.5 grade from PFF. A.J. Brown has been one of the more impressive rookie receivers this season, although he has been a bit up-and-down. That being said, the rookie wideout has the potential to go off against Tampa this weekend.
Thanks for reading, go win some money this weekend!
