FanDuel Stacks: Week 14

Week thirteen was the week of the crazy high quarterback scoring. Six, yes six, quarterbacks scored more than 30 points. Twice this year there have been four score over 30. In the other 10 weeks, two or fewer quarterbacks have reached the 30 point mark, with several weeks allowing for none. This made for some incredibly high scoring receiver outputs and plenty of outliers.

Did I pick any of the quarterbacks who blew up the scoreboards? Of course not.

Cam Newton went crazy, throwing for five touchdowns for the second time in three games, hooking up with Ted Ginn for two of them. They weren’t really on my radar, but I’m making mention because it must be some kind of miracle for Ginn to score two touchdowns in the same game for the second time in the same season.

How did my picks perform?

Well, Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. combined for 38.98 points. Beckham had a great game, but Manning had little production outside of his connections with Beckham. These two were a stinker of a combination.

Andy Dalton and AJ Green were both productive, combining for 45.2 points. They were four points away from meeting value in a week where Dalton outscored his yearly average by 3 points and still was only the 13th-highest scoring quarterback.

[inlinead]The Colts must have forgotten about their game in Pittsburgh, because Matt Hasselbeck and TY Hilton could only muster 11.96 points. Hasselbeck scored lower than 28 other quarterbacks, proving I had no clue what I was talking about when I said his price was a value. Thank goodness I said this one was a bit contrarian! I’ll take the tiny victory in that.

I recommended fading Matt Schaub and Kamar Aiken, who only scored 22.12 points together, based mostly on my belief that Javorius Allen was going to have a good name. Allen ended up leading all running backs in points, giving a player outside of our stacks the best recommendation of the week. Funny.

Now, onto this week’s plays. Remember, these stacks are intended for guaranteed prize pools with more than 50 entries.

Highest Upside

Jameis Winston, QB TB

Doug Martin, RB TB

Mike Evans, WR TB

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TE TB

Whoa. Calm down, Zach. You just listed four players in a stack. You can’t honestly be suggesting to us all of them at once, can you? Well, yes. And no. I’ll explain.

Tampa Bay is at home against the Saints’ league worst defense. New Orleans is giving up the most fantasy points to quarterbacks, second most to running backs, 14th most to wide receivers and most to tight ends. Their defense is… bad. Really bad. Winston ($7,800), Martin ($8,000) and Seferian-Jenkins ($5,500) are all good plays in cash and tournament lineups. Evans ($8,000) looks like the least appealing based solely on the fact that the Saints have at least been average against receivers, but his matchup is awesome when you consider he will have Brandon Browner lined up against him when he is on the left side of the offense. I like all four of these players, but it is a bit crazy to put them all in the same lineup. I’ll do it, but I understand if you don’t. Mix any two, three or all four into lineups. It’s going to be hard for all four to meet value together, which is 87.9 points, but I won’t be surprised if they do.

Best Value

Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB NYJ

Brandon Marshall, WR NYJ

Eric Decker, WR NYJ

In the past two weeks, Marshall ($8,200) has been a top five receiver twice and Decker ($7,300) has finished as a low end WR2 both weeks. Marshall is the seventh-highest priced receiver in Sunday slates and Decker the 14th. Fitzpatrick ($7,800) is having a career year and is seventh in scoring among quarterbacks over those same two weeks. They also get to play the Titans this week, who don’t intimidate opposing pass offenses.

Coty Sensabaugh and BW Webb will spend much of the game lined up against Decker and Marshall respectively. Both are terrible mismatches based on height, weight and overall football ability. I would not be surprised to see both receivers convert eight or more receptions each and combine for three or more touchdowns.

Stack of the Weak

Tyrod Taylor, QB BUF

Sammy Watkins, WR BUF

I recently updated my rankings where I commented about not being sure if Watkins ($7,200) had finally broken out. Well, he’s fifth in scoring among wide receivers over the last two weeks. I think he’s arrived. He’s the 15th in price among receivers this week. What has he done over the last two weeks? He’s only had 267 receiving yards and three touchdowns. That’s it.

Philadelphia has performed poorly against both quarterbacks and receivers. The connection between Taylor ($7,500) and Watkins should stay strong again this week. Taylor had cooled in the middle weeks of the season after a spectacular start. However, he has eclipsed the 26 point mark in each of the last two weeks. If he stays on this pace, he will surpass value once again.

Bonus Stack

Thomas Rawls, RB SEA

Seahawks Defense

After looking over spreads, injuries and player specific matchups, I decided to do a bonus stack instead of a Fool’s Gold this week. It’s hard to go against Rawls ($7,400) after the month he’s had. He’s the highest scoring running back over the last three weeks. This week, he gets Baltimore, who are actually one of the strongest teams against running backs. The catch is who the Ravens may end up starting at quarterback. Right now there is a chance they trot out Jimmy Clausen. As of the time I am writing this, Matt Schaub says he plans on starting. Either way, the Seahawks defense ($5,300) should have a great match up and opportunity for turnovers. If they are able to lead throughout the game, Rawls will have another 20+ touch game. He has the upside for a number one overall running back performance once again.

[ad5]