RADIO
Its Week 2 of the NFL season and time for everyone to overreact/ignore what happened in week one! My chalk stack hit easily, no surprise. To be transparent, my sneaky stack fell flat. However, if you went with Darius Slayton from my contrarian stack you were pretty happy. But I'm not here to gloat or ask for forgiveness. I'll go all Bellicheckian on you and say we're onto week 2.
Like everything else in the DFS world, make sure you keep tuned in to all the injury reports and the like. A reminder though that for our purposes, we are going to define the term "stack" as a minimum of three options. So while I often stack my RB and DST together, I'm not going to discuss those options here. More often than not, my stacks include a QB and of his WRs plus either a second WR, his TE, or his pass-catching RB. Sometimes maybe all of them!
As I mentioned, when looking at stacks I like to review the different types of stacks - the chalky stack, the contrarian stack, the cheap stack, etc. Now that we are on the same page, here are your NFL Week 2 DFS Stacks.
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NFL Week 2: The Chalk Stack - Cowboys (And yes, Falcons too!)
In this very space last week I told you to stack the Falcons and that worked out pretty well. I have no problem stacking the Falcons this week either, but I like the Cowboys even more in this game. With the highest under/over for the week (52 pts), you are going to want a piece of this game. It's a pretty good game to "game stack" in fact. For our novice DFS players, that means take players from both teams often resulting in say a five-player stack.
I wouldn't fault you for going with Matt Ryan, but I like Dak more. I know his production last week is not what many of his owners were banking on, but I saw enough that I'm still very encouraged. The Falcons gave up the eighth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks last year. They have started in a similar fashion, giving up the most fantasy points to quarterbacks last week. I'd spend the extra $200 on Dak in DraftKings, but if you want to save $600 on FanDuel by going Ryan, that's probably okay too.
Especially because Atlanta has more receiving options. Blake Jarwin would have been a nifty option at TE this week, but we won't be seeing him for quite a while now. However, I do like Hayden Hurst this week as a cost-saving option. Julio Jones is often a strong play, just as he was last week when he soared to 157 receiving yards. You never know when Julio is going to score a touchdown, but I'd expect yardage in last week's range. Calvin Ridley however is the better bargain again this week. He might not catch two touchdowns and rack up 130 receiving yards again, but I would be shocked if he didn't easily have over a dozen fantasy points again this week.
The Cowboys however are the headliners here. Ezekial Elliot caught three of four targets for 31 yards and should see similar numbers this week. He won't help your "stack" as much but expect another solid game from him but possibly fewer touches as the Cowboys shift toward a more pass-heavy ratio this week. Think I'm wrong? The fact is the Falcons have not given up more than 111 yards to a running back since 2018. The way to beat the Falcons is through the air.
They were the 10th most generous in the league last year in enabling passing plays of 20-yards or more (56 times or about three and half a game). Amari Cooper should see the biggest share of targets, giving him a very solid floor. Given he's not even priced like a WR1 on either site, there is plenty of opportunity here. Of course, Cooper's ceiling is capped by the presence of both Michael Gallup and CeeDee Lamb. I like Gallup the most from a PT/$ angle, but I am tempted to plug all three into my lineup. The loss of Jarwin should help elevate Lamb's value this week.
NFL Week 2: The Contrarian Stack - Carolina Panthers
I am going to continue to fade the Tampa Bay Buccaneers until they give me a reason otherwise. They are favored by more than a touchdown this week, which is easily about four points too many. It's against the grain, but I see Carolina scoring four touchdowns this week.
Let's give one touchdown to Christian McCaffrey because he's Christian McCaffrey. Maybe it's a rush, maybe it's a pass. If it's a pass, even more points for Teddy Bridgewater who is coming off a solid 269-yard passing day. The aforementioned Falcons have been strong against the run; the Buccaneers have been even better. They allowed the second-fewest fantasy points to RBs last year, so the best way to attack the Bucs is through the air. And I will remind you that the last time these two teams tangled, they finished with 63 points combined!
Bridgewater is extremely affordable given the potential for a shoot-out. But the real gem in this stack is DJ Moore. He is priced in the low-end WR2 range, much in part due to his pedestrian game last week. But I would keep expectations high this week as he was targeted nine times.
All nine of DJ Moore’s targets from Sunday’s game vs Las Vegas
-Positive to see him continually used in all areas of the field
-Few misfires from Teddy. Rapport should be built as season progresses
-First one is absolutely on DJ along with EZ target pic.twitter.com/QvotQBDIMF— Kev Mahserejian (@RotoSurgeon) September 17, 2020
Robby Anderson meanwhile looks as if he is the new WR2 in Carolina. He saw almost as many targets (eight) as Moore and did far more with them. He put up a whopping 28 DKFPs last week on six catches for 114 yards and a score. He doesn't need to come anywhere close to that to match his still low salary this week.
I'd stick to the traditional 3-man stack of Bridgewater, Moore, and Anderson. However, Ian Thomas is extremely cheap and doesn't need to do too much to provide value.
NFL Week 2: The Sneaky Stack - The Denver Broncos
Remember last week when I told you that the Steelers gave up the seventh-most fantasy points last year? Well, they certainly stuffed the run last week. However, they still gave up the 12th most fantasy points to WRs last week. Your cash game playing brethren will double their money (or less) by rolling out Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams. However, you might be taking down a GPP with the likes of Drew Lock and his receivers.
And like Mawg and Lonestar, you won't be doing it for the money. I know, you are probably thinking I'm like the many surrounding Dark Helmet. Yes, the Broncos came out flat last week. But they were without stud receiver Cortland Sutton. The latest reports say that Sutton could easily play this weekend, giving Drew Lock a 6'4" 216-pound target he needs. Sutton is priced like a WR2 at best. Should he hit just his average metrics from last year he'll be profitable.
Drew Lock meanwhile is priced down in Mitch Trubisky land, giving him a ton of space to make us a nice profit. Noah Fant is not a bargain like Lock, but he's fairly priced on both sites. He got off to a solid start last week, catching five of six targets for 81 yards and a score.
Thanks for reading, and good luck with your Week 1 DFS Stacks!
