DraftKings.com NFL DFS Week 14 Stack Picks for Cash and GPP Lineups
Week 14 of NFL DFS is already here, and everyone is looking score in one of the big money daily fantasy football contests at DraftKings. Every week, we’ll take a look at the top stacks for players over at DraftKings, finding optimal combinations based on matchup, usage, and recent performance, among other noteworthy metrics.
As with any daily fantasy sport, the advice below is relevant for fantasy purposes. A player, stack, or team might be better or worse from a fantasy perspective than in real life due to matchup, price, gameflow, and more. This is important to keep in mind when constructing a roster at any daily fantasy sports site.
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Week 14 DraftKings.com NFL DFS Top Stacks
Derek Carr ($6.4K), Michael Crabtree ($6.7K) @ KC – CASH/GPP
Michael Crabtree missed last week due to suspension, but fortunately for Derek Carr and the rest of the Oakland Raiders (and DFS owners), the New York Giants looked like a bad defense once again. Even without his top two weapons (Amari Cooper was out due to injury), Carr still nearly hit 300 passing yards and managed a passing touchdown. This week, with Crabtree back in the fold, Carr will be tasked with keeping up with a Chiefs team that is in desperate need of a win.
With the Raiders ranking dead last in passing DVOA, the Chiefs are in prime position to score in bunches. That’ll lead to more passing from the Oakland offense. Fortunately, the Raiders get a Chiefs defense ranking 24th in pass DVOA, and one which just allowed Josh McCown to throw for 331 yards and three scores. Without Cooper, Crabtree has double-digit target upside, and he and Carr have found ways to connect before. The last time these two sides met, Carr connected with Cooper on two touchdowns and Crabtree on one. With the former out of the picture this week, the math on this one isn’t too tricky.
DeShone Kizer (4.9K), Josh Gordon ($5.5K) vs. GB – GPP
The Green Bay Packers D/ST is an interesting option this week, as the Browns have consistent meltdown potential. But there’s merit in considering DeShone Kizer and Josh Gordon as GPP fliers this week. First, Gordon returned last week to see 11 targets, though he only caught four of them. Fortunately for owners, he still mustered 12.5 DK points, which shouldn’t have sunk many lineups on its own. Meanwhile, Kizer has strung together a few good performances as of late, scoring at least 14 DK points in four of the last five games. It’s a massive improvement from his early season woes.
Kizer can also run, and now he has both Corey Coleman and Josh Gordon at his disposal, not to mention Duke Johnson Jr. and a few competent tight ends. The Packers’ defense isn’t horrible, but it ranks 29th and 26th in WR1 and WR2 DVOA, respectively. It seems entirely plausible that Kizer puts up a career game in this spot. It’s more likely he doesn’t. That limits this stack to GPP only.
Philip Rivers ($6.8K), Hunter Henry ($4.6K) vs. WAS – GPP
The majority of fantasy players looking to stack the Chargers will likely go with Keenan Allen and Philip Rivers, but I like the idea of swapping out the streaking wideout for the Chargers’ future at tight end. Yes, Hunter Henry is my favorite Chargers target this week, and for a few reasons. First, Washington ranks fifth in WR1 DVOA, and that ability to shut down an opponent’s top option concerns me when it comes to Allen. Further, Washington ranks 20th in TE DVOA and 25th in RB-PA DVOA. That leads me to Austin Ekeler, Melvin Gordon, and Hunter Henry as my top receiving options. Given Henry is the only pure pass-catcher out of that bunch, I like him to add to his hot streak with a third consecutive double-digit performance.
And you can get even more benefit out of Henry’s momentum by stacking him with Rivers, who has just one dud this season. Rivers has scored in double-digits in all but one game and has 31.86 and 20.56 DK points in his past two outings. While Washington ranks 12th in passing DVOA, Rivers has found success against good defenses this season (which I wrote about in our DraftKings Week 14 Top Plays piece yesterday). He’s reliable, with some upside. And you can add a bit more upside with Henry, who has a pretty high ceiling at the tight end position.
Alex Smith ($6.5K), Kareem Hunt ($6.5K) vs. OAK – CASH
As with Keenan Allen, DFS players will flock to the Chiefs’ leading wideout in Tyreek Hill. But I also prefer a pivot in this situation. Yesterday, I discussed both Alex Smith and Kareem Hunt, and I like them just as much in a stack. The Chiefs boast an implied total of 25.5. Smith just dropped a massive 40.64 DK point score last week, while Hunt disappointed yet again. While I do not expect Smith to hit anywhere close to 40 (mostly because he only got there thanks to a 70-yard run), I do believe he is a very safe play with all his receiving options.
Against a bad Raiders defense, Hunt is a somewhat safe play, even with his recent struggles. The onetime frontrunner in the ROTY campaign only managed 9.3 DK points last week and hasn’t scored more than 20 since Sept. 24. But last week he saw five targets, the most since early November, and Andy Reid isn’t calling plays anymore. Just look at what that did: the Chiefs scored 31 points last week in a loss. With just nine rushes last week, Hunt should see his workload return to mid-teens this week, while I expect another four to five targets. At this price, with his upside, Hunt is tough to pass up in a buy-low plus matchup.
Jameis Winston ($5.9K), Cameron Brate ($4.1K) vs. DET
Jameis Winston is a bad quarterback when he’s not healthy, which can be said about almost any quarterback. Last week, he didn’t look 100 percent but still managed to throw two touchdown passes. And yes, both of those went Cameron Brate’s way, which is why I like both of them individually this week, but also in a stack. The QB-TE combo is tough to deal with, as Brate has tremendous size and Winston has the mobility to find him on broken plays and true routes, alike.
This week, the two get a decent matchup against a Detroit defense ranking 19th in DVOA, but that team also ranks second-to-last in TE DVOA. For that reason, I like both Winston and Brate to continue building upon their solid rapport. Last week, they connected for 39 yards and two scores on six targets. While I’m not banking on a two-TD performance from Brate, he has flashed nine-target upside this season. Assuming Winston takes another positive step toward full health, there’s little reason to believe he won’t find the end zone on a few occasions, with Brate a likely beneficiary.
Giovani Bernard ($3.1K), Cincinnati Bengals D/ST ($3.3K) vs. CHI – Cash
With 44 snaps logged Monday in relief of an injured Joe Mixon, Gio Bernard saw his biggest snap total of the season. That won’t change this week, as Mixon continues working his way through concussion protocol. Look, yesterday I outlined several reasons why you should play Bernard, but really it comes down to his opportunity and his price. There are very few instances where you can roster a player with this kind of Pt/Sal upside. Bernard should absolutely crush value, and even if he doesn’t, it’s highly unlikely he doesn’t at least do enough to keep your lineup alive. Last week, he rushed for 77 yards on 13 carries. While his efforts only amounted to 11 DK points, this week he’ll see a full game, and the Bengals should run the ball a lot. Why?
Well, that brings me to the Bengals D/ST. The Bears have an implied total of 16 this week and are six-point underdogs. The Bengals D/ST has been putting up a lot of single digit scores as of late, but this gameflow really does play into their hands. I don’t expect them to be the highest scoring option at the position, but this Bears team, afraid to unleash Mitch Trubisky, doesn’t offer much of a threat. The Bengals D/ST and Bernard are safe, and both carry upside. That’s just what you’re looking for in Cash.
Other Stacks to Consider:
LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills D/ST
Dak Prescott, Dez Bryant
Blaine Gabbert, Larry Fitzgerald
Jimmy Garoppolo, Trent Taylor
Alfred Morris, Dallas Cowboys D/ST
