Well we have all made it through opening weekend of the NFL season and now we get the let down that is week 2 of the season. I use the phrase let down because we had such anticipation for the NFL season to get under way as well as the fact that around the industry the GPP prize pools will be scaled back slightly. With that said, there is still a TON of money to be won this weekend and you have come to the right place in order to learn about some combinations that just may lead you to become a millionaire this weekend!
If you happened to read last week’s article you know that I focused on a couple positional combinations you generally want to stack a team’s WR with their QB (maybe 2 WRs if you want to aim at high ceiling with a lower floor) and another combination that is slowly becoming more popular, the pairing of a team’s RB with their DEF in a positive match-up. Both of these combinations have correlation with their pairing and they generally work out positively. Another combination that I am going to incorporate today is finding a solid RB/WR who returns kicks and punts and pairing them with their team’s DEF. This combination has some high upside as the KR/PR for a TD gets you 12 points in that situation as compared to somebody getting 6 for using the DEF and another person getting 6 because he had somebody like Tyler Lockett. This strategy worked in 3 different scenarios in week 1. The Lockett/Seahawks stack, the Tavon Austin/ Rams stack and the Jarvis Landry/Dolphins stack. We cannot expect to have this sort of success every week but it is an interesting stack to discuss to see if there is some possibility to unearth bonus points in a given week.
QB/WR Stacks
In my eyes, I see 3 combinations that are going to be pretty popular this weekend. The Drew Brees/Brandin Cooks combination looks like the most popular from my initial looks as they get to take on a Tampa Bay defense that was torched in the first half of week 1 by Marcus Mariota and the Titans. The Saints offense is a lot more dangerous when they get to play on the turf in New Orleans and I expect this game to be over early. With that being said, the Saints are not afraid to continue passing as it is just how their offense is built and Payton likes to keep the gas peddle on. The next combination that should be pretty popular is the Matt Ryan/Julio Jones duo as the Falcons take on the Giants. The Giants gave up 356 pass yards to Romo and allowed him to complete 80% of his passes. Ryan and Jones looked to be on the same page last week and I think Jones is in prime position to be the top fantasy wide-out in the NFL this season. The other top combination is going to be Sam Bradford/Jordan Matthews. This combination has the pleasure of playing in a Chip Kelly offense while being under priced around the industry. At some point this season this stack is going to cost you quite a bit more than it does right now. The Cowboys defense looked decent over all against Eli Manning last week, however the Cowboy defense generally is used to spending most of their time on the sidelines as the offense generally controls the clock. That is not going to be the case against the up-tempo Eagles.
Next up are 3 combinations that I think will be owned a decent amount, but feel they should be given more consideration. The first one is Ben Roethlisberger/Antonio Brown as we already know how consistent and explosive Brown is. The Steelers are still without Le’Veon Bell this weekend and Big Ben will rely on his star WR yet again. Big Ben was a couple of WR mental mistakes away from putting up a pretty stellar day last week against the Patriots and I think this week those plays get executed correctly. I think another combination that will be used decently is the Tom Brady/Rob Gronkowski combo as they showed the world last week what they should be doing week in and week out. Buffalo has a pretty solid pass defense and they slowed Luck and the Colts down quite a bit, especially in the first half. With that said, I never want to bet against Brady when he has somebody as dominant as Gronk. The next combination is Eli Manning/Odell Beckham Jr. The Giants take on the very dangerous Falcons this weekend and could be in for a shootout. I do not see this combination being as popular as last weekend after Eli looked pretty rough and ODB just flopped. You really never know which Eli you are going to get, however you can not ignore the upside that this duo offers. I am going to give you 2 additional combinations that will go over looked either due to injury or just due to a lack of dependable WR to go to. Those 2 combinations are Tony Romo/Jason Witten and Carson Palmer/John Brown. Romo just lost his everything in Dez Bryant and Carson just does not have anybody that screams must pair as Larry Fitzgerald has dropped down a few rungs over the years and he lacks the explosiveness. John Brown is extremely dangerous when he is on the field and is capable of scoring a TD from any spot on the field.
RB/DEF Stacks
I have 3 combinations for this stack that I think are in an excellent spot this week. The first one is making their second appearance here as I am still in love with Lamar Miller/Miami as the defense is in a great spot against a weak Jaguars offense. I think the Dolphins coaching staff learned some lessons last week and are going to want to get Miller even more involved in the offense this week. The second combination is Justin Forsett/Baltimore. Forsett really struggled last week against a very strong Denver defense, while the Ravens defense really made it tough on Peyton Manning and the Broncos. It was an ugly offensive game for both teams so I expect a bounce back week for Forsett this week. The last combo is based on the hopes that the RB will be making his 2015 debut this weekend. Tre Mason/St Louis might be my favorite combination this weekend as the Rams defense is ridiculously tough and should be able to take it to the Redskins offense. It looks like Mason is a full go. I will pause if we get word that Gurley is active as well. It sounds like both practiced in full on Thursday.
Returner/DEF Stacks
There are two combinations that stand out as Jarvis Landry/Miami are probably in the best spot again this weekend. Landry took a punt back for a TD last week, while being the focal point of the passing offense. The second one is Tyler Lockett/Seattle. Hear me out with this one as most of you are going to call me insane for a defense against the Packers offense. The reason this combo is there is strictly because of what Lockett brings from the return game as well as the fact that the Packers special teams units have struggled mightily for years. Special teams is a function that the Packers often are over matched at and I would not be shocked if Lockett returns a punt or kick for a TD for the second straight week. One sneaky option in my eyes is the combination of David Johnson/Arizona as they take on a Bears team that should turn the ball over a decent amount of times this season. Johnson is in line for a bigger role this weekend as Ellington is out for a couple of weeks and Johnson looked extremely explosive taking his only reception for a 55 yard TD last week. Guys like Abdullah and Tate are returners for the Lions and the Vikings special teams looked horrid last week. Sproles and the Eagles will always be a usable combination as I am not sure there is a more dangerous overall weapon in the NFL than Sproles. Tavon Austin is another one that when paired with STL can put up monster numbers.
