3 FanDuel Stacks to Target in the Conference Championships

Stacking in daily fantasy football on FanDuel is a key strategy and a way to shoot for upside. There are a few different ways to correlate lineups that can help us maximize our ceiling.

The classic stack is a quarterback with one of his pass-catchers. Sometimes, it makes sense to use two pass catchers with their signal-caller, especially when the target share is concentrated around two players.

In other situations, we can pair a running back and a defense on the same team. This makes sense when a team is a huge favorite and expected to dominate, which can lead to carries for the back and chances for sacks and turnovers for the D/ST. We also can look to deploy a game stack -- rostering a QB, one of his pass-catchers, and a pass-catcher from the other team. Game stacks can work best in matchups that have high totals and close spreads.

Our Brandon Gdula did a study on stacking that is worth checking out before you make your lineups.

Here are four of the best stacks to zero in on in NFL DFS for this week's main slate.

NFL DFS Stacks

Kansas City Chiefs

Patrick Mahomes ($7,500) and Travis Kelce ($7,200)

We'll start with a stack that never goes out of style. It hasn't been as fruitful this season, but it's one that we know all too well.

We didn't see sparks fly from Patrick Mahomes last week, but if you had him in your lineups last week, you could tolerate it. He threw for 215 yards and two touchdowns while adding 19 rushing yards.

Mahomes saw his elite connection with Travis Kelce rekindle last week. Kelce was the man who saw the most targets, seeing a 28.6% share last week. He caught five of those targets for 75 yards. He found the end zone twice, including once where it looked like the defense forgot he existed.

Kelce wasn't nearly as poor as people made him out to be in the regular season, tying for the most fantasy points per game at tight end in half-PPR formats. You had to go back to November 20th for his last touchdown, though, so it was encouraging seeing him get used like this.

It's not going to be an easy matchup for the Kansas City Chiefs, facing the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore is ranked as the NFL's number-one pass defense, according to numberFire's schedule-adjusted metrics. The coverage will be tough, but Kelce's middle-of-the-field production is less susceptible to matchup issues.

We obviously only have two games on the slate, so we're searching for stacks with the most upside. Even though the Chiefs have the lowest implied team total on the slate (20.5 points), it isn't too hard to imagine Kelce scoring twice, which would make him a difference-maker in lineups this week.

San Francisco 49ers

Brock Purdy ($7,700), Brandon Aiyuk ($7,800), and George Kittle ($6,600)

The San Francisco 49ers' passing offense did not have its best display last week in the Divisional Round. Luckily, they'll be in a spot to turn things around this week.

Brock Purdy went 23 for 39 for 252 yards and one touchdown. It doesn't seem too bad on paper, but if you saw the game, you saw multiple passes that could have resulted in interceptions.

It didn't help that Deebo Samuel was injured and only played nine offensive snaps. Samuel will be at the very least banged up for this game; he's been limited in practice for most of the week. He will play, but there is some risk that he will have to leave early again or will not be as effective.

The two players that stand to benefit most would be Brandon Aiyuk and George Kittle.

Aiyuk finished with the 14th-most half-PPR points at wide receiver despite sometimes being overshadowed by Deebo. He had a higher target share (24% to 22%) and a higher average depth of target (14.01 yards compared to 7.1).

Kittle was fifth among tight ends in fantasy points per game with a 20% target share for SF. He also saw 22% of the end zone targets for the team.

It should be easier for the Niners passing game to get on track against the Detroit Lions' defense. They have been getting shredded through the air, allowing at least 349 yards in the last five games. Their pass defense ranks 30th in numberFire's metrics.

The 49ers have the highest-implied team total of any of the four teams on the slate (29.5 points), and these guys could get a huge piece of it.

Detroit Lions

Jared Goff ($7,200), Amon-Ra St. Brown ($9,000), and Sam LaPorta ($6,500)

We'll have to look to the other side of that game for our final stack. The Lions have made it this far on the backs of these three players in their passing game.

Amon-Ra St. Brown has a 29% target share of this season. He ended his streak of having over 100 scrimmage yards last week, but it's hard to complain about eight catches for 77 yards and a touchdown.

After being injured in Week 18, Sam LaPorta had a slow game in the Wild Card round (besides his touchdown) but was back to his best last week. He caught a team-high 9 passes on 11 targets, proving again to be one of the best young tight ends in football.

Jared Goff played the same role he has for most of the season. He got the ball to these talented receivers and was solid, if still unspectacular, for fantasy. He did top over 20 points last week, though, and will likely be the least popular option in DFS contests this week.

It won't be easy for the Lions going on the road against San Francisco's defense. The Niners' pass defense ranks fifth in numberFire's metrics. The good news is that Frank Ragnow will be healthy at center, and that will go a long way to help keeping Goff upright.

Detroit will likely have to turn to the passing game more than they have in the past. You could make the case that their passing offense is the most fantasy-friendly because we generally know where the ball is going.

I like targeting this stack when the Lions could be a team that is rostered less frequently than the always-popular Chiefs or the other favorites.

Interested in playing NFL DFS? Head over to FanDuel’s daily fantasy football lobby to see all the offerings for this week's slates.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.