NFL DFS DraftKings Top Stacks for Week 1

NFL DFS DraftKings Top Stacks for Week 1

If you read my article, How to Win the DraftKings Millionaire Maker Contest, you will already know how important it is that you include at least one team stack in your lineup. Remember that in 2017, 13 out of 15 winning Millionaire Maker lineups included at least one stack! So which players should you be targeting in week 1? Here are a few of my favorite NFL DFS DraftKings Top Stacks for Week 1!

NFL DFS – Highly Owned DraftKings Top Stacks

Tom Brady $7,200, Chris Hogan $6,100, Rob Gronkowski $6,900

It’s never a bad idea to maximize your exposure to the match-up that Vegas predicts to be the highest scoring game of the day.  The only possible way I wouldn’t include Hogan or Gronk in a lineup with Brady is if I wanted to play Phillip Dorsett ($3,700) as a dart throw. Houston had one of the worst passing defenses in the league last year, and while they are expected to improve in 2018, it’s Tom Brady we’re talking about. He doesn’t care about your defense. He sliced the Texans up for 378 yards and 5 touchdowns last season. Care to guess who he leaned on that game? If you guessed Chris Hogan and Rob Gronkowski, you are right!

Hogan finished with 4 catches, 68 yards, and 2 touchdowns while Gronk produced 8 catches, 89 yards and 1 touchdown. Despite being 41 years old, that type of ceiling for Brady is still there. A Patriots stack won’t come cheap, but it could be worth the price. What should help you stomach the cost, is that there are so many affordable running backs to choose from such as James Conner ($4,500), Carlos Hyde ($4,500), and Royce Freeman ($4,500).

Drew Brees $6,800 and Michael Thomas $7,800

While the game in New England is expected to be the highest scoring affair of the day, it’s actually New Orleans who has the highest implied point total on Sunday. Thomas has been the top target on a high-powered Saints offense since the day he was drafted, and he has a great chance to get off to a great start against a Tampa Bay defense that hemorrhages points to quarterbacks and wide receivers last year. In 2017, the Bucs defense surrendered the 11th most points to opposing quarterbacks while also managing to finish dead last in points allowed to wide receivers.

Seeing as how Tampa didn’t make any offseason changes to the secondary that have me expecting substantial improvement, Brees and Thomas ought to feast in week 1. Without Ingram for the first few weeks, we could see New Orleans revert back to their pass happy ways which helped Brees become one of the most prolific passers in league history. They are one of my favorite DraftKings Top Stacks of week 1.

Phillip Rivers $6,400 and Keenan Allen $7,500

If I had to predict which stack would carry the highest ownership on Sunday, Rivers and Allen would be my first guess. For starters, that little green number next to Keenan Allen’s name that says “32nd” influences people more than you might think. However, one note that you should at least be aware of is that last season both Rivers and Allen really struggled against the Chiefs. In two games, Rivers totaled 464 yards, 1 touchdown, and 6 interceptions.

Keenan Allen averaged a measly 5 catches and 57 yards. I’m really not too concerned about that carrying over into 2018 though. Between the Chiefs trading away Marcus Peters during the off-season and Eric Berry most likely missing this game due to an injury, things will most likely go from bad to worse for this Kansas City defense. Another bonus is that if Joey Bosa is ruled out, the Chiefs offense should have a much easier time putting points on the board. We could be looking at a big time shootout in LA!

Andy Dalton $5,800 and A.J. Green $7,300

The Colts defense is going to be bad. Very bad. They’re the type of defense that you target in DFS regardless of who they’re playing. It’s especially exciting to target an awful defense when a top-level player like A.J. Green gets to take the field against them. Any chance of a Dalton/Green stack flying under the radar was probably ruined in week 3 of the preseason when they connected for 4 catches, 50 yards, and a touchdown.

NFL DFS –  Lesser Owned DraftKings Top Stacks

Leonard Fournette $7,100 and Jaguars DST $3,700

Three times last season, a RB/DST stack was included in the winning Millionaire Maker lineup. Although, it is worth noting that each time there was also another stack involving a QB in the same lineup. Now don’t get me wrong. Fournette is going to be a popular play on Sunday. He has a great match-up which should lead to a positive game script. One of the things I’m most intrigued to see on Sunday is what the Jaguars DST ownership will look like.

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Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE has been talking about the Ravens DST match-up against Nathan Peterman and the Bills, and with Baltimore only costing $100 more than Jacksonville, I know they’ll be the more popular play. Sunday is an opportunity to roster the best defense in the league, at lower ownership than usual, in a game they’ll be lining up against Eli Manning. I can see it now. Eli turns the ball over a few times resulting in a short field which will provide multiple scoring opportunities for Fournette. This is one of the DraftKings top stacks that will be hard for me to pass up.

Andrew Luck $6,100 and Jack Doyle $3,600

Despite looking healthy and good to go in the preseason, I suspect many DFS players will still be too scared to play Luck in week 1. It goes like this though. The Colts have no running game. The Colts will also field arguably the league’s worst defense. That’s the perfect recipe for Luck being forced to throw 40+ times in order for Indianapolis to stand a chance in this game. Who might he be throwing to a majority of the time? Jack Doyle.

It just so happens that the Colts have a match-up against a Bengals team that gave up the 9th most points to the tight end position last year. If you refer back to my article, How to Win the NFL DraftKings Millionaire Maker Contest, you’ll be reminded that 6 out of 15 of the winning lineups last year had a QB/TE stack. Outside of New England, Luck and Doyle are my favorite QB/TE stack in week 1.

Ryan Fitzpatrick $5,000 and Mike Evans $6,700

I love the roster flexibility this stack will afford. If you want to pay up for some of the more expensive players like DJ, Kamara, or Brown, you will have to have to find ways to save money at other positions. Fitzpatrick is a serviceable NFL quarterback and was productive in fantasy football as recently as last season. In the few games Fitzpatrick filled in at QB last year, he showed a willingness to funnel the ball to Evans. They connected for 5 catches and 92 yards on 10 targets in week 11, while Evans logged 6 catches for 78 yards on 12 targets in week 12.

As I’ve already mentioned, New Orleans has the highest implied point total on the slate, and the Bucs are nearly a double-digit underdog. If that prediction comes to fruition, Tampa will be forced to air it out all day long in order to try to play catch up with the high scoring Saints offense. There’s practically zero buzz about either of these guys, which is one of the reasons they’re such an attractive stacking target. They are one of the DraftKings Top Stacks that could really fly under the radar. If you really want to roll the dice, consider stacking Fitzpatrick with Chris Godwin ($4,100)!

Thanks for reading, NFL DFS DraftKings Top Stacks for Week 1! For additional notes on week 1, check out my NFL DFS DraftKings Week 1 Lineup Advice!