Fantasy
8/7/22
4 min read
Stacking in DFS
In Daily Fantasy Football, stacking has become essential in creating a lineup that provides the highest maximum output.
Stacking is playing multiple players from the same team or game. There are multiple ways to stack, and reasons behind when you should double or single stack with your QB.
QB Stacking
QB stacking is an essential tournament-building strategy, and there is much to break down with this concept. For QBs, there are double stacks and single stacks, which are an absolute must in large field tournaments. Double stacks represent taking two pass catchers on the same team, and single stacks are just one pass catcher.
For your QB to produce the highest number of fantasy points, players around him must produce. Unfortunately, not every QB can have the rushing capabilities to do it like Lamar Jackson. Even for Jackson, I always want to play Mark Andrews or Rashod Bateman. In 2021, 19 of the 29 QBs that scored over 30 points on both DraftKings or FanDuel threw for over 300 yards. Of the ten QBs that did not throw for 300 yards, six of them threw at least three passing touchdowns, and the four that didn’t throw for 300 yards got their points from rushing stats.
Double-Stacking
Double stacking isn’t necessary for the high rushing upside QBs. However, for the high upside passing QBs, I will look to double stack more often than single stacking. For example, double stacking Joe Burrow against the Ravens in Week 16 was a tournament-winning strategy. Burrow completed 37 passes and threw for 525 yards and four touchdowns. That week, Tee Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tyler Boyd produced big enough games to win a tournament. While Kyler Murray in Week 4 against the Minnesota Vikings only had Rondale Moore go for over 20 points from the pass-catching room.
The last thing to know is a concept called running it back, and it just means playing a player on the opposing team in your QB stack. Running it back is important because when the QB’s team is trailing or in a close competitive game, then they will not solely be taking time off the clock by running the ball. For example, in the big weeks that both Burrow and Murray had, players on the opposing teams were producing points. On DraftKings or Fanduel, Mark Andrews, K.J. Osborn, and Justin Jefferson were playable runbacks for all of these QB stacks.
Mini-Stacking
Mini stacking is another term to familiarize you with, and it represents a stack without a quarterback. For example, Derrick Henry and the Titans’ defense is a common mini stack. The reason is that the Titans will likely feed Derrick Henry the ball, which limits the opportunity for the other team to produce points. It also forces the opponent into passing situations, opening the door for sacks and interception opportunities.
Another example of a mini-stack is two players on opposite sides in the same game. Say the Panthers are taking on the Commanders, and you want to play Christian McCaffrey and Terry McLaurin. These two players can perform at a high level without their quarterback putting up a high point total and make for a solid mini-stack. The pricing of those two will most likely not make for a great one, but they could be an unpopular one and help you be unique.
Rostership with Stacking
Stacking rostership is a whole different process in itself. For example, Matthew Stafford against the Buccaneers at home for $6,400 could come in at over 12% rostered on a given week, and there are a few ways to get around playing him. For starters, if you choose to play Stafford when it comes to stacking him, most lineups will include Cooper Kupp at $6,800, who is projected to be 30% rostered. Avoiding Kupp is a costly choice, but knowing Stafford is a QB you want to double-stack with, you can include Tyler Higbee at $4,000, who is projected to be 10% rostered.
Adding Higbee to your build will present you with an opportunity to be unique, and if Stafford has a big game, there’s a good chance that Higbee can be a great value at that price. Then you could run it back with Chris Godwin at $6,100 even though he will be high rostered; there will not be many lineups with Stafford, Kupp, Higbee, and Godwin.
This scenario not only won a tournament, it was a big reason why the person won.
