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Daily Fantasy Stacks for Week 9

Daily Fantasy Stacks for Week 9
A Patriots stack of Tom Brady (right) and Julian Edelman (left) should produce a ton of points, but is it worth the price?

A Patriots stack of Tom Brady (right) and Julian Edelman (left) should produce a ton of points, but is it worth the price?

Allow me to lead off this DFS stacking column with a quote from last week’s piece:

“Brees isn’t an elite quarterback anymore, but that doesn’t mean he cannot put up spectacular performances. This week sets up for an explosion for Brees. His Saints are at home and will face a Giants’ secondary that has allowed 288 yards per game through the air. It’s time for Brees to be elite, even it’s only for a week.”

I’d say his 505 yards, seven touchdowns and his 47.54 points on FanDuel were pretty darn elite. I love it when I’m right, but I love it even more when you profit off of it. You were likely in the money last weekend if you had Brees and at least one of his targets on Sunday.

But, guess who did not start Brees in his FanDuel lineup? This guy! I opted to take pieces from each of last week’s stacks and chose Cam Newton over Brees. Ouch.

Without further ado, let’s review last weekend’s picks. All point totals come from FanDuel.

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WEEK 8 RECAP

Premium Stack 

Cam Newton – 19.02 points
Jonathan Stewart – 12.8 points
Greg Olsen – 16.9 points

Just my luck, it decided to monsoon in Carolina on Monday night. This stack ended up being respectable thanks to a touchdown connection from Newton to Olsen. This was a sloppy game, but it wasn’t a sloppy stack.

Value Stack 

Drew Brees – 47.54 points
Mark Ingram – 13.9 points
Benjamin Watson – 25.2 points

I’ve spoken at length about Brees already. In this case, you were better off with Willie Snead or Brandin Cooks than Mark Ingram. A Watson-Brees combo probably struck gold for your lineup as well. Unfortunately, Ingram didn’t get in the mix much, but 13.9 points was still respectable. Getting 86.64 points from just 40 percent of your salary is the definition of extracting value in DFS.

Risky Stack 

Joe Flacco – 16.76 points
Justin Forsett – 7.9 points
Crockett Gillmore – 7.8 points

The risky stack wasn’t terrible. Gillmore caught a touchdown but didn’t do much else. Baltimore’s offense under new offensive coordinator Marc Trestman has regressed badly. The difference between Trestman and current Denver head coach Gary Kubiak is clearly evident.

WEEK 9 PREDICTIONS

It’ll be tough to say goodbye to this week of stacks, but it is time to move onto my picks for Week 9. All prices come from FanDuel.

Premium Stack 

Washington Redskins @ New England Patriots (1 p.m. ET kickoff)

Players of note
Tom Brady ($9,500), Dion Lewis ($7,400), Julian Edelman ($8,000), Patriots D/ST ($4,900)

Rationale
The Patriots are the blatantly obvious choice here, but I would only recommend two of these four players. You may ask why Rob Gronkowski wasn’t even listed in this stack. The answer is he’s extremely pricey at $8,500, and I’m more willing to buy low on a tight end with some upside.

Another reason to not put all of your eggs in New England’s basket is Washington’s pass defense. The Redskins have allowed an average of 232 yards per game this season, which ranked 11th in the league.

But this is the Patriots. They will put up the points, regardless. It’s just a matter of picking the right combination. Brady and Edelman make the most sense, but be prepared to make due with nearly 30 percent of your money spent on two players.

Lewis represents the X-factor. With the emphasis on stopping Edelman and Gronkowski, Lewis could go wild against Washington’s secondary.

I really like the Patriots’ defense this week if you’re willing to spend big on defense. The Pats rank in the top 15 in both passing and rushing yards per game allowed and welcome a Washington offense that will enter Sunday ranked 25th in the NFL in total offense.

Value Stack 

Cleveland Browns @ Cincinnati Bengals (Thursday night)

Players of note
Andy Dalton ($8,200), Jeremy Hill ($6,800), Bengals D/ST ($5,000)

Rationale
The first barrier with this stack is you have to be comfortable using players in the Thursday night game. That’s usually not a risk I’m willing to take. This is my first Thursday night stack and my first Bengals stack, but it’s an enticing matchup.

Let’s start with the defense. I’ll keep this simple: Johnny Manziel will be starting with a short week of preparation on the road against an undefeated team.

Need more evidence? Manziel started in Cleveland’s 30-0 loss to the Bengals at home last season. He went 10 of 18 for 80 yards and two interceptions.

Dalton performed poorly against the Browns last season. He threw for only 203 yards and four interceptions in two games against Cleveland a year ago.

But this is the new Andy Dalton, right? Dalton is on pace for a career year and has taken care of the football. He will face a Cleveland defense that will enter Thursday ranked 22nd in the league in average passing yards allowed.

Jeremy Hill is the star in this stack. Yes, Hill has been extremely underwhelming this season. Yes, Giovani Bernard will be a factor in the backfield.

This could be Hill’s breakout game, though. The Browns rank dead-last in the NFL with an average of 147 rushing yards allowed this season. Finally, Hill tore the Browns up for 148 yards and two touchdowns in his last meeting and this Cleveland defense got worse.

Risky Stack 

Green Bay Packers @ Carolina Panthers (1 p.m. ET kickoff)

Players of note
Aaron Rodgers ($8,900), Eddie Lacy ($6,700), James Jones ($6,000)

Rationale
Who would have guessed the Packers would be a risky stack in Week 9. Quite simply, Rodgers hasn’t been worth the price tag, Lacy has been a bust and the Packers’ receiving corps has not been the same without Jordy Nelson.

This stat may wow you – Aaron Rodgers went 4-0 in games following a loss last season. OK, big whoop. Well, listen to this – Rodgers threw for at least 300 yards in each of those four games and tossed 18 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Bank on Rodgers bouncing back against a good Carolina defense.

So Rodgers may play well, but what about his supporting cast? Lacy will face a good matchup against Carolina, who has surrendered 113.7 rushing yards per game. He got back in the touchdown department last week and could be building momentum.

I’m saving $1,400 with Jones over Randall Cobb. Simply put, Cobb has proven he is not a No. 1 receiver. He’s an excellent No. 2, but he hasn’t performed without Nelson. I’ll take the guy who has a better chance at getting a touchdown each week in Jones.

Of course, be sure to send me your DFS questions, comments and concerns on Twitter!

Be sure to check out our free DFS Lineup Optimizer partner-arrow

Matt Barbato is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Matt, you can view his archive or follow him @realmattbarbato.

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