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We mentioned the Joe Burrow-Ja’Marr Chase stack once again last week, along with big performers like Austin Ekeler, D.J. Moore, George Kittle, and Travis Kelce. Am I the only one that has some pause going back to the stack that went off the week prior? Well, I didn’t take my own advice and play a Burrow-Chase stack, so you can imagine how that turned out.
We move to Week 8, a week with some pretty solid dome games to attack (MIA-DET, ARI-MIN, and LV-NO). It would surprise me greatly if the winning stacks didn’t materialize from these three games, but fantasy football and DFS are weird a lot of the time, so we shall see.
Each section will feature a stack for each major site (DraftKings & FanDuel), along with a preferred bring-back and possible leverage piece to make your lineup different from the field. The labeling of each stack is based on the QB’s pricing, not necessarily the weapons they’ll be throwing to.
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High-Priced DFS Stacks for DraftKings
Kyler Murray ($7500) + DeAndre Hopkins ($7400) AND/OR Rondale Moore ($5100)
DeAndre Hopkins’ return ignited the Arizona offense last Thursday night against the Saints. The 30-year-old veteran garnered 14 targets in his season debut, putting up a 10/103/0 stat line while leading the Cardinals to a season-high 42 points.
In Week 8, D-Hop and Kyler Murray head to Minnesota to take on the Vikings. Kevin O’Connell’s club hasn’t lit the scoreboard up, but they’ve scored at least 23 points in 5-of-6 outings this season and topped out at 28. Can these two squads trade big plays and create a shootout environment on Sunday?
Murray’s outlook is very strong against Minnesota’s defense, as the Vikings rank dead last in yards per pass attempt allowed (7.9) and are one of seven teams in football allowing a 68.0% completion percentage or better (nfl.com). The Purple and Gold also profile as a pass-funnel defense, as they own the 14th-best rushing defense (112.5 YPG) compared to the fifth-worst passing defense (272.0 YPG).
Hopkins was paramount in Arizona’s Week 7 win, but don’t forget about Rondale Moore in Week 8. The diminutive second-year receiver has played at least 87% of the team’s offensive snaps in four straight weeks. In an up-tempo game environment, a strong PPR performance could be on the horizon for the underperforming Moore.
Preferred bring-back: Justin Jefferson ($9100) OR Irv Smith Jr. ($3500)
Leverage piece: Robbie Anderson ($4000)
Playing just 17% of the team’s snaps and running five routes in his Cardinals debut, Robbie Anderson drew just one target (it was a deep one, however) and had zero catches. Expect the speedy receiver to be more involved with another week of practice under his belt. In a domed game environment against a beatable secondary, you could do a lot worse with a DFS dart throw.
High-Priced DFS Stacks for FanDuel
Tua Tagovailoa ($7700) + Tyreek Hill ($8700) OR Jaylen Waddle ($7800)
Dolphins-Lions features two teams that are among the five worst pass coverage units in the NFL according to Pro Football Focus’ coverage grades. The Dolphins are rated 28th, while the Lions own the league-worst distinction of 32nd. We already mentioned the Vikings’ league-leading 7.9 yards per pass attempt allowed; well, Detroit owns the second-worst mark at 7.7.
Even with rookie pass-rushing phenom Aidan Hutchinson in the fold, the Lions’ pass rush has virtually no bite; they are tied with the Raiders for the fewest sacks in the league (just nine; nfl.com). The three-headed monster of Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill, and Jaylen Waddle should present matchup nightmares for Detroit’s defense – especially under the domed confines of Ford Field.
Detroit is allowing a league-high 32.3 points per game, and games at Ford Field this season have yielded 73, 63, and 93 total points. Opponents have scored at least 24 points in every single game against Dan Campbell’s team. It sets up quite nicely for Tagovailoa and this passing attack – a unit that has compiled the third-most 20+ yard completions (26) and the second-most 40+ yard completions in 2022 (seven; nfl.com).
With an abundance of time in the pocket against Detroit’s lifeless pass rush, combined with no cornerbacks capable of sticking Hill and Waddle, it’d be alarming if Mike McDaniel’s team didn’t put up 30 or more points on Sunday.
Preferred bring-back: D'Andre Swift ($7500)
Leverage piece: Mike Gesicki ($5400)
Mike Gesicki didn’t have a snap rate above 48% during the first four weeks of the season. Since then, the Penn State product has notched three straight games above 61% of the snaps. He saw seven targets in two of those games. With 24.9 PPR points just two weeks ago, the ceiling is there.
Mid-Priced DFS Stacks for DraftKings
Jared Goff ($5500) + Amon-Ra St. Brown ($6900) AND/OR Josh Reynolds ($5000), T.J. Hockenson ($4900)
We go right back to Detroit for the other side of that game with a Lions squad that has gone ice-cold from a scoring perspective over the last two weeks. Jared Goff’s offense is averaging three points per game in the last two weeks after averaging 35 points per game in their first four games.
D’Andre Swift, who hasn’t played since Week 3 with shoulder and ankle injuries, is trending toward playing on Sunday. So is Amon-Ra St. Brown, who was prematurely sidelined in last week’s bout with the Cowboys after he was suspected of sustaining a concussion. It has since been determined that he didn’t sustain a concussion, so the second-year fantasy phenom should be ready in Week 8.
With two of his best playmakers expected to be back at full strength, it’s tough not to like Goff this week against a Miami defense that has served up the fifth-most passing yards and the fourth-highest completion percentage (68.7%; nfl.com). As we saw in Week 2 in Baltimore, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle can break a game open in seconds, which could spawn a fantasy bonanza on Sunday.
This game environment is too pristine to not be circling it for DFS purposes.
Preferred bring-back: Jaylen Waddle ($6700; $1800 price difference from T. Hill)
Leverage piece: Kalif Raymond ($4300)
Normally it’s not recommended to play a 5-foot-9, 162-lb receiver on an NFL DFS slate, but Kalif Raymond has carved out a decent role within the Lions' offense, and this game is just too juicy to ignore him completely. He has played 85.9 and 89.3% of his team’s offensive snaps over the last two weeks with D.J. Chark out of the picture, and he has big-play ability. If you’re looking to differentiate yourself, Raymond is a good flier.
Mid-Priced DFS Stacks for FanDuel
Andy Dalton ($7100) + Chris Olave ($6900) AND Alvin Kamara ($7800)
Much like Dolphins-Lions, Raiders-Saints features two very bad secondaries (both LV and NO feature bottom-eight coverage units according to PFF). Andy Dalton flashed a fantasy ceiling last Thursday night against the Cardinals (QB2, 29.5 fantasy points). Can he do it again here against the Raiders at the Superdome?
If Dalton does go off once again, Chris Olave will likely be dragged along with him fantasy-wise. The rookie receiver is already a true No. 1 receiver based on a lot of metrics; he leads the league in air yards, air yards share, deep targets, ranks third in aDOT, 11th in target rate, and 14th in target share (Player Profiler). He’s garnered double-digit targets or a touchdown in all but one game this season. $6900 might be too cheap for his role right now.
New Orleans’ belief in Andy Dalton at QB has reinvigorated Alvin Kamara and his fantasy value, as the veteran running back has caught six, six, and seven passes in Dalton’s three starts. Additionally, Las Vegas has been susceptible to receiving backs, yielding the fifth-most catches (42) and the fourth-most yards (330) to start the year.
Preferred bring-back: Davante Adams ($8500)
Leverage piece: Tre'Quan Smith ($5300)
Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry each continue to nurse injuries, so the value will continue to be there within New Orleans’ receiving corps. This game features the second-highest Vegas total behind only Miami-Detroit. Tre’Quan Smith has just three 100-yard performances in 56 career games, but the game environment is strong and he’s eclipsed 61% of the snaps in 4-of-5 games this season.
Low-Priced DFS Stacks for DraftKings
Kenny Pickett ($5100) + Chase Claypool ($4800) OR Pat Freiermuth ($3900)
For those of you that haven’t laughed, rolled your eyes, and just straight up X’d out of the article after reading this pick for a stack — bear with me. This is a volume-based play, not an efficiency-based play. I don’t necessarily think Kenny Pickett can get there, but I’m of the mindset that Chase Claypool or Pat Freiermuth could this week.
Philadelphia has been ferocious on defense all year, holding opponents to just 17.5 points and under 300 total yards per game. On the outside, Darius Slay and James Bradberry have been wreaking havoc for opposing receivers. These two are both rated as top-12 coverage cornerbacks by PFF and both are surrendering catch rates under 44%. That means the middle of the field could be where the Steelers find success.
Player Profiler has Claypool tabbed for a 70.7% slot route rate and the third-most slot snaps of any receiver in 2022. Obviously, we haven’t seen the third-year receiver break a fantasy slate since his rookie season, but Pittsburgh should be throwing plenty in this game if it breaks like Vegas thinks it will. And Freiermuth displayed great chemistry with Pickett last week with a nine-target, eight-catch game of his own.
Preferred bring-back: A.J. Brown ($7700)
Leverage piece: Nobody is playing this stack.
Low-Priced DFS Stacks for FanDuel
Tennessee's QB ($6700) + Derrick Henry ($10000)
Ryan Tannehill is nursing an ankle injury this week, but he was able to log a limited practice on Thursday. It’s probably a savvy move that he is pushing himself to get back on the field – because once he relinquishes this starting job to Malik Willis, it’s likely never coming back. But I digress.
Whoever starts for the Titans is set up for success on the road in Houston, as Lovie Smith’s defense has been quite the sieve all year long. The Texans rank second worst in total yards allowed at 411.8. I’ll be especially intrigued if Willis makes the start, as the dynamic rookie notched eight rushing games of at least 50 yards in 13 starts a season ago at Liberty.
Houston is one of five teams serving up at least 5.0 yards per carry. They’ve been on the receiving end of two overall RB1 PPR performances (Austin Ekeler, Khalil Herbert) and two RB2 performances already this year (Josh Jacobs, Jonathan Taylor). Derrick Henry should eat this defense for breakfast, lunch, and dinner on Sunday.
It’s very unorthodox to roster both the quarterback and running back from the same team in DFS, but if it’s Willis on Sunday, I think that would be a great way to be contrarian as both Willis and Henry could have amazing rushing days. Both Tannehill and Willis are the same price on FanDuel.
Preferred bring-back: Brandin Cooks ($6100)
Leverage piece: Dameon Pierce ($7300)
Another unorthodox approach in DFS is playing two running backs from the same game that are on opposite teams. Both Henry and Dameon Pierce rank within the top 12 in opportunity share at the RB position. Pierce has shown the ability to rip off chunk gains – he’s one of 11 backs with four or more 20+ yard runs this season – so he and Henry could each produce ceiling games in this matchup.
Good luck this weekend! Feel free to contact me on Twitter about DFS or fantasy football in general. I can be found here -- @thejacksonkane.
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