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Daily Fantasy Football Wild Card Round NFL DFS Stacks and Picks on DraftKings and FanDuel

This piece will identify some of my favorite NFL DFS stacks of the weekend. Be sure to use our Stacking tool within our Player Models to find the highest projected stacks, the stacks that figure to be chalky, and more. Our Correlation Dashboard is also an excellent resource for finding hidden edges in stacking positions and games.

You can also plug these stacks into our Lineup Builder to hand-build the rest of it, or you can optimize it with our projections. And if you like to create multiple lineups, our Lineup Optimizer allows you to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups.

The Lineup Optimizer has endless customization opportunities.

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There are two millionaire makers this week on DraftKings, one for both the Saturday two-game slate and the Sunday three-game slate, so I will be giving my favorite stack for each day.

George Kittle + Elijah Mitchell   

  • George Kittle ($5,900 DraftKings, $7,700 FanDuel)
  • Elijah Mitchell ($4,700 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel)

With Saturday being just a two-game slate, you are going to need to find ways to get creative if you’re going to win a million dollars. The highest projected owned player on the slate will be Christian McCaffrey, which obviously makes sense.

The Seahawks are a dream spot for opposing running backs, ranking 25th in rush defense DVOA and 26th in yards per carry allowed. However, he’s still $8,500, and the 49ers have a ton of guys who can score touchdowns. The last time these two teams played was Week 15 in Seattle, where George Kittle posted four catches for 93 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Seattle presents an even better matchup for tight ends, as it ranks dead last in DraftKings points allowed to the position in the NFL. San Francisco has the highest implied team total on the Saturday slate at 26.25 and are currently 10-point home favorites. We have seen in games that the 49ers control that they like to limit CMC’s workload, which is where Elijah Mitchell comes in. Kyle Shanahan absolutely loves this guy, and he came off IR last week and immediately got two goal-line carries which resulted in a pair of touchdowns.

There’s a pretty decent likelihood that San Francisco controls this game, and if that’s the case, it should be Mitchell getting the majority of the work in the second half. You just have to hope that the production goes through Kittle on the way up rather than CMC. Right now, McCaffrey projects for 56% ownership on the slate and will likely be higher in high-stakes stuff.

If you want to get max leverage on the field and fade him, this would be the optimal way to play it. We have seen Kittle completely nuke slates in the past, and not only is he in an elite spot this week against the worst tight end defense in the NFL, but he’s direct leverage off the most popular play. Fading CMC would help you get to some of the more expensive plays in the night game, as it appears the Chargers’ passing attack is going a bit overlooked here.

Feel free to add a pretty cheap Deebo Samuel to this stack as well if you’d like, as it would surprise no one to see him steal a goal-line carry or two in this game.

Joe Burrow + Ja’Marr Chase + Tee Higgins + Mark Andrews + Buffalo D/ST    

  • Joe Burrow ($6,900 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel)
  • Ja’Marr Chase ($8,100 DraftKings, $8,700 FanDuel)
  • Tee Higgins ($6,200 DraftKings, $7,600 FanDuel)
  • Mark Andrews ($5,200 DraftKings, $6,800 FanDuel)
  • Buffalo D/ST ($3,300 DraftKings, $5,000 FanDuel)

This one is pretty simple. If you are looking at any reasonable set of projections for the Sunday slate, then you’ll see Josh Allen pop as the highest-scoring quarterback by a pretty decent margin. Obviously, this is not a surprise, as the Bills are home and saddled with a 28.5 implied team total, which is the highest of any team playing this weekend.

The issue here is that it’s highly unlikely that either Teddy Bridgewater or (God forbid) Skyler Thompson will present much of a scoring threat on the other side. This game could get ugly in a hurry, and if it does, there is no guarantee Josh Allen hits his ceiling. The most likely path to that occurring would be a scenario like we saw last week, where the Buffalo defense scores twice and mutes Allen and the offense as a whole.

The way to capitalize on this would be to run the Bills D/ST with a different stack that has an equally high ceiling as Josh Allen. Kirk Cousins to Justin Jefferson works fine in this spot, but Burrow to Chase + Higgins is the one that can put this slate out of reach. The Bengals ranked second in the NFL in pass rate over expectation this season, and we have seen them quite a few times continue to throw deep into games even when they have a big lead. The biggest example of this was Week 17 in 2021, where they beat these very Ravens 41-21, and Burrow threw for 525 yards and four touchdowns, while Higgins and Chase combined for 19 catches, 319 yards, and two touchdowns.

I am not saying that is what’s going to happen in this game. However, I do feel like the Bengals would way sooner keep throwing deep into a blowout more so than a Bills team that ranked in the middle of the pack in rush play rate over the last few weeks of the season.

The easiest way to ensure the Bengals keep throwing is for the only good pass catcher left on the Ravens to post a big game, which would be Mark Andrews. In that Week 17 game in 2021, Andrews caught eight balls for 125 yards and a touchdown. Baltimore will likely be without Lamar Jackson, but should be getting Tyler Huntley back for this divisional showdown, which means Andrews should continue to get peppered.

As I mentioned above, you are not going to take down any GPPs by eating all the chalk on a two or three-game slate, so you have to find plays that could erupt whilst not being too heavily owned. This stack has all the pieces necessary for that, and to make it even more fun, it’s the Sunday night hammer.

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This piece will identify some of my favorite NFL DFS stacks of the weekend. Be sure to use our Stacking tool within our Player Models to find the highest projected stacks, the stacks that figure to be chalky, and more. Our Correlation Dashboard is also an excellent resource for finding hidden edges in stacking positions and games.

You can also plug these stacks into our Lineup Builder to hand-build the rest of it, or you can optimize it with our projections. And if you like to create multiple lineups, our Lineup Optimizer allows you to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups.

The Lineup Optimizer has endless customization opportunities.

Start Your PRO Trial Today

Lineup builder and optimizer

Real-time DFS models & projections

Data-driven analysis & tutorials

 

There are two millionaire makers this week on DraftKings, one for both the Saturday two-game slate and the Sunday three-game slate, so I will be giving my favorite stack for each day.

George Kittle + Elijah Mitchell   

  • George Kittle ($5,900 DraftKings, $7,700 FanDuel)
  • Elijah Mitchell ($4,700 DraftKings, $5,500 FanDuel)

With Saturday being just a two-game slate, you are going to need to find ways to get creative if you’re going to win a million dollars. The highest projected owned player on the slate will be Christian McCaffrey, which obviously makes sense.

The Seahawks are a dream spot for opposing running backs, ranking 25th in rush defense DVOA and 26th in yards per carry allowed. However, he’s still $8,500, and the 49ers have a ton of guys who can score touchdowns. The last time these two teams played was Week 15 in Seattle, where George Kittle posted four catches for 93 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Seattle presents an even better matchup for tight ends, as it ranks dead last in DraftKings points allowed to the position in the NFL. San Francisco has the highest implied team total on the Saturday slate at 26.25 and are currently 10-point home favorites. We have seen in games that the 49ers control that they like to limit CMC’s workload, which is where Elijah Mitchell comes in. Kyle Shanahan absolutely loves this guy, and he came off IR last week and immediately got two goal-line carries which resulted in a pair of touchdowns.

There’s a pretty decent likelihood that San Francisco controls this game, and if that’s the case, it should be Mitchell getting the majority of the work in the second half. You just have to hope that the production goes through Kittle on the way up rather than CMC. Right now, McCaffrey projects for 56% ownership on the slate and will likely be higher in high-stakes stuff.

If you want to get max leverage on the field and fade him, this would be the optimal way to play it. We have seen Kittle completely nuke slates in the past, and not only is he in an elite spot this week against the worst tight end defense in the NFL, but he’s direct leverage off the most popular play. Fading CMC would help you get to some of the more expensive plays in the night game, as it appears the Chargers’ passing attack is going a bit overlooked here.

Feel free to add a pretty cheap Deebo Samuel to this stack as well if you’d like, as it would surprise no one to see him steal a goal-line carry or two in this game.

Joe Burrow + Ja’Marr Chase + Tee Higgins + Mark Andrews + Buffalo D/ST    

  • Joe Burrow ($6,900 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel)
  • Ja’Marr Chase ($8,100 DraftKings, $8,700 FanDuel)
  • Tee Higgins ($6,200 DraftKings, $7,600 FanDuel)
  • Mark Andrews ($5,200 DraftKings, $6,800 FanDuel)
  • Buffalo D/ST ($3,300 DraftKings, $5,000 FanDuel)

This one is pretty simple. If you are looking at any reasonable set of projections for the Sunday slate, then you’ll see Josh Allen pop as the highest-scoring quarterback by a pretty decent margin. Obviously, this is not a surprise, as the Bills are home and saddled with a 28.5 implied team total, which is the highest of any team playing this weekend.

The issue here is that it’s highly unlikely that either Teddy Bridgewater or (God forbid) Skyler Thompson will present much of a scoring threat on the other side. This game could get ugly in a hurry, and if it does, there is no guarantee Josh Allen hits his ceiling. The most likely path to that occurring would be a scenario like we saw last week, where the Buffalo defense scores twice and mutes Allen and the offense as a whole.

The way to capitalize on this would be to run the Bills D/ST with a different stack that has an equally high ceiling as Josh Allen. Kirk Cousins to Justin Jefferson works fine in this spot, but Burrow to Chase + Higgins is the one that can put this slate out of reach. The Bengals ranked second in the NFL in pass rate over expectation this season, and we have seen them quite a few times continue to throw deep into games even when they have a big lead. The biggest example of this was Week 17 in 2021, where they beat these very Ravens 41-21, and Burrow threw for 525 yards and four touchdowns, while Higgins and Chase combined for 19 catches, 319 yards, and two touchdowns.

I am not saying that is what’s going to happen in this game. However, I do feel like the Bengals would way sooner keep throwing deep into a blowout more so than a Bills team that ranked in the middle of the pack in rush play rate over the last few weeks of the season.

The easiest way to ensure the Bengals keep throwing is for the only good pass catcher left on the Ravens to post a big game, which would be Mark Andrews. In that Week 17 game in 2021, Andrews caught eight balls for 125 yards and a touchdown. Baltimore will likely be without Lamar Jackson, but should be getting Tyler Huntley back for this divisional showdown, which means Andrews should continue to get peppered.

As I mentioned above, you are not going to take down any GPPs by eating all the chalk on a two or three-game slate, so you have to find plays that could erupt whilst not being too heavily owned. This stack has all the pieces necessary for that, and to make it even more fun, it’s the Sunday night hammer.

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New users only

About the Author

Landon has been playing DFS since 2014 and uses it to pay his bills to this day. He is a FantasyLabs contributor specializing in PGA and NFL. When he’s not grinding Strokes Gained data or target shares, he enjoys hanging with his mini poodle William.