It's always a great time to win some money playing daily fantasy football, but Week 2 always presents a particularly great opportunity. Last week taught us quite a bit about the NFL, but there are also always early-season overreactions that savvy NFL DFS players can take advantage of. Some defenses weren't as bad as they looked last week. Others...well, they are. Either way, the most opportunistic way to target those weak defenses is by stacking teammates in DraftKings and FanDuel lineups. Whether you're playing in cash games or tournaments, stacks are helpful, as they either raise the ceiling or floor of each lineup.
The most common stacks rely on pairing quarterbacks and pass-catching weapons (WRs and TEs) and using running backs in conjunction with defenses. The logic is that if a quarterback plays well, at least one or two of his receivers almost certainly will, too. And if a defense helps stop another team from scoring, the other team will be able to run more, as they may get ahead early.
MORE WEEK 2 DFS: Best values | Lineup Builder
Below are some of the best stacks for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups this week. Unsurprisingly, they're dominated by QBs. Be sure to follow our Twitter account @SN_Fantasy to see all of our DFS content heading into kickoff every week.
WEEK 2 DFS LINEUPS: DraftKings | FanDuel | Yahoo
Week 2 NFL DFS Picks: Top cash game stacks for DraftKings, FanDuel
QB Russell Wilson, WR DK Metcalf, WR Tyler Lockett, Seahawks vs. Titans (DK/FD Stack)
Seattle is a team that you need a piece of if playing in cash games this week. The Titans were just thrashed by the Cardinals offense in their season opener, and the Seahawks profile similarly to that squad.
Russell Wilson is much like Kyler Murray, who just racked up 289 passing yards, 20 rushing yards, and five total TDs against Tennessee. The Seahawks operate a bit more conservatively than Kliff Kingsbury's squad does, but new offensive coordinator Shane Waldron was willing to let Wilson take shots downfield against the Colts -- that's why he threw for four TDs while averaging a stellar 11 yards/attempt.
The Titans don't have the secondary weapons to contain DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Metcalf and Lockett combined for 160 receiving yards and three TDs on Sunday, good for 64 percent of Wilson's passing yards and 75 percent of the team's passing TDs. Rolling with those two and Wilson gives cash lineups a very high floor, as they will make up most of the passing offense for the Seahawks.
WEEK 2 STANDARD RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | D/ST | Kicker
Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins, Cardinals vs. Vikings (DK/FD stack)
Here's another expensive stack that could pay off big time. The Vikings just struggled to slow down the Bengals, allowing 363 total yards and letting Ja'Marr Chase go for 101 yards and a TD in his NFL debut. Now, Minnesota gets a date with Murray and Hopkins. That's not going to go well for Minnesota.
Murray looked elite against the Titans and is a constant scoring threat. He's excellent with his legs, and given that rushing TDs are worth more than pass TDs, his floor is higher than most of the other QBs out there. That said, he also has an enormous ceiling. He posted five total TDs last week, after all.
Meanwhile, Hopkins led the team in targets (8), catches (6), yards (83) and he scored twice, as did Christian Kirk. Hopkins should continue to see a lot of looks from Murray and will see an even higher volume of targets if the Vikings can at least stay within striking range. Hopkins could post 10-plus catches, 100-plus yards and another multi-TD game, so we'll trust him and Murray in cash-game formats. We like this stack slightly more in DraftKings because of the yardage bonuses offered there. Murray is a rare QB threat who could at least flirt with 100 rushing yards and three extra points.
WEEK 2 PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | D/ST | Kicker
RB Damien Harris and DEF New England Patriots @ Jets (DK stack)
Bill Belichick is elite against rookie quarterbacks. He has posted a 21-6 record against rookies during his time with the Patriots, and his past five outings against rookies have been particularly impressive.
The Patriots have allowed an average of 10.2 points in their past five games against rookie QBs dating back to 2018. The team has averaged two sacks and 1.6 turnovers per game in those contests. The five QBs they have faced during that span are Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, Tua Tagovailoa, Sam Darnold, and Daniel Jones. Not bad. As such, spending up for a high-floor defense like the Patriots may be a worthwhile investment. They should be able to rattle Zach Wilson, who was sacked six times in his debut by the Panthers.
Pairing the Patriots' defense with Damien Harris is a sensible move, too. Harris had a crucial game-changing fumble late in the Patriots 17-16 loss to the Dolphins, but he still ran for 100 yards on 23 carries. His top backup, rookie Rhamondre Stevenson, also fumbled on his very first career carry, so Belichick seems more likely to trust Harris in a bounce-back spot against a subpar defense.
WEEK 2 FANTASY: Sleepers | Busts | Start 'em, sit 'em
Week 2 DraftKings, FanDuel Picks: Best stacks for daily fantasy football GPPs/tournaments
QB Teddy Bridgewater, WR KJ Hamler, and TE Noah Fant, Broncos @ Jaguars (DK stack)
This is not an overreaction to the Broncos' win over the Giants. Denver is a legitimately good team that has one of the strongest rosters in the NFL. The only thing they lack is a sure-fire franchise quarterback.
That said, Teddy Bridgewater looked rock-solid in his Broncos debut against the Giants. He threw for 264 yards and two TDs in Denver's win. He also scampered for 19 yards. Those numbers aren't earth-shattering, but they're still good, especially compared to his $5,400 price tag on DraftKings. He should post a 20-plus point game against a Jaguars team that couldn't stop a nose bleed, let alone a Tyrod Taylor-led offense.
Grabbing Bridgewater cheap and a couple of his other weapons will allow you to spend up elsewhere in your lineup while maintaining high upside. Fant saw a team-high eight targets and scored 10.2 DraftKings points in Week 1. Jerry Jeudy is out with a high-ankle sprain, so that will mean more snaps for KJ Hamler and Tim Patrick.
Patrick is the more proven option and caught a TD last week. However, Hamler is cheaper and more explosive than Patrick, so we'll roll with him in hopes that he can catch a long TD (like he would've had last week if not for a brutal drop in the end zone). That would easily pay off his $3,800 pricing.
QB Jalen Hurts, WR DeVonta Smith, TE Dallas Goedert, Eagles vs. 49ers (DK/FD stack)
Here's a stack that may not be as highly-regarded as others, but it could be a nice one. The 49ers had a 28-point lead against the Lions and led by 24 with less than two minutes to go, but they won by just eight points. How? Because their secondary got banged-up.
The 49ers lost Jason Verrett (torn ACL) for the season against the Lions and are already thin at cornerback. Their normal No. 2 corner, Emmanuel Moseley, was inactive last week due to a knee injury. Kyle Shanahan is "holding out hope" that he will return but if not, the 49ersr will be relying on the following players at cornerback.
- Josh Norman
- K'Waun Williams
- Dre Kirkpatrick
- Ambry Thomas (rookie)
- Deommodore Lenoir (rookie)
That's less than ideal going up against an Eagles team that can take advantage of those absences. So, Hurts and Smith seem like solid starts. Goedert also figures to be a nice play. He caught four passes for 42 yards and a TD against the Falcons. He should do just as well against a 49ers defense that allowed T.J. Hockenson to catch eight passes for 97 yards and a TD.
If Hurts is going to have another big game, this is the spot in which to do it. Feel free to trust his receiving weapons in a favorable matchup.
QB Sam Darnold, WR D.J. Moore, WR Robby Anderson, Panthers vs. Saints (DK Stack)
The Saints are another team that is razor-thin at the cornerback position. Marshon Lattimore is dealing with a thumb injury that he just had surgery on, so the Saints' two normal starting cornerbacks — Lattimore and Ken Crawley — won't be available against the Panthers. That means the team will have to rely on newly-signed Desmond Trufant and the newly acquired Bradley Roby to lead the team at the position.
Both Roby and Trufant have played well during their careers. However, each will have been with the Saints for just a couple of weeks. So, New Orleans could deal with some communication issues on the back end if either isn't fully up to speed on the playbook. The other alternative is playing a very simple defense.
Either way, Darnold, Moore and Anderson seem like a good trio to trust in this one. Darnold is a bit of a risk, but Moore and Anderson are both proven producers at the receiver spot. Moore had 15.4 DK points against the Jets while Anderson posted 12.7. They both will see plenty of targets from Darnold, and the Saints' secondary should prove more porous than most realize.
Darnold figures to be low-owned so this will give NFL DFS players some nice lineup differentiation. And as good as the Saints looked against the Packers, they still have to prove that they can consistently win without Drew Brees. This is a good opportunity for them, but it's also a nice chance for the Panthers to take advantage of Lattimore's absence.
