4 NFL FanDuel Stacks for Week 11

On the Week 11 FanDuel main slate, there are five games projected for an implied total of 46-points or more, which could lead to several games shooting out. We also have seven teams projected to score at least 25-points this week, which should lead to several high scoring players.

In this article, I will reflect my favorite DFS stacks for this week. These decisions are made by using player projections, Vegas implied team totals and player ownership projections.

Minnesota Vikings

Dalvin Cook ($8,600) and Minnesota D/ST ($4,700)

As I mentioned in this piece last week, I’m a big fan of the running back/defense stack. I like going back to that again this week with the Minnesota Vikings.

Starting with Dalvin Cook, you shouldn’t need to be convinced too much to be rostering this guy week in and week out. Cook has had an exceptional season thus far. Through the first 10 weeks of the regular season, Cook leads all running backs in rushing yards (991) and ranks third in rushing touchdowns (10). He has another nice matchup ahead of him this week against the Denver Broncos to continue racking up those numbers.

While the Broncos' defense has gotten progressively better with each game this season, their rushing D tends to struggle a bit more than their passing defense. Per our schedule-adjusted metrics, the Broncos' run defense is currently ranked 13th overall. While that’s not horrible by any means, I’m more intrigued by the volume Cook should have in this game. The Vikings are currently implied to win this game by 10.5 points as home favorites. That is a perfect game script for a running back like Cook.

Per our projections, we have Cook forecasted to score the second-most FanDuel points in Week 11. He also offers the best point-per-dollar value of any running back on the main slate and is projected to see 23.16 rushing attempts -- which also leads all running backs on the slate. The combination of being a 10.5-point home favorite with that amount of opportunity is lethal for a guy with Cook’s talent.

Being that the Broncos plan to roll out rookie quarterback Brandon Allen, again this week -- in just his second start in the NFL -- I like stacking the Vikings D/ST with Cook. The Vikings are sixth in the NFL in takeaways and will have a chance to keep racking up turnovers at US Bank Stadium this week against the Broncos’ rookie quarterback.

New England Patriots

Tom Brady ($7,800) and Julian Edelman ($7,400)

It’s not common for me to stack up the New England Patriots, as I find them to be one of the hardest teams to predict each week. They love to spread the ball around to different players, and their head coach, Bill Belichick, always has a new game plan up his sleeve. As soon as you think they’re going to do one thing -- boom, they do something else.

However, this week’s game script for the Patriots is a little easier to predict than most weeks -- just throw the ball against this Philadelphia Eagles defense. Per our numbers, the Eagles defense ranks ninth against the run this season and 21st against the pass. Therefore, I like stacking Tom Brady with his most reliable receiver, Julian Edelman.

The Patriots are implied to score 24.25 points against the Eagles, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they get most of those points through the passing game. Brady has quietly thrown multiple touchdowns in five of nine games this season while averaging 281.77 passing yards per game.

Let’s not forget the last time these two teams played one another was back in 2018 for Super Bowl LII, a game in which Brady threw for 505 yards and three touchdowns.

Pair Brady with Edelman this week. Edelman continues to be Brady’s most targeted receiver. He currently leads all Pats’ pass-catchers with a 30.55% target share -- 12.87% higher than the next Pats receiver. Edelman also dominates in red zone targets, as well, as he's currently leading the team with a 32.14% red zone target share.

Edelman is set to lineup against Eagles cornerback Avonte Maddox this week. Per PFF’s wide receiver/cornerback matchup chart, Edelman has a 13% advantage over Maddox, a trend we’re always trying to target.

Dallas Cowboys

Dak Prescott ($8,100) and Michael Gallup ($6,700)

You’re going to want some sort of exposure to this Dallas Cowboys team this week playing the Detroit Lions. Whether that be Ezekiel Elliott or otherwise, the Cowboys should put up big numbers against this Lions defense.

If you’re looking for a contrarian stack in this game, look no further than Dak Prescott stacked up with Michael Gallup. Per PFF’s DFS Ownership Projections, both Prescott and Gallup are surprisingly projected to be owned in less than 7.5% of lineups this week. That’s far too low for players of their caliber going against this Lions D, which ranks 26th overall in total defense, per our numbers.

We currently have Prescott projected to score the third-most FanDuel points of any quarterback on the main slate. He also has the third best point-per-dollar value. As a dual-threat quarterback, Prescott offers a great ceiling/floor combination. As the Cowboys are implied to score 26.50-points in this game, this could be one of those weeks where Prescott meets his ceiling with 30-plus FanDuel points.

While I initially wanted to stack Prescott with Amari Cooper this week, I slowly pivoted off him to Michael Gallup the more I looked into the matchup. Not only has Cooper been on the injury report this week, he’s also expected to see shadow coverage from the Lions’ best cornerback, Darius Slay. That leaves Gallup to be matched up against Lions’ cornerback Rashaan Melvin, who is far less talented than Slay. According to PFF, Gallup currently has a 21% advantage over Melvin. That ranks as the 10th-best across all wide receiver/cornerback matchups on the main slate.

We currently have Gallup projected to see 6.58 targets in this game. Should Slay be able to slow down Cooper in shadow coverage, I wouldn’t be shocked to see Gallup double that target projections.

New Orleans Saints

Drew Brees ($8,300), Michael Thomas ($9,000) and Chris Godwin ($8,000)

After being bit by a similar Saints’ stack last week, I’m going back to it in Week 11. Michael Thomas had a great stat line last week, but Drew Brees was subpar. However, playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week is a perfect rebound spot for Brees, and it's an even better matchup for Thomas.

It’s been well documented that the Bucs’ defense has been stellar against the run but abysmal against the pass. Per our schedule-adjusted metrics, the Bucs’ run D currently ranks number-one overall across the league while their passing defense sits 23rd.

Brees tore up this Bucs defense in 2018, when he threw for 640 passing yards and four passing touchdowns across their two meetings. He also managed to score a rushing touchdown in one of those games. We currently have Brees projected to score 19.0 FanDuel points this week, the fifth-most of any quarterback on the slate.

With the Saints being without their number-one cornerback, Marshon Lattimore, the Bucs’ offense could help turn this game into a shootout. If that’s the case, Brees could score well beyond the 19.0 FanDuel points we have him projected for.

Being that he was a let down last week, Brees might be a bit under-owned. PFF currently has Brees projected to be owned in less than 11% of FanDuel lineups against the Bucs.

Stacking up Brees with Thomas makes sense this week (and basically every other week). You are going to have to pay a hefty price for Thomas, but he should be worth every penny. Thomas has seen double-digit targets in all but two games this season. He’s been very efficient with those targets as well. Per Next Gen Stats, Thomas leads all receivers in targets, receptions and catch rate this season. To say he’s been “very efficient” with those targets, might be underselling him at this point.

If you’re looking to run this stack back with a Bucs’ player, look no further than Chris Godwin.

I don’t think you can go wrong using Mike Evans, but Godwin will have the better matchup of the two. It’s very likely the Saints have cornerback Eli Apple shadow Evans in this game, which would leave Godwin to be matched up against P.J. Williams in the slot. Per PFF’s player grades, P.J. Williams ranks 55th overall among qualified cornerbacks this season, which is by far the worst grade of the three cornerbacks the Saints plan to roll out on Sunday.

Griffin Swanson is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Griffin Swanson also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username GriffDogg_. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he/she may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his/her personal account. The views expressed in his/her articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. (edited)