4 Best FanDuel NFL DFS Stacks to Target in Week 1

Stacking in NFL DFS on FanDuel is a vital strategy as 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 double-stack and 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. One example is 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.

Using our NFL DFS projections as a guide, here are four of the best stacks to zero in on in NFL DFS for this week's main slate.

All NFL betting odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

NFL DFS Stacks for Week 1

Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns

Joe Burrow ($8,000), Ja'Marr Chase ($9,200) and Jerry Jeudy ($6,200)

The Cincinnati Bengals boast the slate's top implied total (26.5), and their matchup at the Cleveland Browns is tied for the slate's highest over/under (47.5). Cincy is a 5.5-point favorite, too, so the spread is fairly close. All in all, we've got a lot of boxes checked.

While you can stack the Bengals in a few ways, pairing Joe Burrow with Ja'Marr Chase gives you gobs of upside. The salaries are up there, but it's fully justified as our NFL DFS projections have Burrow (20.1 FanDuel points) and Chase (18.7) at the top of their positions. Chase's receiving yards prop is 84.5, and he's got -125 anytime TD odds.

If you use those two, you'll need to save salary elsewhere, making Jerry Jeudy a handy bring-back piece. Jeudy ranked in the top 10 among all WRs in both targets and yards last season, and he'll see a Bengals secondary that ranks 25th by PFF's rankings.

Cedric Tillman ($4,700) is also worth a look if you need to trim even more salary.

Arizona Cardinals

Kyler Murray ($), Marvin Harrison Jr. ($6,400) and Trey McBride ($6,300)

There's some optimism around the Arizona Cardinals' offense this season -- with our Jim Sannes projecting them for the seventh-most points per game (25.3) -- and they open the year with a superb matchup against the New Orleans Saints, a game where the Cards have a 24.75-point implied total.

When using Kyler Murray, you don't always have to stack him because of his running prowess, but I think it makes sense to stack him this week due to the matchup as New Orleans ranks 20th by PFF's secondary rankings.

It probably doesn't take much convincing to get you interested in Trey McBride after he ranked in the top 10 in both catches and targets among all players in 2024. Marvin Harrison Jr. is a slightly different case after an underwhelming rookie year, but he was an elite producer in college and garnered the sixth-most air yards last year. The opportunity should be there for MHJ to make a jump in Year 2.

PFF ranks Arizona's secondary 26th, so if you want to use someone like Chris Olave ($5,900) or Rashid Shaheed ($5,600) as a bring-back piece, feel free. I'm just not going to force it with Spencer Rattler at the helm for New Orleans.

Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts

De'Von Achane ($8,200) and Jonathan Taylor ($8,300)

Boasting a 46.5-point total and 1.5-point spread, the Miami Dolphins-Indianapolis Colts game has shootout potential, and I'm into the idea of stacking the game's RBs -- De'Von Achane and Jonathan Taylor -- because I can't get behind rostering either quarterback.

Daniel Jones starting over Anthony Richardson means we shouldn't have to worry as much about the Colts' QB stealing any goal-line carries, and Taylor is showing -160 anytime touchdown odds with a rushing plus receiving yards prop of 93.5 yards.

Achane is one of the best pass-game RBs in the NFL, and he's as good of a big-play threat as there is. That gives him a huge ceiling in DFS. There's been concern this preseason about a calf injury, but Achane said he's 100% for Week 1. He's -135 to score a TD and has a rushing plus receiving yards prop of 96.5.

With Miami facing a Colts secondary that could be pretty solid -- ranked 10th by PFF -- Achane may be their best path to success in Week 1.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons

Michael Penix Jr. ($6,700), Drake London ($7,000) and Emeka Egbuka ($5,000)

Admittedly, I wasn't super drawn to stacking this game when I first started digging into the slate. However, it ended up being one of my favorite games to stack because there are so many viable routes you can take. There's definitely shootout upside, too, as we've got a 47.5-point total and 1.5-point spread.

Stacking Michael Penix Jr. with Drake London is my preferred core pairing from the game. London amassed 8, 13 and 18 targets across Penix's three starts a season ago. He's clearly the top dog in the Atlanta Falcons' aerial attack, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have PFF's 22nd-ranked secondary, so it's a nice matchup.

On the Tampa Bay side, I'm opting for Emeka Egbuka. The rookie is a popular breakout candidate who may not be salaried this low again in 2025 as he gets to operate sans Chris Godwin and Jalen McMillan in Week 1. Egbuka's receiving yards prop is set at 57.5, and our projections rank him as the best point-per-dollar play at WR. The lone negative is that he may wind up being the slate's most popular wideout.

As I said a second ago, there are so many appealing players in this game. I didn't even talk about Bijan Robinson ($8,800) and Kyle Pitts ($5,200) on the Falcons' side as well as Mike Evans ($7,500), Baker Mayfield ($7,900) and Bucky Irving ($7,700) on the Tampa side. There being so many good plays in this game gives you a lot of flexibility -- both within this game and with the rest of your lineup -- when building game stacks.

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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.