The bye weeks are officially over, so those in daily fantasy football contests will have access to all healthy stars on the Week 15 main slate. Of course, there are still several teams that won't be playing on Sunday afternoon, as a Saturday tripleheader thins out the player pool. That means NFL DFS players will still need to identify value sleepers and stacking opportunities to differentiate their lineups in DraftKings and FanDuel contests.
Stacking is one of the most important strategies in DFS, especially as injuries take out some of the top quarterbacks on the slate. At this point, there are only a handful of passers, receivers, and running backs that everybody wants. You can still target those players, but building around them — or through them — with stacks can improve your lineup's upside and make it unique.
There are a few ways to stack lineups. A standard approach involves pairing QBs with WRs or RBs with D/STs. These positions usually have correlated success, so a quarterback that has a big game will often lead to his top receivers faring well, too.
WEEK 15 DFS: Best values
You can take some liberties with stacking, however. Making unusual pairings, like an RB-WR stack or a QB-D/ST stack, can differentiate your lineup and give you a good chance to cash. You can also stack games as opposed to teammates and make a lineup of players expected to participate in high-scoring contests.
DraftKings and FanDuel remain the top DFS platforms worldwide, but DraftKings has the more variable pricing. That makes it a bit easier to craft creative stacks, especially when targeting cheaper receivers. That's not to say you can't stack on FanDuel; it's just sometimes harder to find value when doing so.
Below are some of our favorite sets of teammates for Week 15 DraftKings and FanDuel lineups.
WEEK 15 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel
Week 15 NFL DFS Picks: Top cash game stacks for DraftKings, FanDuel
QB Justin Herbert, WR Keenan Allen, and WR Mike Williams, Chargers vs. Titans (DK Stack)
Going with any member of the Chargers' passing attack seems like a great move this week. Tennessee's pass defense has struggled immensely this year, allowing a league-high 43.4 DK points per game to WRs this season. That gives Allen and Williams, who both fared well and looked healthy against the Dolphins last week, high floors and high ceilings.
Likewise, Herbert is a good play despite being the fourth-highest-priced quarterback on the slate. The Titans have allowed the second-most passing yards (3,906) and passing touchdowns (25) to quarterbacks this season.
This stack will probably be chalky, but it has a very high floor considering Tennessee's porous secondary. You could swap in WR Josh Palmer or TE Gerald Everett for one of the receivers if you want more lineup differentiation, but you can't go wrong with this trio.
WEEK 15 STANDARD RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
RB Miles Sanders and Philadelphia D/ST, Eagles at Bears (DK/FD Stack)
The Bears' run defense has regressed in each week since trading Roquan Smith ahead of Week 9. Chicago has allowed an average of 130.8 yards per game and seven total rushing touchdowns in five games during that span, and that will be music to the ears of both Jalen Hurts and Miles Sanders.
That said, Hurts will probably be highly owned as one of the most consistent quarterbacks on the slate. As such, rolling with Sanders — who has run for 211 yards and five touchdowns in his past three games — seems like a higher-upside play for our purposes.
Adding the Eagles' defense, which has a consistent pass rush that should be able to contain Justin Fields, is another good move. Many will look to avoid Philadelphia because of Fields' scrambling talent, but if the Eagles can contain him, they can force him into some mistakes throwing downfield.
WEEK 15 PPR RANKINGS:
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | D/STs | Kickers
RB Isiah Pacheco and Kansas City D/ST, Chiefs at Texans (DK/FD Stack)
The Pacheco/Chiefs D/ST stack proved fruitful in Week 14, so we're turning to it again here. The Texans have allowed more rushing yards (1,834) and rush TDs (18) to running backs than any other team in the NFL, and the Chiefs will look to exploit that weakness just as they did with Pacheco and Jerick McKinnon against the Broncos.
Some will argue that McKinnon is the better play here in DraftKings because of his PPR ceiling. That could be true, but it's also important not to chase points. Either back can work, but Pacheco has the safer floor, especially when you remember that McKinnon does most of his damage through the air and the Texans are much more vulnerable on the ground.
Whichever back you choose, the Kansas City defense looks like a solid play. The Texans have committed 22 turnovers this season, good for the second-most in the NFL behind only the Colts. The Chiefs will take advantage after logging two interceptions and six sacks last week against Denver.
WEEK 15 FANTASY PICKS: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em
Week 15 DraftKings, FanDuel Picks: Best stacks for daily fantasy football tournaments
QB Zach Wilson, WR Garrett Wilson, and TE Tyler Conklin, Jets vs. Lions (DK/FD Stack)
The Lions are a darling team across the NFL right now, and with good reason. They have won five-of-six games and sport an explosive offense. That said, this defense still gives up a lot of points. Their 26.7 points per game allowed is second-most in the league behind only the Cardinals. The Jets' offense should have success in what could be a back-and-forth, high-scoring game.
Originally, we had Mike White in here, but now that he's out because of a rib injury, we're pivoting to Wilson. He's obviously a huge risk, but the Lions allow the third-most passing yards and most fantasy points to QBs this year, so we think even Wilson can take advantage of that, and we know he'll be a contrarian plan.
As for Garrett Wilson and Conklin, they rank Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, on the Jets in targets, and Wilson has logged at least 76 yards in White's three starts. Meanwhile, the Lions have allowed eight touchdowns to tight ends this season, good for the second-most in the league, so Conklin has a high ceiling.
QB Andy Dalton, WR Chris Olave, and TE Juwan Johnson, Saints vs. Falcons (DK/FD Stack)
If White doesn't float your boat as a low-price quarterback, perhaps Dalton will. He hasn't been a big-time fantasy threat this season, but the Falcons have allowed the seventh-most passing yards to QBs this year (3,386). That includes a 269-yard, two-TD outing from Dalton's backup, Jameis Winston, in Week 1.
Dalton could have success, as well. The Falcons profile similarly to the Raiders and Cardinals from a fantasy perspective, and Dalton had two of his three multi-TD games this season against those squads. At the very least, he's worth a flier if you want to pay up for studs at other positions.
Olave and Johnson's inclusions are similar to that of Wilson and Conklin in the lineup above. Olave is a rookie receiver from Ohio State who leads his team in targets, has big-play potential, and has averaged 76.3 receiving yards over his past three games.
Johnson, meanwhile, caught a touchdown in three consecutive games before exiting early in Week 12 with an ankle injury. If he's healthy, he should be a solid red-zone weapon for Dalton. If he isn't, you can roll with Adam Trautman as a bargain-bin option or try another receiver like Rashid Shaheed or Jarvis Landry.
If you're on FanDuel, you can also add Taysom Hill to the stack instead of Johnson. That would prove expensive but could be worth it for his rushing floor.
RB Latavius Murray and Denver D/ST, Broncos vs. Cardinals (DK/FD Stack)
Is this an overreaction to the Cardinals' performance against the Patriots on Monday night? Maybe, but Arizona's run defense has been hit-or-miss in recent weeks.
The Cardinals have allowed at least 103 rushing yards in four of their past six games, and teams have exceeded 158 yards on the ground in three of those contests. That should give Murray, who is averaging 13.8 carries per game in his past four outings, a high floor and potentially high ceiling.
Meanwhile, Arizona's offense had trouble functioning against a strong Patriots defense without Kyler Murray (knee). Denver's defense isn't as good as New England's, but it's still strong against the pass and should be able to generate pressure against Colt McCoy and Arizona's porous offensive line. Perhaps most important, Denver's D/ST is undervalued, as these prices were set before we knew Murray would be out with a torn ACL.
