DraftKings Best Ball: Favorite Stacks to Target

Jul 19, 2024

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Stacking was once considered a strategy best employed through DraftKings’ daily fantasy sports (DFS) offerings: if a particular team goes off, you’ll get closer to the “perfect” lineup in that given week. That same mindset can be employed through DK’s season-long best ball offerings; by attacking different stacks in different lineups, you’re betting on a team (or teams) to carry your entry into the playoffs and beyond.

Below, we’ll look into some of my favorite “team stacks” at current ADP, broken down by how much draft capital you’ll need to spend on each.

GET TWO SHOTS AT $1.5 MILLION FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! Score an NFL Best Ball ticket to play free when you draft today! Play now!

Expensive Stacks

Kansas City Chiefs

Patrick Mahomes (QB4, 45th)
Isiah Pacheco (RB11, 36th)
Xavier Worthy (WR43, 80th)

The Chiefs stack(s) depend incredibly on where you are drafting from, and you’ll often need to “luck” into the top options. While there may be cases where you can select Travis Kelce, Isiah Pacheco, and Patrick Mahomes in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th, their ADPs make that unlikely, so you’ll need to see how your draft falls. Pacheco, Mahomes, and a wide receiver are far more likely, and that doesn’t include Hollywood Brown, who typically goes too close to Mahomes to complete the pairing.

With all that said, grabbing three pieces of the Chiefs offense ahead of a bounce-back offensive season is a great collection to add to your portfolio, and if the third piece needs to be rookie Xavier Worthy, that’s just fine. His usage throughout the season could experience some lulls, but there is also the chance that Rashee Rice’s legal issues keep him out for multiple ‘24 matchups. Worthy is a marginal risk in the 7th round of drafts, but potential spike week performances should keep him on the radar, particularly when your team already has Mahomes.

Philadelphia Eagles

Jalen Hurts (QB2, 40th overall)
A.J. Brown (WR7, 9th)
Saquon Barkley (RB5, 15th)

This stack can get started with just a little bit of a reach on either A.J. Brown or Saquon Barkley or directly from the 9-spot, more often than not. There are also times that DeVonta Smith slips toward the end of the third round if you’d prefer to try to opt for him over Barkley, but the running back remains one of the strongest options at the position in a vast offensive upgrade.

Barkley exchanged arguably the worst offensive line in the league for one of the best, even with the retirement of center Jason Kelce. Last season, the Giants registered the 32nd-ranked adjusted line yards (3.35) and the 31st-ranked RB yards before contact average (1.03), yet the veteran still finished the season as the RB9 in PPR points per game (15.9). The Eagles' OL finished 14th and 4th, respectively, in those metrics while finishing the season as the seventh-highest-scoring offense. Drafters may understandably be concerned about the “tush push” stealing goal-line touches from the running back, but an overall better offensive environment will negate some of those losses.

A healthy Jalen Hurts and new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore should push this offense back toward the fantasy peaks through the 2021-22 seasons.

Middle-of-the-Road Stacks

Atlanta Falcons

Kirk Cousins (QB18, 133rd overall)
Drake London (WR10, 16th)
Kyle Pitts (TE6, 60th)

The “never again” crowd won’t come anywhere near Kyle Pitts in 2024, but that’s their loss and our gain when incorporating Falcons stacks into our portfolios. Atlanta is currently projected for the 13th-highest season-long point total and takes on the Panthers, Saints, and Buccaneers six times, each having big holes in at least one aspect of their defense. The offensive line —which slotted as a top-3 unit in our O-line rankings— also gives the team a solid infrastructure to run the offense how they see fit.

We’re assuming the team will move at least a little closer to a pass-first scheme with Arthur Smith heading up to Pittsburgh and new OC Zac Robinson in town. That doesn’t necessarily mean statuesque QB Kirk Cousins will be a fantasy stud, but we’ve seen him pop up for 400-yard/4-TD games with bona fide WR1s in the past, and Drake London has a chance to prove he fits that bill with the first NFL-level signal caller he’s ever played with.

The Falcons profile as a team that could absolutely out-shine their collective ADPs, with a floor that would only leave them in the murk of the middle of the pack.

Washington Commanders

Jayden Daniels (QB12, 101st overall)
Terry McLaurin (WR32, 53th)
Jahan Dotson (WR62, 138th)

In DraftKings’ full-PPR scoring, Austin Ekeler (RB30) is going quite a bit higher than in other scoring formats, but if he falls past his ADP, I’d be more than happy to lump him into this stack, though he’s going too close to Jayden Daniels to make it happen. The alternative is to grab Terry McLaurin and Jahan Dotson, betting on the fact that this will be a very skinny target tree. Looking at their depth chart, that’s not a risky bet.

The rest of the wide receiver room is filled with rotational players like Dyami Brown, Olamide Zaccheaus, Jamison Crowder, and third-rounder Luke McCaffrey. The rookie was slotted as a Day 3 option on most draft boards, with Dane Brugler commenting, “his ability to carve out a role on special teams could be the key to him earning a roster spot as a rookie.” Pretty damning praise for who could end up as the team’s WR3.

The tight end room is headed by rookie Ben Sinnott, who profiles as an H-back in the early going, and Zach Ertz, heading into his age-34 season and coming off a quad injury that placed him on the IR.

If the passing offense is going to be productive in Washington this season, McLaurin and Dotson (and Ekeler) will be the primary beneficiaries.

Cheap (Back Door) Stacks

New England Patriots

Drake Maye (QB29, 196th overall)
Ja’Lynn Polk (WR66, 150th)
Hunter Henry (TE20, 168th)

There are plenty of holes to poke into our two bottom-of-the-draft offenses to stack, but that’s the point. These two teams are filled with so much ambiguity that their quarterbacks and/or skill position players are very affordable. They make perfect options when you’ve either been sniped earlier in the draft or failed to complete a stack through the double-digit rounds.

Drake Maye might not even be the starting quarterback in Week 1, so selecting him makes a 3-QB build absolutely essential. When he does get on the field, he could help teams get to and through the best ball playoffs, though. Seen as more of a pocket passer, Maye finished the 2022 and 2023 seasons ranked third among the ‘24 draft class in runs of 10+ yards, accumulating 1,481 yards and 16 touchdowns in the process. He also ranked second in his rate of passes traveling 20 or more yards down the field (19.8%) and fourth in adjusted completion percentage (56.0%) on those throws.

Ja’Lynn Polk profiles as the primary option on many of those deep throws after operating as a down-the-field target for Michael Penix Jr. at Washington over his last two years in college. Paired with Hunter Henry as a red zone threat, a late-season offensive coalescence could pay off these very cheap price tags. Over at DK Sportsbook, Weeks 15 (@ Cardinals) and 16 (vs. Bills) currently have respectable 44.0 and 44.5 over/unders in games that could be sneaky shootouts. (Lines and odds are subject to change)

Carolina Panthers

Bryce Young (QB26, 180th overall)
Jonathon Brooks (RB28, 96th)
Diontae Johnson (WR42, 78th)

There’s no denying that Bryce Young —and the entire Panthers offense— had a miserable 2023 season. Carolina finished 31st in scoring offense and dead last in yardage in ‘23, but they addressed both their offensive line (guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis) as well as their wide receiver room (Diontae Johnson, Xavier Legette). They also brought in quarterback whisperer Dave Canales, who orchestrated the career resurgence of both Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield.

There’s no guarantee that Canales will make Young look like a solidified former first-overall pick here in 2024, but his QB26 draft cost is certainly worth the gamble. If it were to happen, it would come at the gain of both Jonathon Brooks and Diontae Johnson, particularly in the mid-to-late part of the calendar. Reports point toward Brooks being ready for Week 1, but with his ACL tear coming in November, that timeline seems a little aggressive. But that isn’t important for our purposes in best ball; if he doesn’t start scoring legit RB1/2 numbers until Week 4, we should have a strong enough build to withstand it.

Johnson will effectively replace Adam Thielen as the team’s WR1, and it’s hard to imagine a better replacement at this point in Thielen’s career. The latter will now operate as more of a third option for Young, while Johnson presents a valid next-level separator who could be an absolute target hog this season, which makes his WR42 price tag in full-PPR scoring questionable. Current 4for4 projections have him slated for 71 receptions.

(Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY). Help is available for problem gambling. Call (888) 789-7777 or visit ccpg.org (CT).

18+ in most eligible states, but age varies by jurisdiction. Eligibility restrictions apply. Void where prohibited. 1 offer per customer. Must enter a lineup into the NFL Best Ball $15M Millionaire Contest by 9/5/24. $20 entry fee. Bonus issued as 1 ticket to NFL Best Ball $15M Millionaire Contest. Ticket rewards are site credits and expire at contest lock on 9/5/24 at 8:15 PM ET. See terms at draftkings.com/dfs)

Lines and odds are subject to change.