Best Value QB/WR Stacks
Each week, with the help of our premium DFS Stacking Page, we’ll be diving into the main DFS slates for DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo to give you the quarterback-wide receiver stacks that represent the best value on the board.
When possible, we’ll look to avoid throwing out the obvious names. However, just because a player is well known, that doesn’t mean they’re the easy pick when filling out your roster — and it also doesn’t mean that their price tag accurately matches their potential production.
Last week, readers of this weekly piece might have ended up rolling with Ryan Tannehill and A.J. Brown. That duo performed at a very high level against the Kansas City Chiefs, with Tannehill throwing for 270 yards and a touchdown and adding another score on the ground. Meanwhile, Brown had, by far, his biggest game of the season, hauling in eight receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown.
With that out of the way, here are the five combinations we’re looking at for Week 8 of the NFL regular season:
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Atlanta Falcons (vs. Carolina Panthers)
- QB – Matt Ryan (DraftKings: $5,900 / FanDuel: $7,200 / Yahoo: $24)
- WR – Calvin Ridley (DraftKings: $6,600 / FanDuel: $7,000 / Yahoo: $21)
Not many quarterbacks are spinning it better than Ryan right now. The 36-year-old has thrown for 10 touchdowns and only one interception over the last four weeks, and the Falcons won three of those games. Ryan has also eclipsed the 280-yard mark in each of his last three games, and he has attempted more passes per game than anybody but Tom Brady and Justin Herbert this year.
With the frequency at which the Falcons are throwing the football, it’s hard not to roll with Ryan at his current price. Ryan has finished as a top-15 quarterback in fantasy in each of the last three weeks that Atlanta has played, and the team now faces a Carolina defense that has struggled over the last four weeks.
Ridley, meanwhile, caught his first touchdown since Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins last game. The 26-year-old only had four catches for 26 yards in that game, but it was huge for him to find the end zone in that one. Ridley is one of the best young receivers in the game and it’s only a matter of time before he gets going.
This duo is a pretty great value no matter where you look, but it’s an especially great choice on Yahoo. Don’t be too surprised if this ends up being one of the highest-scoring combinations of the week.
Indianapolis Colts (vs. Tennessee Titans)
- QB – Carson Wentz (DraftKings: $5,700 / FanDuel: $7,200 / Yahoo: $29)
- WR – Michael Pittman Jr. (DraftKings: $5,300 / FanDuel: $6,600 / Yahoo: $21)
This is our second-best value on DraftKings this week and it’s also a top-20 option on FanDuel. We have noted in this column that Wentz is beginning to play like the guy that was once considered the face of the Philadelphia Eagles franchise, and he hasn’t quite slowed down yet.
Last week, Wentz threw for 150 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions in some of the worst weather you’ll see on a football field. He now has nine touchdowns and zero interceptions over the last four weeks, and he has finished as a top-15 option at the position in each of the last three weeks.
Pittman, meanwhile, had four catches for 105 yards and a touchdown against San Francisco last week. He has now scored in two of the last three weeks and has emerged as Wentz’s go-to receiving target. Pittman had six catches for 68 yards in a loss to the Titans back in Week 3. He should be able to replicate those numbers, at least. However, don’t be surprised if he finds the end zone again.
Tennessee is playing some great football at the moment, but these divisional games can always go either way. The sharp money is on the Colts in this game right now, and it’ll take a nice performance from this duo for those big bettors to be right.
Jacksonville Jaguars (vs. Seattle Seahawks)
- QB – Trevor Lawrence (DraftKings: $5,500 / FanDuel: $6,700 / Yahoo: $24)
- WR – Marvin Jones Jr. (DraftKings: $5,900 / FanDuel: $6,400 / Yahoo: $16)
Lawrence had his best fantasy performance of the year two games ago against the Titans, throwing for 273 yards with two touchdowns and adding 28 yards as a runner. Lawrence then followed that one up by leading the Jaguars to their first win of the year, throwing for 319 yards with a touchdown and 11 rushing yards against the Miami Dolphins.
Jacksonville is now coming off a bye week, meaning that Lawrence has had even more time to watch film and process what has worked so well for him. He has also had some extra time to prepare for Seattle’s defense. With that being the case, look for him to continue to improve and don’t be surprised if he’s a top-10 scorer at the position this week.
Jones happens to be coming off of his best performance of the year, catching seven passes for 100 yards and a touchdown against Miami. The veteran was targeted 10 times by Lawrence, showing that he is clearly the preferred option in the passing game right now. With D.J. Chark Jr. now officially out for the season, that isn’t going to change anytime soon.
Only one combination is ranked higher than this one on Yahoo this week, and the duo is also plenty viable on the other two platforms. It’s legitimately crazy to see how affordable they are given the week they just had.
Carolina Panthers (vs. Atlanta Falcons)
- QB – Sam Darnold (DraftKings: $5,600 / FanDuel: $7,300 / Yahoo: $26)
- WR – DJ Moore (DraftKings: $7,200 / FanDuel: $7,700 / Yahoo: $23)
Darnold is definitely in a troubling place with the Panthers right now, as he’s a bad performance or two away from being benched for the remainder of the season — and there’s no guarantee he’ll have another opportunity as a starter anywhere. Last week, Carolina took him out in a loss to the New York Giants. The team opted to go with P.J. Walker late in the game, but Matt Rhule is giving Darnold another chance here.
Darnold might not be the long-term answer under center for Carolina, but that shouldn’t matter when setting your lineups this week. The former New York Jets quarterback faces a Falcons defense that has given up the third-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season. He might not have another good game all year, but Darnold should be able to put up some good numbers in this one. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s a threat to use his legs.
Moore hasn’t quite played like he did early in the year — it’d be nearly impossible given that this passing game has completely slowed down — but he’s remained a high-floor option and it’s hard to envision this Falcons secondary slowing him down. Considering Moore hasn’t performed up to expectations lately, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was on a low percentage of rosters. He has huge upside this week.
Denver Broncos (vs. Washington Football Team)
- QB – Teddy Bridgewater (DraftKings: $5,400 / FanDuel: $7,000 / Yahoo: $26)
- WR – Jerry Jeudy (DraftKings: $4,900 / FanDuel: $6,000 / Yahoo: $20)
There isn’t a team in the league allowing more yards per game through the air than the 300.6 that Washington is. The team has also given up more touchdown passes than anybody in the league, as Washington has given up 19 thus far — and the next highest team has only given up 16.
With this being one of the worst passing defenses in football, you should expect Bridgewater to bounce back from a miserable performance against the Cleveland Browns last Thursday. Bridgewater has already had some nice games this year, so we know he’s capable of putting up decent numbers. He was also a bit banged up before that Browns game, but he will have had some extra time to heal for this one.
As for the receiving option here, paying up for Courtland Sutton is definitely an option, but Jeudy is arguably the better player when they’re both healthy. Why not take a shot on him? He’s had plenty of time to get himself ready for game action and Denver wouldn’t let its young star play if it wasn’t confident he can handle it.
Jeudy had six catches for 72 yards in his only game action this season, and that was in a game against the Giants that he wasn’t able to finish. He’s one of the best route runners in football, and he should create a ton of separation in this one.
