4 NFL FanDuel Stacks for Week 8
On the Week 8 FanDuel main slate, there are six games with an over/under of at least 49.0 points, which makes for some nice team and games stacks across the league. There are also six teams implied to score at least 26.0 points, which is a little lower than we’re used to seeing.
In this article, I will highlight my favorite DFS stacks for this week. These decisions are made by using player projections, Vegas implied team totals and player draft percentage projections.
Baltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson ($8,300) and Marquise Brown ($5,900)
The first stack I like this week is going to be a Baltimore Ravens stack with Lamar Jackson and Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. They’re facing a tough Pittsburgh Steelers D this week, but the Ravens are implied to score 25.0 points, the eighth most on the main slate. Considering there are a handful of games on the main slate that have bad weather in the forecast, this Ravens-Steelers game could end up being one of the higher-scoring games.
Being that the Ravens are fresh off a bye, I like going to Lamar in any tournament lineup. With a lot of the focus will be on Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes this week, you will likely see Lamar be rostered in fewer lineups. Per RotoWire, Lamar is currently being projected to be rostered in fewer than 8% of FanDuel lineups. Whenever you can get a player of Lamar’s talent and upside in less than 10% of lineups, he makes for a great tournament pick.
Now even though Lamar likely won’t be super popular in lineups this week, our models are still projecting for him to have a top fantasy performance. Per our numbers, Lamar is expected to score the third most FanDuel points at the quarterback position. He also offers one of the highest ceilings of any quarterback in the league on a weekly basis.
I like stacking up Hollywood with Lamar. Even though the Steelers have one of the best defenses in the league, they have allowed the eighth most FanDuel points to opposing wide receivers. Per Pro-Football Reference, the Steelers are allowing 34.2 FanDuel points per game to opposing wideouts.
Brown has clearly been the number-one pass-game target on the Ravens this season. He currently leads the team with 42 targets -- 9 more than tight end Mark Andrews and 23 more than the next wide receiver on the team, Miles Boykin.
Brown has also seen 44% of the team’s air yards, the third most across the entire league. With that usage, he's bound to make big plays sooner or later.
Kansas City Chiefs
Clyde Edwards-Helaire ($7,500) and Kansas City D/ST ($5,000)
As I mentioned above, Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes is going to be very popular this week against a New York Jets team that has been horrible this season (to put it nicely). Per RotoWire, Mahomes is expected to be rostered in 34% of lineups. With the Chiefs having a 34.25-point implied total -- tops on the main slate -- it’s no surprise he’s going to be so popular.
But being that the Chiefs are currently favored to win by 19.5 points, I like attacking the rushing side of this game and pivoting away from the passing game. There’s definitely some risk in fading Mahomes, but that’s how you win tournaments -- by differentiating your lineups.
I like KC starting running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire this week (yes, let’s not forget that he is still the starting running back for this team). I think rostering Le'Veon Bell is fine, as well, and that the “revenge game” narrative is probably very real for him against the Jets, but I want to roster the guy who is likely to see more touches and opportunities in this game.
Through seven games this season, CEH has seen at least 18-plus opportunities in all but one game -- granted Bell has been in town for only one contest. The rookie now gets to face a Jets team that has allowed 24.6 FanDuel points per game to opposing running backs, the eighth most in the league. With the Chiefs implied to score close to five touchdowns in this game, CEH could get multiple scores if things break his way.
Let’s not forget that CEH also has the second most rushing yards among all running backs this season. His 551 rushing yards through seven games trail only Derrick Henry. He’s also has seven goal line rushing attempts this season, tied for the sixth most among all running backs.
I like pairing CEH with the Chiefs’ D/ST. Kansas City is implied to hold the Jets to 14.75 points, which is by far the fewest of any team on the main slate. They have also done an extremely good job of turning the ball over this season with 13 turnovers, the second most across the league.
Should the Chiefs' defense continue to create turnovers this week, they could set up this offense and CEH with nice field position.
Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson ($8,700) and D.K. Metcalf ($7,800)
The next stack that I like this week is a Seattle Seahawks stack between Russell Wilson and D.K. Metcalf. The Seahawks will be taking on the San Francisco 49ers, and Seattle sports an implied team total of 28.25 points, the fourth highest on the main slate. This game itself is listed with a 54.0-point over/under, the highest on the main slate.
Wilson continues to dominate this season, as he currently leads the league with 22 touchdown passes. He also paces all quarterbacks on the main slate with 30.55 FanDuel points per game, which is five points more than any other quarterback. His lowest-scoring fantasy game so far this season came back in Week 3, when he totaled 21.9 FanDuel points. Outside of that, he’s scored at least 31 FanDuel points in four of his six games.
Per our algorithm, Russ is projected to score the second most FanDuel points on the main slate. He also offers the best point-per-dollar value at his position. He’s been a model of consistency week in and week out and has chance to expand on his MVP campaign this week in an important divisional game. I expect to see Russ at his best.
I like stacking Russ with Metcalf in this matchup. I expect a lot of people to chase Tyler Lockett, who went absolutely wild in Week 7 -- posting a stat line of 15 receptions, 200 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns. While I certainly think Lockett makes for a nice play, as well, my focus will be on Metcalf, who could be the less popular of the two.
Per our numbers, we project Metcalf to have more targets, receiving yards and touchdowns than Lockett this week. The difference between the two isn’t substantial, but it's enough to make me want Metcalf in my lineups, especially considering popularity.
Per Pro Football Focus (PFF), Metcalf is expected to line up against Niners’ cornerback Jason Verrett. Verrett has been quite solid this season, but he has yet to face a wide receiver like Metcalf. Metcalf will tower over Verrett in this matchup. He’s five inches taller than the cornerback and more than 30 pounds heavier.
We’ve already seen Metcalf have his way with last year’s Defensive Player of the Year, Stephon Gilmore, so he should have no problem getting separation in this matchup against Verrett.
Tennessee Titans
Ryan Tannehill ($7,500) and A.J. Brown ($7,500)
The last stack I like this week is a Tennessee Titans stack between Ryan Tannehill and A.J. Brown. They’ll be facing off against the Cincinnati Bengals, and Tennessee carries an implied team total of 29.5 points, the second most on the main slate. Before I dive into why I like this stack, I want to mention that it’s likely to be windy in Cincinnati this week, and that's something we need to factor in.
However, this is a great matchup for the Titans. Tannehill should be able to get back to his efficient play this week against a Bengals defense that has allowed 27.7 points per game to opposing teams this season.
Per our projections, Tannehill is a top-five point-per-dollar value at the quarterback position for Week 8. He’s averaging 22.7 FanDuel points per game so far this season, which is the sixth most of any quarterback on the main slate. He has thrown for more than 300 yards or multiple touchdowns in every game so far this season -- all while missing his number-one wide receiver, Brown, for two games.
In the four games that Brown has played this season, Tannehill has thrown 11 touchdown passes, and Brown has been on the receiving end of four of those touchdowns. And even though he missed Weeks 2 and 3 due to an injury, Brown still leads all Titans wide receivers with 32 targets on the season.
Brown shouldn’t have any issue expanding on those numbers this week against a beatable Bengals secondary. Per PFF, Brown is expected to be lined up against Bengals’ cornerback Darius Phillips. PFF is giving Brown a 26% advantage over Phillips, which ranks in the top 10 of best receiver/cornerback matchups on the main slate. Brown is bigger, faster and stronger than Phillips, and I think we’ll see that come Sunday.
Again, keep an eye on the wind in Cincinnati. If winds are sustained above 20 to 25 MPH, I would bump down the passing attacks in this game. However, this game may not be nearly as bad wind-wise as some of other games this week, which could see winds get up to 40 MPH. Gross.
Griffin Swanson is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Griffin Swanson also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username GriffDogg_. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. (edited)
