Daily Fantasy Football Top Stacks for FanDuel and DraftKings Week 1 – 9/9/18

Daily Fantasy Football Top Stacks for FanDuel and DraftKings Week 1 - 9/9/18

Welcome back football fans. After a long offseason and even longer preseason, week one of the NFL regular season has finally arrived. I will be breaking down some of my top stacks for GPP formats and that doesn't mean just quarterback and receiver combos but also some other off the board correlation plays that can help you cash big. Let's get started.

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New Orleans Saints

Quarterback - Drew Brees
Primary Target - Micheal Thomas
Secondary Target - Alvin Kamara

Using the DFSR Player Lab, I used three filters for my first query this week looking at games with high totals, quarterbacks projected for 35 or more pass attempts, and teams facing weak passing defenses. Drew Brees was the only QB that popped in that model which is why the Saints sit as my #1 stacking option this week. It is no secret that Saints are going to be high owned and it makes sense as they face a Bucs team that is coming off a season where they allowed a league-high 261 passing yards per game and ranked dead last in DVOA passing defense. This game has the second-highest total(50) on the board and if the Saints score like we all expect them to, most of the production should fall on the pass game. It starts with Drew Brees who did see his pass attempts(536) go down last season but still led the league in yards per attempt(8.09) and was fifth in passing yards(4,334). His top receiver was Michael Thomas who was incredibly consistent finishing sixth in targets per game(9.3) and third in receptions(104) for a 69% catch rate while racking up 1,245 yards. With the Saints early-down running back suspended, Alvin Kamara takes over the bell cow duties and he is also an incredible pass catcher who finished third among backs with 6.3 targets per game with an 81% catch rate and led all backs with 826 receiving yards. While I will have Brees pair with one of the two in a ton of lineups, I will also have some stacks with all three together this week as the ceiling is very high, especially if the Bucs can score some points and keep it relatively close.

Cincinnati Bengals

Quarterback - Andy Dalton
Primary Target - AJ Green
Secondary Targets - John Ross

Next, I wanted to look at the wide receiver position on the Player Lab and I used two filters looking at wideouts projected for eight or more targets facing defenses who rank 25th or worse against the pass. Only three receivers popped in that model and we already talked about Michael Thomas above leaving Keenan Allen and A.J. Green. I will definitely have exposure to both but wanted to highlight the Bengals this week as there is a chance the Dalton/Green stack could be lower owned with just as much upside.  I never get excited about rostering Andy Dalton who is nothing more than an average arm in the league and is coming off a season where he averaged just 208 passing yards per game but the matchup says it all this week. He will face a Colts secondary that ranks dead last when looking at the PFF preseason rankings and it makes sense as their two starting outside corners(Nate Hairston & Pierre Desir) both rank outside the Top 100 in their ranks. This bodes well for A.J. Green to start his 2018 campaign on the right foot. If you are looking for value in the stack, also consider John Ross who has lightning speed(4.22 at the combine in 2017) and is looking to rebound after only catching one ball in his rookie season as he dealt with injuries and was even a healthy scratch.

Tennessee Titans

Quarterback - Marcus Mariota
Primary Target - Corey Davis
Secondary Target - Taywan Taylor

The final stack I want to mention here is the Tennessee Titans. There is a lot of risk here as they rank 19th in points per game in 2017 but there is also a ton of upside in this matchup. Marcus Mariota is a dual-threat quarterback that is coming off a season where he rushed for 312 yards and was injured early in the season. He has safety blanket in tight end, Delanie Walker, and a breakout potential wide receiver in Corey Davis who was drafted fifth overall in last years draft. If you want to go even deeper, consider rookie, Taywan Taylor, who was drafted in the third round this spring and has really impressed in camp and in the preseason. I think this stack could be very low owned as Mariota is sandwiched right between Phillip Rivers and Andy Dalton in salary and both are projected at higher ownership levels this week. The matchup also pops off the page as the Dolphins secondary ranks 26th in PFF's preseason rankings adn they are coming off a season where they ranked 29th in DVOA vs. the pass. It's a high risk/high reward kind of play that can help you win a GPP.

 

Chris Durell