Welcome to the Week 4’s Stacks article. I hope you guys had as much success as I did last weekend thanks to the explosion of fantasy goodness on the gridiron. Generally I would like to first look back at the previous week to see what went right for us and what went terribly wrong, however this week I feel like that is a bit pointless as the fantasy scoring came in bunches.
QB/WR Stacks
I think it’s pretty obvious that the top option and most likely highest owned option will be the passing game of the Green Bay Packers. Aaron Rodgers/Randall Cobb/James Jones are in another prime position as the 49ers defense has been gashed by the passing attacks of the Steelers and Cardinals over the last two weeks. For some reason, Rodgers was extremely under owned last week and I expect people to not make that mistake again. With that said, I could see playing a fade in GPP’s as this one should get out of hand early. James Jones’ ownership level on Thursday GPP’s on FD was through the roof and I think he makes an interesting fade option and if you want to play the Packers passing attack and want a second option to add to the trio, why not look at Ty Montgomery or even Richard Rodgers. I think the second highest owned combination is going to be Derek Carr/Amari Cooper. I personally like the idea of Michael Crabtree, however his Thursday % shows me he is off of a lot of people’s radar in this spot. Cooper and Carr seem to be in-sync and Cooper has back to back 100+ yard games. The one thing that scares me is that Cooper has yet to be targeted inside the opponents 25 yard line and that’s not just the line of scrimmage, that’s any route he has run to with-in 25 yards of the end zone. The next two on the list are there for obvious reasons as Carson Palmer/Larry Fitzgerald and Matt Ryan/Julio Jones are just on another planet right now when it comes to connecting. Julio is always going to get as many targets as possible and will always be a top option across the sites. Fitzgerald looks rejuvenated and looks unstoppable out there. With that said, he is 32 years old and I would expect a break out game from John Brown as soon as the secondary’s start to take notice in Fitz a bit more.
I never thought I would say this, but I think Peyton Manning/Demaryius Thomas/Emmanuel Sanders are being over looked and that can be a great thing for us in our GPP’s this weekend. Now, it’s very tough for me to want to stack them as I am a die-hard Vikings fan, however it is what it is and the Broncos offense has struggled running the ball and the passing game has looked better and better as the season has progressed. In the Thursday started GPP’s on FD, Peyton saw an ownership % of just 2.3, while Thomas was 5.8% and Sanders was 7.2% owned. I know the Vikings have an up and coming, young defense, however I think this week is going to show some growing pains. If you want a really low owned, GPP flier type stack I would look at Blake Bortles/Allen Hurns this weekend against the Colts.
RB/DEF Stacks
This week I find it a bit tougher to locate the combinations that I feel really confident about. I think the first combination to like is the Karlos Williams/Buffalo Bills combo as they get to face what can be a turnover prone Eli Manning-led offense. Williams is going to be extremely popular this weekend, but for great reason. I think the Bills defense is flying quite a bit under the radar as they generally haven’t lived up to their preseason hype. Another combination that I am going to try out this weekend is going to be somewhat contrarian as the masses look to hop on the Packers passing attack. I like the spot that Eddie Lacy/Green Bay are in against the 49ers this weekend. The 49ers defense has given up 5 rushing TDs over their last 2 games to the likes of DeAngelo Williams and Chris Johnson. I know the defense has struggled against Kaepernick in the past, however I think the 49ers offensive line will allow the D to get pressure on him and force mistakes. Kaepernick looked terrible last weekend and I think his bad play continues.
The next three that I am looking at are Devonta Freeman/Atlanta, Joseph Randle/Dallas and C.J. Anderson/Denver. Freeman has been a beast so far this season as he has 18 red zone carries already, while the defense gets to face Ryan Mallett and the Texans. Randle exploded last week with 3 TDs and while I would expect that to be his best game of the season, I think the Cowboys are going to try to control the clock even more while Romo is out and Randle should be a huge part of that. The Cowboys defense can be so hit or miss, but I think they might be able to take advantage of some bad Brees attempts should he be ok to go. A shoulder injury is nothing to scoff at as everything in the NFL is based purely on fraction of seconds and if Brees lacks his usual zip, passes that had been completed before could be picked off now. The last of those 3 is Anderson and the Broncos. This one is weighted to be very strong on the defense’s side with a bit of a gamble on Anderson. The Vikings rush d has been so-so thus far and I expect Anderson to have a Forsett type break-out game at some point in the near future. I know I am high on the Bronco’s passing game, but if you aren’t, I would look at the running game in this one.
Returner/DEF Stacks
The number 1 on my list is Darren Sproles/Philadelphia. I could have included this one above as Sproles is going to see the ball plenty on offense, however he has been extremely dangerous on special teams so far in 2015 and if this game is sloppy due to the weather, I would expect a small, quick guy like Sproles to be at an advantage. The defense gets to take on the turnover machine that is Kirk Cousins, enough said. One combination that has me intrigued for this weekend is the one of Ty Montgomery/Green Bay. With Davante Adams looking like he will be out this weekend, Montgomery jumps to the #3 WR spot in an offense that runs 3 wide sets over 90% of the time. He caught a TD pass last week and is extremely dangerous as a return man. I wish he would get a PR try as I think he is even more dangerous than Micah Hyde has been in his career.
The next two are combinations that you will most likely see each and every week as Tyler Lockett/Seattle and David Johnson/Arizona are high upside plays. I am going to keep going back to the well with these guys in spots as both of these guys are dangerous with the ball in their hands. Both players’ coaches have stated how they want to have them more integrated into their offenses and at some point we could see Darren Sproles type games from both of them. I am going to finish off with 1 very interesting (homer) pick as I think Cordarrelle Patterson/Minnesota could be in a sneaky spot. Patterson has really regressed as a WR since showing flashes as a rookie, however the Vikings receiving core is dealing with some injury issues that may limit Wright and Johnson in this one. I know the defense is taking on what I feel like is a top offensive option this week, however there is definitely a possibility I am wrong as the Broncos have not been as high octane this season as in years past. Patterson has shown his willingness to take any kickoff out of the end zone and while McManus generally sends it through the end zone, I would not be surprised to see a couple of returns from Patterson as well as some integration into a struggling passing game.
