If you're out of the fantasy football playoffs, fear not. There are still ways for you to get in on the Week 15 NFL action, and that includes NFL DFS contests. This week's slate looks like a favorable one for daily fantasy football players, as plenty of high-upside options are available when crafting DraftKings and FanDuel lineups. Of course, it's important to be a bit outside the box in your approach, and that's why stacking has become a popular strategy.
Creating a stack can give your lineup an opportunity for double points, but it also can create key lineup differentiation too. Not everyone likes stacking — some prefer to spread the wealth — so by stacking, you're already gaining a slight competitive advantage. And if you can get really creative in your approach, that will give you a really unique lineup with high upside.
WEEK 15 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel | Yahoo
When looking at stacking opportunities, it's important to rely on good offenses in favorable matchups. You can also look at which games project to be the highest-scoring of the week and use that to influence your decisions. Either way, stacks should help you compete for the top prizes in DraftKings and FanDuel tournaments and can even help you stay competitive in cash games, too.
DraftKings pricing continues to be more variable than that of FanDuel which makes it easier to create stacks. That said, stacking is still a viable strategy on FanDuel. It's just important to find worthwhile sleepers in the lower price range to balance your lineup.
Below are some of our favorite sets of teammates for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups. Be sure to follow our Twitter account @SN_Fantasy to see all of our DFS content heading into kickoff every week.
Week 15 NFL DFS Picks: Top cash game stacks for DraftKings, FanDuel
QB Kyler Murray, WR Christian Kirk, & WR A.J. Green, Cardinals at Lions (DK/FD Stack)
Poor Detroit. They just got pummeled by the Broncos while nearly half of their team dealt with COVID or the flu, and now they are going to face the Cardinals coming off a loss. The Lions won't stand a chance against Arizona and its weapons. James Conner will surely do a lot of damage on the ground, but after what transpired in the Cardinals' loss, it would be surprising if Kyler Murray and Co. didn't come out firing early.
Murray completed a season-low 65.3 percent of his passes against the Rams in Week 14. He threw for 383 yards and ran for 61 more, but he didn't log a touchdown. That marked the most total yards by a quarterback without a TD in nearly a decade.
Kyler Murray finished with 444 passing + rush yards, the most he's ever had in a game.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 14, 2021
That said, he also had 0 pass TD and 0 rush TD.
That's the most in a game with no touchdowns since... Matthew Stafford had 445 in 2012.#MNFStats pic.twitter.com/DDhLAhSFhZ
Additionally, Murray threw two interceptions and had a couple more dropped. Needless to say, he will want to perform better and prove that game was just a fluke.
The Lions rank just middle-of-the-pack in terms of fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks, but that's partly because they haven't allowed a quarterback rushing touchdown this year. Murray is one of the most mobile quarterbacks the Lions will face in addition to Lamar Jackson, so they could struggle with Murray.
And while the Lions are mid-tier against receivers, they simply don't have the talent needed to slow down Kirk and Green, who are both big-play pass-catchers who should see more targets with DeAndre Hopkins (knee) out. As such, rolling with that trio is a good move. Trusting James Conner and the Cardinals D/ST is another appealing alternative if you believe that Arizona will take a run-heavy approach in this one.
WEEK 15 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide Receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
QB Matthew Stafford, WR Cooper Kupp, & WR Van Jefferson, Rams vs. Seahawks (DK Stack)
UPDATE: The Rams-Seahawks game has been moved to Tuesday, so Rams players are no longer eligible for Sunday contests.
The Rams' passing offense has hit its stride in recent weeks, and Matthew Stafford has racked up at least 23.5 DK points in his past three outings. It seems likely his success will continue as he faces the Seahawks for the second time this season.
The Seahawks have allowed the most passing yards to quarterbacks this season at a mark of 3,770. They have been stingier in terms of touchdowns allowed, especially on the ground, but it's not like Stafford is a running threat anyway. Stafford can take advantage of Seattle's secondary, which is without Tre Brown and Jamal Adams for the rest of the season, and he should post more than the 20.5 points he racked up in Week 5 while dealing with a banged-up finger.
You can really take your pick of any Rams' receivers for this one, as Stafford has targeted Kupp, Beckham and Van Jefferson a lot over the past three games. That said, Kupp gets the most catches which makes him an ideal fit in our DraftKings lineup while Beckham has a TD in three straight and is emerging as the team's true No. 2 receiver with his performance. That said, Beckham is on the COVID list so it's probably best to roll with Jefferson this week since he costs just $200 more than Beckham anyway. If OBJ plays though, both are good options.
Dolphins starting RB and Dolphins D/ST, Dolphins vs. Jets (DK/FD Stack)
UPDATE: Gaskin and Ahmed have been activated off the reserve/COVID list, and Gaskin is fully expected to start.
This is a bit of a copout here, but we truly don't know who will be available at running back for the Dolphins as of this writing. Their top three options at the position — Myles Gaskin, Salvon Ahmed and Phillip Lindsay — are all on the COVID list, so only Duke Johnson and Gerrid Doaks, both practice squad players, are available. Malcolm Brown (quad) is still technically on IR, but he could be available, too. Still, no matter who plays, the Dolphins' RB will be an appealing option. Why? Because the Jets are horrendous against the run and will struggle immensely to stop their opponent, whoever it may be.
The Jets have allowed a league-high 23 total touchdowns to running backs this year. How bad is that? The second-worst team, the Lions, allowed four combined TDs to Javonte Williams and Melvin Gordon last week and they're still behind the Jets. New York is simply that bad at stopping the run.
The Dolphins didn't run the ball particularly well last time they played the Jets, but their backs still generated 111 rushing yards on 28 attempts. If a bulk of those go to one guy, a Dolphins RB will pay off. The Dolphins backs won't be cheap, so keep an eye on this scenario.
And in case you're wondering, here's what their depth chart will look like if all of the players are able to play.
- Myles Gaskin
- Salvon Ahmed
- Phillip Lindsay
- Malcolm Brown (if activated)
- Duke Johnson
- Gerrid Doaks
WEEK 15 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide Receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
Week 15 DraftKings, FanDuel Picks: Best stacks for daily fantasy football GPPs/tournaments
QB Jimmy Garoppolo, WR Brandon Aiyuk, & TE George Kittle, 49ers vs. Falcons (DK/FD stack)
There are two risks with this type of stack. The first is trusting Garoppolo to perform; the second is using a 49ers stack without including Deebo Samuel. In cash games, you can swap Samuel for Aiyuk, but in tournaments, rolling with this approach is a good one.
Kittle is the safest of the bunch and should produce no matter what. He has averaged 11 catches for 166 yards over his past two games while accounting for three total TDs. Those numbers are insane. The Falcons are decent against tight ends but have allowed seven TDs to the position, tied for the seventh most in the NFL. Kittle should have another great day.
As for Aiyuk, he has scored double-digit fantasy points in four of his past six games and has averaged seven targets per game during that span. He seems to be winning Garoppolo's trust after a very slow start to the season, so he's a solid mid-tier receiver to target.
Garoppolo might not be that consistent, but he is a low-priced quarterback and has logged at least 15.6 fantasy points in six of his past seven outings. If he can get into the 20-point range in a favorable matchup against a bad defense, he will easily pay off his price. And if he gets a couple of touchdown tosses, Kittle and Aiyuk well could be on the receiving end of them.
RB D'Onta Foreman and Titans D/ST, Titans at Steelers (DK/FD stack)
Hey, remember when the Steelers gave up 205 rushing yards to Dalvin Cook despite the running back playing through a shoulder injury? Remember how he averaged 7.6 yards per carry during that game? That was fun for Cook DFS owners to watch, and Foreman could be the next back to exploit the Steelers.
Foreman has run pretty well since signing with the Titans after Derrick Henry's foot injury. He has either 100-plus rushing yards or a rushing TD in his past two games, and if Tennessee can block effectively for him, he will be able to exploit a Steelers' run defense that allows 139.5 rushing yards per game, good for the third most in the league. That makes Foreman a nice low-budget, high-reward play. He also probably won't be highly-owned, as the Titans do run something of a committee approach.
Grabbing Foreman and pairing him with a Titans defense that just shut out the Jaguars should be a good move. The Steelers are better offensively than the Jaguars, but Ben Roethlisberger isn't mobile and will take some sacks and make some bad, weak throws. That bodes well for Jeffrey Simmons and friends as they look to stay perched atop the AFC South.
RB Javonte Williams & RB Melvin Gordon, Broncos vs. Bengals (DK stack)
It's time for a double RB stack. It might seem like we're chasing points a bit after both Williams and Gordon had two TDs last week against the Lions, but we're not. Both backs are getting equal action, and they are serving as the driving force of the Broncos' offense.
Williams is averaging 124 scrimmage yards and a TD in his past three games. Gordon is averaging nearly 20 touches per game in his past four. The Broncos want to get them touches as they take pressure off Teddy Bridgewater and make his life easier.
The Bengals are decent against the run, but they have struggled against pass-catching RBs this year. They have given up the third-most receptions to RBs at 92, so both Williams and Gordon could catch a lot of short passes in addition to whatever they can do on the ground. And with neither being overly expensive, grabbing each is a good combo.
Does this limit your lineup's ceiling? A bit, but it also gives you key differentiation and can raise your floor, as Denver has a strong offensive line and running game. Don't be surprised if both end up being viable fantasy plays in Week 15.
