5 NFL FanDuel Stacks for Week 5

If you're new to daily fantasy football, then you'll have to make some changes to your fantasy football strategy. You don't have "your guys" on a weekly basis -- and you need to adjust to each and every matchup.

A big part of building your roster is weekly quarterback selection. In terms of salary, passers range from the top of the player pool to the bottom, with some replacement-level passers at the same price point as kickers and defenses on FanDuel.

Along with those quarterbacks, though, you have the option of pairing pass-catchers with your signal caller, and per 4for4's Chris Raybon, a quarterback's top receiver has the strongest positive correlation to quarterback success -- and his tight end and second receiver are next in line.

If you're going to stack, though, you need to have a purpose. If you're trying to win a big tournament, you'll want to find a combination that can put up points in bunches -- all while possibly being underowned. Which teammates might fit the bill in Week 5 on FanDuel's main slate, which excludes the Thursday and Monday games?

Dallas Cowboys

Quarterback: Dak Prescott ($7,700)
Wide Receiver: Dez Bryant ($7,800)

Okay, so we want underowned stacks, and this is probably the first place people will think to look on the main slate. After all, these two are second and third in tags on FanShareSports, which suggests they'll be popular. However, with Ezekiel Elliott on the same team, ownership of this stack itself could be limited. Plus, in the Dallas Cowboys' game with the Green Bay Packers -- with a 52-point over/under -- there are a lot of ways to differentiate to get access to a unique stack.

You can pair this stack with either Jordy Nelson (he's $8,600 on a slate in which spending up at running back looks to be en vogue) or the likely-more-popular Randall Cobb ($6,600). You can also go for a stack that features Elliott, Aaron Rodgers ($9,500) and a Packers receiver, with the assumption that the Packers will lack a healthy running game. Rodgers threw 44.7 times in his first three games and could do so again against Dallas' 16th-ranked defense, by our metrics.

Either way, Prescott has topped 17 FanDuel points in all four of his games, and this is the easiest matchup for Bryant to date. Bryant has averaged 12.7 targets per game outside of a Week 3 showdown with Patrick Peterson. Fading this game in tournaments is a bit scary, but loading up on it in different ways can still be contrarian.

Houston Texans

Quarterback: Deshaun Watson ($7,500)
Wide Receiver: DeAndre Hopkins ($7,700)

You may also assume that this stack won't be low owned, and maybe it's not after their combined 56.42 FanDuel points in Week 3. But Watson is 9th in tags on FanShareSports among fantasy quarterbacks, and Hopkins is 11th among receivers. Their matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs doesn't seem stellar on paper -- Kansas City is seventh against the pass by our metrics -- but the Chiefs have allowed 93 combined rushing yards to Carson Wentz and Kirk Cousins this season. Watson has averaged 44 rushing yards per game in his starts.

As for Hopkins, he should avoid Marcus Peters often enough that he has a neutral matchup overall. After all, Hopkins has a league-high 38.6% market share and averages 12.3 targets per game. You can also get a little more creative and consider Will Fuller (he's $5,700 and had three deep targets and six targets overall in his debut in Week 4), but Bruce Ellington ($4,800) has played 99% and 79% of snaps the past two weeks for the Houston Texans and has seen 7 and 4 targets in those two games, respectively. He gets a matchup in the slot with Phillip Gaines, as well, and is a game-theory pivot from Jaron Brown at $4,500.

Kansas City Chiefs

Quarterback: Alex Smith ($7,400)
Tight End: Travis Kelce ($7,000)

Alex Smith on the other side of this game is in play for me, as well. Houston is fourth against the pass by our metrics, but they're just a top-20 team against fantasy quarterbacks. Smith has at least 15 FanDuel points in all four games and actually has 27 or more in two of his four games. Kansas City is 11th-best in pressure rate allowed, so that helps mitigate some pass rush concerns. You can't feel great about Smith on the road, but he has playmakers at his disposal, and his intended air yards per attempt is actually lower than it was last year.

Kelce is one of the few options you can spend up on at tight end for the main slate, and using a stack here should ensure that you get a pretty unique lineup. The Texans are 18th in FanDuel points per target allowed to tight ends and 15th in target Success Rate. As Rich Hribar noted in his Week 5 Worksheet, Kelce has gone for more than 100 yards in two of his three games against the Texans and eight times since the start of 2016, tied with Julio Jones for the NFL lead.

Miami Dolphins

Quarterback: Jay Cutler ($6,700)
Wide Receiver: DeVante Parker ($6,100)

This stack benefits if Marcus Mariota is able to play through his hamstring injury, but it could be in play regardless. The Tennessee Titans are 29th against the pass by our metrics and are 31st against fantasy quarterbacks. Cutler has averaged just 10.62 FanDuel points in his three games and has maxed out at 13.10. It's hard to envision high ownership here.

Parker is the preferred stacking option with Cutler. His market share (25.2%) ranks 10th among receivers. Jarvis Landry ($6,600) has a 30.8% market share (fourth among receivers). The matchup is prime -- Tennessee is 29th in FanDuel points per target to receivers -- and the targets are easy to predict.

San Francisco 49ers

Quarterback: Brian Hoyer ($6,500)
Wide Receiver: Pierre Garcon ($6,700)

Let's get weird. The Indianapolis Colts have allowed 22.0 FanDuel points per game to quarterbacks, more than Aaron Rodgers (21.5) has averaged this season. Hoyer put up 27.18 FanDuel points in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Rams but has averaged just 5.28 points in his other three outings. Yikes. The Colts do rank 27th against the pass and 32nd against the rush, though, and that means the San Francisco 49ers could have a positive game script to benefit Hoyer. You can only consider him in tournaments.

Garcon has a 22.6% market share and has played at least 80% of San Francisco's snaps, with at least 8 targets in three of four games despite some difficult matchups. A Garcon/Hoyer stack can also include T.Y. Hilton ($7,300) in a full game stack, among two teams in the top half of situation-neutral pace, per FootballOutsiders, and two bottom-half defenses by our metrics.

You can also consider Aldrick Robinson ($4,600), though his viability depends on the status of Marquise Goodwin, who was limited at Wednesday's practice. Robinson played 87% of the 49ers' snaps but caught just 3 passes. The real reason to consider him is that he saw 12 targets on a near full allotment of snaps.