Fantasy Football: 3 Stacks to Target in Redraft Leagues
Stacking in redraft fantasy football leagues isn't nearly as important as it is in FanDuel best-ball or DFS formats, but it's been proven to be an effective strategy for season-long leagues.
But when you're only competing against 11 other opponents and have the entire player pool at your disposal, it's important to identify which teams are really worth stacking.
Let's check out three stacks to target in redraft.
Fantasy points and rankings reference half point-per-reception (0.5 PPR) scoring formats. Statistics via NFL Next Gen Stats or Pro Football Reference unless otherwise stated.
Stacks to Target in Redraft
Below is a table with all 32 teams, sorted by the combined fantasy points per game (FPPG) our NFL Projections project their quarterback and top pass-catcher to score. Next to that is their team's raw point-per-game (PPG) projection, according to Jim Sannes' model.
Team (Stack) | FPPG | Team PPG |
---|---|---|
PHI (Hurts + Brown) | 36.0 | 23.5 |
DAL (Prescott + Lamb) | 35.2 | 25.3 |
CIN (Burrow + Chase) | 34.1 | 25.3 |
MIA (Tagovailoa + Hill) | 33.6 | 24.5 |
*KC (Mahomes + Kelce) | 32.9 | 26.5 |
*BUF (Allen + Kincaid) | 32.9 | 25.5 |
BAL (Jackson + Flowers) | 32.1 | 25.3 |
*Denotes a team whose top-projected pass-catcher is a tight end.
The Minnesota Vikings, Las Vegas Raiders, and New England Patriots all have quarterback competitions where two have a projection in our model. Both projections were combined for this exercise. If you planned on stacking one of those teams, well, uh, good luck.
Philadelphia Eagles
With Jalen Hurts under center and A.J. Brown out wide, the Philadelphia Eagles are arguably the most intriguing fantasy football stack for redraft leagues.
Hurts is fresh off a QB2 campaign that saw him average 21.9 FPPG. He's averaged at least 21 FPPG each of the past three seasons and has notably appeared in 47 of 51 games over that span.
Hurts has QB1 upside thanks to his rushing (45.7 yards per game; 38 touchdowns since 2021), but his passing has taken a leap the last two years. He's averaged 236.2 yards per game and tossed 45 touchdowns since Philly traded for Brown.
Brown has exceeded 1,400 yards both years Hurts has been his quarterback, and 18 of those touchdowns have gone to him. He's finished as the WR5 (15.0 FPPG) and WR7 (13.9 FPPG) the last two seasons and has averaged at least 2.50 yards per route run every year of his career.
Last season, the two managed to be productive despite Philly ranking 14th in pass rate over expectation (per nfelo) and 18th in neutral pace (per FTN).
That could change in 2024 now that Kellen Moore is the Eagles' offensive coordinator. In five seasons as an OC, Moore's teams have finished top-10 in total pass attempts four times. That includes last season when his Los Angeles Chargers were sixth in pass rate, seventh in pass rate over expectation, and second in neutral pace.
Simply, the sky's the limit for the Hurts-Brown fantasy connection this season.
We project Hurts as the QB2 (21.8 FPPG) and Brown as the WR6 (14.3 FPPG). Combined, they're projected to be the high-scoring fantasy duo in the NFL.
Still, for as strong as a stack this could be, you're playing with fire trying to secure both Eagles. According to FantasyPros' consensus average draft position (ADP), Brown is being drafted at pick 9.3 with Hurts at 32.3.
That makes Philly a stack to target if you have picks 6-10 in the first round of 12-team leagues, as you'll come back around for picks 30-34 in Round 3.
Dallas Cowboys
Philly may project to have fantasy's top duo in 2024, but last year's top stack was Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys.
The two combined for 40.4 FPPG in 2023, and they're projected to flirt with that number again this season.
Dak shook off a shaky start to go nuclear down the stretch. He finished as the overall QB3 (20.7 FPPG) but was QB1 (24.1) from Week 6 onward.
That was Prescott's sixth top-12 finish in eight seasons as Dallas' quarterback. He's finished as a QB1 while throwing for at least 4,500 yards and 30 touchdowns each of his last three healthy seasons.
Meanwhile, Lamb finished as the WR1 (19.7 FPPG) overall in 2024, but he upped his per-game output to 23.2 FPPG after the Cowboys took off in Week 6.
Over his final 12 games, CeeDee averaged the most receptions (9.0), receiving yards (115.9), and red-zone targets (2.3) per game. His 32.9% target share ranked second.
The fifth-year pro has now finished in the top six at his position two consecutive seasons. That's coincided with Dallas finishing in the top five in scoring and neutral pace both years, but they notably soared from 25th to fourth in pass rate over expectation in 2023.
The Cowboys didn't make any major changes to their passing personal in the offseason, and they replaced Tony Pollard with a 29-year-old Ezekiel Elliott. They should again be one of football's top passing offenses, even if they're projected to score fewer points in 2024.
We project Prescott to be the QB8 (18.4 FPPG) and Lamb as the WR1 (16.9)
Unfortunately, Lamb has an ADP of 2.0, so this stack is really only viable if you have one of the first three picks in your draft. Prescott's ADP is down at 69.0, meaning you could lock in your stack in the fifth round (picks 49-51) or cross your fingers that Dak's still there in the sixth (picks 70-72).
Cincinnati Bengals
If you stacked the Cincinnati Bengals in 2023, chances are your fantasy football season didn't go very well. Joe Burrow missed 10 games and was hobbled by a calf and wrist injuries all season, and that resulted in Ja'Marr Chase averaging his fewest FPPG (13.3) as a pro.
But Chase still finished as the WR13 overall, and he averaged over 15 FPPG both prior years with Burrow healthy.
Burrow has been cleared for full contact and is expected to play in the preseason. That bodes well for both Bengals and gives them a serious shot to be the top stack in 2024.
We got just a tase of what a fully healthy Burrow-Chase duo can do over a full fantasy season, but it was more than enough to warrant targeting them this season. In 2021, Ja'Marr Chase finished as the WR5 (15.5 FPPG) as a rookie. Burrow was QB8 (20.5).
Burrow climbed to QB4 (21.7 FPPG) the following season while Chase was the WR12 (15.3) despite missing five games. Prior to Chase's injury in 2022, he was the WR4 (16.9) and Burrow was the QB3 (24.6).
Even with a Burrow operating at less than 100% last season, we saw the magic was still there. In the first nine games, Chase commanded a 29.6% target share and was the WR6 (16.2 FPPG) in fantasy.
You're banking on a healthy Burrow-Chase connection, but all indications are the two are ready to roll ahead of the season. We project Burrow as the QB7 (18.5 FPPG) and Chase as the WR3 (15.6).
A Bengals stack will be primarily reserved for teams with mid first-round picks (4-8) considering Chase's ADP (6.3). Burrow's ADP is 60.3, so you could grab him in Round 5 (picks 52-56) or Round 6 (65-69).
Others to Consider
Those three teams all have wide receivers going in the first round of fantasy drafts. If you miss out on one of them early, here are five other stacks to consider.
- Buffalo Bills: Josh Allen (ADP 21.3) and Dalton Kincaid (51.0).
- Kansas City Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes (32.7) and Travis Kelce (26.7)
- Houston Texans: C.J. Stroud (46.0) and Nico Collins (30)
- Arizona Cardinals: Kyler Murray (67.0) and Marvin Harrison Jr. (17.0)
- Indianapolis Colts: Anthony Richardson (49.7) and Michael Pittman Jr. (36.7)
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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.