NFL Week 2 DFS Stacks

Picking a stack in fantasy football is fun, but sometimes your draft just doesn’t let you get the pair you want. That’s where daily fantasy steps in, offering weekly lineups to fit your weekly projections.

Whether you want the best matchup or simply the best talent, there are many different routes to paydays. My Week 1 “favorite stack” was Trevor Lawrence and Calvin Ridley, who certainly put together top-tier performances. 

Stacking Brock Purdy and Brandon Aiyuk won people an awful lot of money in Week 1. Now it’s time to chase a similarly productive stack in Week 2.

This weekly column will provide you with the information you need before choosing a stack in DFS. Prices are sourced from DraftKings Fantasy Sports. 

A “steep stack” -  A top-priced QB and a top-priced WR or TE — pricey, but still worth it.

A “sleeper stack” - The inverse of a “steep stack” including a QB outside the top-10 and an offensive weapon deep off the radar.

A “shoddy stack” - Could be any duo, expensive or not, that people may be considering as a viable stack but ultimately should pass.

A “no pain, no gain stack” - Exemplifies the risk/reward that DFS players are accustomed to.

Steep stack

Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce

This is certainly a steep stack, but one that can still result in strong DFS days with the right value picks around it. Mahomes played his first game without Kelce — aside from his essentially red-shirted rookie year — and the struggles on offense showed.

Not by Mahomes, of course, but mostly by his drop-friendly receivers. Looking at you, Kadarius Toney. 

Regardless, Mahomes and Kelce are as safe bets as they come to dominate their positions this week against Jacksonville, who allowed Anthony Richardson — who has 12 collegiate starts and about three-quarters worth of preseason reps to his name — to look surprisingly capable through the air in his regular-season debut. 

Mahomes is going to toast the Jaguars this week in what could very well be a boat race. Having the shiniest tools in the game with the week’s highest over/under is a good sign for fantasy lineups. 

Sleeper stack

Justin Fields and D.J. Moore

It’s fair to question Moore’s ceiling in this offense led by the questionable ability of Fields. However, the best way to win a DFS tournament is to tackle those questionable situations with confidence. 

The Buccaneers allowed 344 passing yards and a pair of scores to Kirk Cousins and the Vikings last week, even while Cousins kept shooting himself in the foot with turnovers. Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison combined for 211 receiving yards in Week 1, and while it’s a much smaller passing pie in Chicago, Moore will still reap the largest slice. 

There’s an obvious risk, which is why many likely won’t stack this and pick one or the other. Still, chalk a disappointing Week 1 up to a tough matchup against Jaire Alexander and stack Moore with Fields, who has run for at least 55 yards in all but one game since Week 5 of last season. 

Side note: Chicago rarely called designed runs for Fields in Week 1. That will need to change in Week 2. 

No pain, no gain stack

Matthew Stafford and Tyler Higbee 

There’s no shame in replacing Higbee with rookie sensation Puka Nacua, who broke out with a WR9 finish in PPR leagues last week. But given the larger ownership that will likely head Nacua’s way, Higbee may be the sneakier play. 

It’s no secret that the 49ers have been stingy to tight ends in recent years, thanks to the talent of Fred Warner. But Higbee has every opportunity for an outlier week. The tight end played 91% snaps in Week 1 and caught all three of his targets for first downs. His deeper ADOT allows for more efficiency per route run, and Higbee had an impressive 118.7 passer rating when targeted. 

Stafford possessed the second-best QBR of Week 1 and will look to build on that against a tough San Francisco defense that will certainly drive the quarterback’s ownership down. Everyone expected Seattle’s revamped defense to destroy the Rams, and Stafford stepped in to prevent that. If he can do that in Week 2, DFS managers can take advantage of a cheaper lineup build. 

Stack of the Week

Brock Purdy and Brandon Aiyuk

It could be a new name every week in San Francisco with the amount of talent around Purdy, but no one can take away the sophomore quarterback’s No. 1 QBR from Week 1. He played great against Pittsburgh and while Aiyuk stole the show, nobody should forget about how well Purdy played. 

With Purdy given his due respect, Aiyuk looked fantastic last week. Deebo Samuel’s 11 yards-per-catch lines up with his career averages outside his amazing 2021 campaign, and if anyone’s ready for their breakout year it’s Aiyuk. 

The 2020 first-round pick was the WR2 in Week 1 and could be a hot commodity in DFS lineups. Or he could be undervalued yet again after the Rams held strong against Seattle’s receiver room. Either way, it’s worth chasing points in a game that may be higher scoring than some may initially think.