Best GPP Stacks for Week 10
@EliotCrist is back with his best stacks of the week! Eliot has been red-hot this season taking down multiple GPP's on both Draftkings and Fanduel while bringing in close to $25K.
A very popular and successful strategy in GPPs (tournaments) is to stack a QB and one of his top WR/TE. This is a great way to get “double points” for a touchdown, and shoot up the leader board whenever they make a connection. Another good way to stack is a running back and defense. A running back’s success often greatly depends on game script. When a team has a lead, they run more which means the defense is also playing well. With the basic understanding of the strategy down, here are my top stacks of the week.
QB & WR or TE
1. Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman:
As a Jets fan is pains me to say this but Tom Brady is the best QB in the NFL and at this point it’s not even close. Brady has been on fire this season throwing for 3 or more touchdowns in 3 of 4 games. Brady has only attempted over 40 passes once this season and still is averaging over 300 yards. This week he takes on the Legion of Boom, an elite run defense, but is only an elite pass defense in the public opinion as stats do not back it up. In Tom Brady’s last two games versus the Seahawks he had 395 yards and 2 TDs, and 324 yards and 4 TDs. The Patriots are a team that will change their entire game plan just to attack a teams weakness. The Strength of the Seahawks defense is stopping the run game with two of the best linebackers in football in Bobby Wagner and KJ Wright. Historically when the Patriots play this type of team they throw 50 plus times. Last year in Foxboro, The Patriots took on the Jets and he threw 54 passes and led the team in rush attempts. I would expect a similar game plan versus the Seahawks. Matt Ryan, Drew Brees, Carson Palmer all threw for over 300 yards versus this team, and Tyrod Taylor threw for 289. Brady’s ownership will be down as people are scared off by the matchup, but this is the exact time to pounce on the Best QB, attempting 50 plus passes, with a fantastic matchup at home in prime time. Gronkowski will forever be Tom Brady’s go to Red Zone target, and for good reason. In the 4 games since Gronk has been healthy he has scored 19 or more points every week. In the games he is healthy he has a 21% target share. Now if Brady does throw 50 passes he should see upwards of 10 targets which could lead to a huge 100 yard 2 touchdown kind of game. Edelman is a player who the Seahawks have historically struggled with, an inside quick slot WR who gets a ton of looks. If Chris Hogan does miss this game expect even more targets to funnel in his direction.
2. Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Sammie Coates or Eli Rogers:
When I look at Big Bens price across the industry I find it hard to believe. Here is an all-pro dynamite talent with elite weapons priced as a mid-tier player and on multiple sites as a bust candidate for the week. Big Ben is night and day away from Home. This season he has been incredible at home averaging over yards and 4 touchdowns at home, while only throwing for over 300 yards once all season on the road week one versus Washington. Ben takes on one of the league’s best teams the Dallas Cowboys, however the Cowboys will be missing their best corner in Mo Claiborne which is a huge worry when you have to stop Antonio Brown. Antonio Brown should eat versus a poor secondary, and has a chance to put up 2015 numbers while being very low owned. Sammie Coates is the biggest boom or bust play in the industry. His 20% drop rate leads all WRs in the NFL, however his boom upside is huge as we saw early in the season versus the Jets. He beat the Ravens for a touchdown last week, he just dropped it. With Heyward-Bey out this week Coates will be the top deep threat in an offense that loves to take deep threat. Ben has thrown 18 passes over 20 yards in his three home starts. Eli Rogers is another intriguing option at near minimum price. Last week he had 10 targets, however many of them came in garbage time. This week Markus Wheaton is out along with Heyward-Bey, so he will see a ton of time on the field for a team that runs a lot of three wide sets. He is a safe floor ppr guy who has high upside.
3. Cam Newton and Kelvin Benjamin:
Cam Newton has been a major disappointment this season after his spectacular MVP campaign last season. This year his touchdown regression has hurt him, as he has only rushed for three touchdowns. He has however been tackled inside the 5 multiple times and that should lead to more touchdowns soon. The Panthers are an excellent home team, they have scored 46, 30, and 10 points at home this season. The 10-point clunker came against arguably the league’s hottest defense at the time in the Vikings. The Chiefs come into the game with only one pass rusher with Justin Houston continuing to miss time. When Cam Newton has been able to get time in the pocket he has always been a good QB. The Chiefs also play man defense which is by far the friendliest scheme to allow QBs to take off out of the pocket. Greg Olsen may be the popular stacking option with Cam, but Eric Berry is one of the league’s best safeties at taking away the tight end. This means that Cam will look more to Kelvin Benjamin. Benjamin has been kept out of the end zone the last 4 weeks, but gets the same matchup that Allen Robinson was able to exploit last week. This tandem will be very low owned and have the ceiling as high as any pair in the NFL.
4. Marcus Mariota and Kendall Wright:
Mariota has been one of the best fantasy players this entire season. He has two or more touchdowns for 4 straight weeks and gets a banged up Packers defense that has been getting beat all season long. Mariota is not just a great play because of his upside, but his price allows you to get very creative with your roster, paying up for multiple positions across your team. Kendall Wright makes for an interesting pair coming out of the Slot. Wright is the big play guy for the Titans who take on a Packers Defense who like to take away the top option. Last Week Moncrief was the best play versus the Packers, and Sanu the week before. Look for the Packers to try to take away Walker or Matthews and leave Wright in single coverage for most of the game. This could give the home run threat multiple opportunities at a deep pass. If he can hall in one or two this combo could shoot you up the leaderboard.
RB & D/ST
1. David Johnson and Cardinals D/ST:
This is a chalk play, but doesn’t make it the wrong one. Johnson is the best play on the board taking on the league’s worst run defense who continues to get exposed week in and week out. Last game out versus the 49ers on the road Johnson had 157 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 3 catches for 28 yards. The 49ers defense has been so bad versus the run the backup running backs have had viable fantasy days from garbage time runs in the fourth quarter. The 49ers offense does nothing to scare and elite Cardinals defense. The Cardinals can shut down the inaccurate Colin Kaepernick, and load up the box versus the run. The 49ers will struggle to score and are a turnover prone offense.
2. Melvin Gordon and the Chargers D/ST:
Melvin Gordon has had the highest usage rate of any running back in the NFL. To start the season, he was inefficient with his touches, but the Chargers stuck with him. The Chargers have given Gordon 27 or more touches in 4 straight games and he takes on a Dolphins defense that has been porous versus the run. Gordon could lead the league in running back touches this season and takes on a bad run defense with a game script that could call for him getting a ton of touches. The Dolphins offense is a one man show in Jay Ajayi, whose emergence has brought the team to life during their 3 game win streak. However, Ryan Tannehill continues to struggle have not thrown for 260 yards in 5 straight games. If the Chargers can limit Ajayi, they can force Tannehill into long distance situations and pressure him, forcing the mistake prone Tannehill into mistakes.
3. Chris Ivory and Jaguars D/ST:
This is strictly a gpp dart throw to complete a high prices team filled with stars, but it does have upside. Ivory has fumbled in 4 straight games, but he had 18 touches last week after the offensive coordinator change. I am hopeful this is a symbol that the Jaguars will try to be a more balanced attack trying to protect Blake Bortles, who has been nothing short of horrendous this season. Ivory will get the goal line touches and has 100 yard and a touchdown upside. Ivory was one of the league’s best backs for the Jets last season. The Jaguars defense is a matchup play, as the unit has struggled this season. However, Brock Osweiler has struggled more than they have. He is a QB whose confidence is shot, and has struggled on the road. In his three road starts this season he yet to eclipse 200 passing yards and has only thrown 1 touchdown on over 120 passing attempts.
