In this weekly DraftKings article, we will discuss two cash game stacks that should provide a high floor for your 50-50 and H2H cash game contests. These stacks are safe to use in your GPP tournaments as well, but they will most likely carry a high ownership percentage. In the second half of this article, we will review some GPP stacks along with two defensive stacks.
*This article focuses on stacks from the DraftKings 11-game main slate and does not include Thursday Night Football, Saturday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, or Monday Night Football.
*Motivation is a key factor during the final month of the season. The key is to target teams and players that are still in the playoff hunt. Avoid teams that look to be “going through the motions” and show a lack of effort.
$$ Cash GAME STACKS $$
New England Patriots Stack at Pittsburgh Steelers
QB Tom Brady $7,600 with TE Rob Gronkowski $7,300 (Cash/GPP)
Alternative/Super Stacks: WR Brandin Cooks $7,100 (Cash/GPP)
Expect the Patriots to “bounce-back” strong as the number-one seed is on the line this week against the Steelers. Players from both sides of this matchup will be very popular due to the extremely high total of 53 points. Tom Brady has dominated the Steelers with a 10-2 career record and a 115.1 passer rating. Since 2007, Brady has averaged 324.7 passing yards per game, 22 touchdowns, and zero interceptions against the Steelers (Thank you to NFL’s Dan Hanzus for providing that information). Rob Gronkowski played high school football (Woodland Hills) in the Pittsburgh area and always “gets-up” for matchups against the Steelers. In five career regular-season games against the Steelers, Gronkowski has 30 receptions, 496 yards, and eight touchdowns. The loss of Ryan Shazier cannot be understated as he was the glue that held the Steelers defense together.
Seattle Seahawks Stack versus Los Angeles Rams
QB Alex Smith $7,300 with TE Jimmy Graham $4,900 (Cash/GPP)
Alternative/Super Stacks: WR Doug Baldwin $6,700 (GPP)
The Seahawks will be playing with a sense of urgency as the NFC West division and playoffs are on the line this week against the Rams. Russell Wilson has been “white-hot” with multiple-touchdowns in each of his past eight games. Some may be hesitant to roster Jimmy Graham after he finished with zero receptions last week against Jacksonville. Start Graham with confidence as prior to that game, the tight end had recorded nine touchdowns over the previous eight games.
GPP STACKS
Here are some GPP stacks with multi-touchdown upside.
Carolina Panthers Stack versus Green Bay Packers
QB Cam Newton $6,400 with WR Devin Funchess $6,600 (GPP)
Alternate/Super Stacks: RB Christian McCaffrey $6,000 (GPP)
Correlation Play: WR Davante Adams $6,800 (GPP)
The Panthers are “neck and neck” with the Saints and Falcons in the crowded NFC South. Aaron Rodgers is expected to return to the Packers and that could push this game into more of an offensive-driven matchup. Cam Newton has been “boom or bust” much of the season but has two games where he finished with four total touchdowns and another with three passing touchdowns. Devin Funchess has been the primary beneficiary with at least six targets in each game since Week Two. The Packers secondary has struggled and is currently the ninth-worst ranked pass defense in the NFL.
Pittsburgh Steelers Stack versus New England Patriots
QB Ben Roethlisberger $6,700 with WR Antonio Brown $9,100 (GPP)
Alternative/Super Stacks: RB Leveon Bell $9,300 GPP) or WR JuJu Smith-Schuster $5,400 (GPP)
Correlation Play: TE Rob Gronkowski $7,300 (GPP)
The rumors of Ben Roethlisberger’s early season demise have been greatly exaggerated. Over the past four weeks, Roethlisberger has passed for 1,446 yards with 12 touchdowns. The Patriots will have to “pick their poison” and decide whether to pay extra attention to Antonio Brown or bring extra men into the box to account for Leveon Bell. Brown now has over 1500 receiving yards this season and is on pace for 1,857 yards, which would be the third-highest total in NFL history.
Minnesota Vikings Stack versus Cincinnati Bengals
QB Case Keenum $6,100 with WR Adam Thielen $7,600 (GPP)
Alternative/Super Stacks: WR Stefon Diggs $5,800 (GPP)
The Vikings are yet another team playing with extra motivation with playoff seeding on the line. See a trend here? Case Keenum has quietly finished with multiple-touchdowns in five of his past six games. Adam Thielen has developed into a superstar with 125 targets, 80 receptions, 1162 yards and four touchdowns thus far. A Vikings stack should come in less owned as compared to other players in this article. FootballGuys Steve Buzzard currently has Case Keenum at 4% in his DraftKings Ownership Projections.
DEFENSIVE STACKS (Cash/GPP Tournaments)
There are two defensive stacks that stand out this week.
Jacksonville Jaguars Stack versus Houston Texans
RB Leonard Fournette $7,500 with D/ST Jaguars $4,500 (Cash/GPP)
The Jaguars are chasing their first division championship since they won the AFC Central back in 1999. Leonard Fournette is back to logging a heavy workload with 28 touches last week versus the Seahawks and 23 touches the week prior against the Colts. The Texans have surrendered at least 20 points in each of their past seven games. Stacking Fournette with the Jaguars defense is a strong correlation play as they should dominate this game in all facets.
New Orleans Saints Stack versus New York Jets
RB Alvin Kamara $8,600 with D/ST Saints $3,900 (Cash/GPP)
Saints running back Alvin Kamara suffered a concussion in his last game against the Falcons but practiced fully on Wednesday and should see his normal workload. If you like touchdowns, Kamara is your guy! Prior to his last game, Kamara has finished with nine touchdowns in his previous six games. The Jets defense has regressed allowing an average of 29.6 points over the past three games.
Thank you for reading! And as always, feel free to send any comments, suggestions, or nasty remarks to me on Twitter @shiposki75