4 NFL DFS Stacks to Target in Week 2

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

NFL DFS Stacks for Week 2

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions

Jared Goff ($7,800), Amon-Ra St. Brown ($9,000) and Chris Godwin ($6,200)

A week ago, the Detroit Lions were in a superb DFS game environment, and both Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown had quiet games. I hope that scares some people away this week, although I doubt it will.

The Lions are once again indoors in a game with a high total as they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a clash with the main slate's highest over/under (51.5). It gets even better for Detroit's aerial attack as the Bucs are a pass-funnel matchup, with Tampa allowing the third-fewest FanDuel points per game to running backs a season ago (15.5). Oh, and the Bucs are dealing with a lot of injuries in the secondary.

It should be all systems go for Goff and the Lions' passing game, and while $9,000 is a steep salary for someone who had 3 grabs for 13 yards in Week 1, ARSB is the Lions' pass-catcher I want. St. Brown finished fifth in targets last season and was much better at home (105.7 yards per game) than on the road (86.1). The NFL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook have ARSB's receiving yards prop set at 80.5.

I'll be honest: I'm hardly ever right when trying to choose between Chris Godwin and Mike Evans ($8,000). But given the massive salary difference and how close their receiving yards props are -- 69.5 for Evans and 63.5 for Godwin -- I'm landing on Godwin this week.

Godwin played 82% of the snaps in Week 1 and took half of those from the slot, per PlayerProfiler. He also ran 100% of the routes for the Bucs. At a manageable $6,200 salary, Godwin is one of my favorite plays of Week 2.

Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs

Patrick Mahomes ($8,700), Travis Kelce ($7,400) and Andrei Iosivas ($5,200)

The total for the Cincinnati Bengals-Kansas City Chiefs showdown is 47.5 points, and the spread is 5.5. Given the big names in this game in addition to the high spread and fairly close total, Cincy-KC is sure to attract a lot of attention in DFS.

While it's easy to make a case for guys like Rashee Rice ($6,900) and Ja'Marr Chase ($8,700), I like the idea of getting a little weird, and it's looking like Rice might be super popular. That puts me on a game stack of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Andrei Iosivas.

Kelce and Mahomes have been a go-to stack over the years. You don't need me to sell you on why you should use Mahomes, but the Kelce-over-Rice part of this probably needs some discussion.

The star TE flopped in Week 1 (3 catches, 34 yards), but I think he can bounce back on Sunday. A week ago, Jacoby Brissett completed just 15 passes against the Bengals' defense, and four of them went to his tight-end duo of Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper. Other than target volume, Kelce's usage numbers were good in Week 1 -- 89.3% route participation and 90.6% snap rate -- and he owns +125 odds to score a touchdown this week.

The Iosivas recommendation is under the assumption that Tee Higgins ($6,700) sits, which seems likely as of Friday morning. Iosivas got gobs of run sans Higgins in Week 1 but turned a 100% snap rate and 100% route participation into only 6 targets, 3 catches and 26 yards in a sluggish day for the entire Cincy offense. But anytime a WR is on the field that much and comes at a $5,200 salary, we have to be interested, especially when he's playing in a great game environment.

Los Angeles Rams at Arizona Cardinals

Kyler Murray ($8,000), Marvin Harrison Jr. ($6,500) and Kyren Williams ($8,000)

Sunday's NFC West meeting between the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals has just about everything we could ask for. The over/under is 47.5, and the spread is 1.5 (in favor of Arizona). We could get a back-and-forth affair where both offenses have the pedal to the metal.

The absence of Puka Nacua has a huge impact on the Rams' offense. It will likely result in a modest-salaried Cooper Kupp ($7,700) being mega chalk this week, and I fully get it. Kupp just saw 300 targets (21) in a primetime game and has a delightful matchup with the Cards' defense. While acknowledging that Kupp is terrifying to fade, I'm going to take a different approach when stacking this game, and I want to get my Rams exposure via Kyren Williams. Sometimes in DFS I'm guilty of trying too hard to be different, so maybe I'm doing that here by fading Kupp, but I really like Kyren this week.

In a tough matchup at the Lions in Week 1, Williams had an excellent role, playing 93.5% of the snaps and handling 18 of 20 RB carries while also logging 3 targets. Yes, please. This week, Williams gets an Arizona defense that allowed the most FanDuel points per game to running backs in 2023 (25.1). I'm all in on Kyren, who holds -150 odds to score a touchdown and has a rushing yards prop set at 75.5 yards.

Before moving on to the Cardinals, it's worth mentioning that Demarcus Robinson ($5,200) and Tyler Johnson ($4,000) are two sweet value dart throws with Puka out. Robinson played 93.5% of the snaps last week and got 7 targets.

I absolutely love Kyler Murray this week, and if I'm using Kyler and want to stack, I'm pairing him with either Marvin Harrison Jr. ($6,500) or Trey McBride ($6,200) or both. This week, I lean MHJ, but I'm open to the double-stack.

Harrison's debut couldn't have gone much worse as he finished with three targets, one catch and four yards. Big yikes. The talent is there, though, and the masses may overreact to the Week 1 dud, giving us a shot to get a good player in a stellar DFS game environment at a low draft percentage. In spite of the poor stat line, Harrison still has good overall usage, running a route on every Murray drop back and recording a 91.7% snap rate.

Kyler threw for just 162 yards last week, which isn't ideal. However, it's his rushing numbers that get me excited as he ran it 5 times for 57 yards after running for only 30.5 yards per game in his return from injury in 2023. LA gave up the seventh-most rushing yards to QBs last season, and overall, the Rams' defense is exploitable.

Chicago Bears at Houston Texans

C.J. Stroud ($8,200), Nico Collins ($7,600) and D.J. Moore ($6,800)

The Houston Texans have the potential to be a frustrating team in DFS this season. They're an elite offense and will have a lofty implied total most weeks, but with so many talented wideouts, it's going to be hard to figure out who to pair with C.J. Stroud.

This week against the Chicago Bears, I'm rolling the dice on Nico Collins over Stefon Diggs ($7,500) and Tank Dell ($6,100), although Dell is mighty appealing at his salary.

This offense put up 29 points on the road at the Indianapolis Colts a week ago, and it was Joe Mixon ($8,100) who went off, registering 178 total yards and a score. But don't sleep on Collins, who looked like the team's alpha WR. Nico led Houston's wideouts in snap rate (80%) and hauled in six grabs for 117 yards. No other Houston receiver had more than 40 yards.

Chicago's defense might be much improved this season. With that said, it's hard to take too much from their Week 1 game against the Tennessee Titans because Tennessee might end up being one of the NFL's worst offenses. Houston's 26.0-point implied total points to another good offensive day from Stroud and company.

The Bears' offense had a rough opening week as Caleb Williams ($6,900) struggled against what might prove to be a good Titans D. Coming into the year, the Bears boasted a three-headed monster at receiver consisting of D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen ($6,500) and Rome Odunze ($5,900). Just one game in, Moore might be the last one standing as Odunze and Allen are dealing with injuries.

If Allen and Odunze sit, that should put a lot of work on Moore's plate, and we just saw this Texans defense give up big plays to Alec Pierce.

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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.