Week 5 NFL FanDuel Stacks: The Steelers Are Back
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 TJ Hernandez, a quarterback's top receiver has a moderately strong correlation to the quarterback's performance -- and his tight end and second receiver aren't too far behind.
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 under-owned. Which teammates might fit the bill in Week 5 (if we ignore the Monday night game between the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which isn't on FanDuel's main slate)?
Pittsburgh Steelers
QB: Ben Roethlisberger ($8,600)
WR: Sammie Coates ($5,300)
Tom Brady is back, and it's hard to envision Brady being lower-owned than Ben Roethlisberger will be. Roethlisberger's monstrous outing on Sunday Night Football can't really compare to the four-game suspension narrative. But the New England Patriots' offense has some legitimate question marks right now, mainly Rob Gronkowski's health. The Pittsburgh Steelers don't really have that issue.
You can't go wrong with Antonio Brown, but his $9,600 price tag means he really needs a ceiling game to pay off. You can instead look at Sammie Coates, who leads the league in 40-yard catches, per Rich Hribar of Rotoworld. The New York Jets rank 30th in pass defense, per our Adjusted Defensive Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) metric. Either way, you're going to want exposure to this passing offense, and as evidenced by five touchdowns to four different receivers last week, you don't necessarily need his primary target to cash in.
New York Giants
QB: Eli Manning ($7,700)
WR: Odell Beckham ($8,500)
This stack is really all about Odell Beckham, who has been a frustrating fantasy football asset through four weeks of the season. He's still $8,500 on FanDuel, and that might be too high for people to take a chance on him yet again. But the worries aren't totally justified.
He’s played 100% of the team’s snaps if you round up, and nobody has been on the field more frequently among receivers. His target market share (24.7% if you include all of the team's drop backs) ranks 11th among all receivers. Teammates Sterling Shepard and Victor Cruz are at 16.5% and 15.2%, respectively.
The Green Bay Packers boast the top run defense in the league, per our metrics, through Week 4, and they're 29th in pass defense by the same measure. The New York Giants are 7.5-point underdogs in a game with an over/under of 48, giving them a low implied team total of 20.25 points. Still, without Sam Shields 100%, the Packers are prone to big games -- they've allowed the second- and sixth-highest single-game FanDuel scores to receivers so far (and already had their bye) -- making Eli Manning and Beckham an intriguing stack. And don't overlook Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson in combination with Beckham, either, in case the game erupts.
Oakland Raiders
QB: Derek Carr ($8,100)
WR: Amari Cooper ($7,200)
The San Diego Chargers lost shut-down cornerback Jason Verrett to a torn ACL this week, and Brandon Flowers, who missed Week 4 because of a concussion, may not play in Week 5. Simply put, the Chargers, who actually rank 10th against the pass per our metrics, are now depleted in the secondary. They rank 18th in sack rate, and the Oakland Raiders are tops in sack rate allowed. That could lead to Derek Carr standing in the pocket and picking apart a makeshift secondary.
It's hard to justify Amari Cooper ($7,200) over Michael Crabtree ($6,900) given their narrow price difference and red zone usage, but this is more of a tournament recommendation. Crabtree has just three red zone targets but two from inside the 10-yard line. He's caught all of them. Cooper has two targets but no catches in the red zone. Crabtree is coming off a three-score game, and Cooper hasn't hit 10 FanDuel points since Week 1. Both are logical plays, but you could be more contrarian by spending the extra $300 on Cooper, hoping he gets going in this matchup.
Philadelphia Eagles
QB: Carson Wentz ($7,500)
TE: Zach Ertz ($5,600)
The Detroit Lions offer one of the best matchups for opposing tight ends, according to our daily fantasy tools. Tight end isn't a position full of great plays this week, and Zach Ertz is pretty affordable at $5,600. Overall, the Lions rank last in the NFL in pass defense, per our metrics. Their 0.41 Adjusted Defensive Passing NEP per play is on pace to be the worst mark since 2000 (the New Orleans Saints from last year own that distinction at 0.36).
The Philadelphia Eagles are coming off a bye, and -- similar to what we saw with Carr -- Wentz shouldn't be pressured too much. Detroit is 16th in sack rate, and the Eagles offenses boasts the fourth-lowest sack rate.
In Week 1, Ertz drew 7 targets, which he turned into 6 catches for 58 yards. This isn't a high-upside stack necessarily, but it can differentiate your lineups if you go chalky and pricey everywhere else. If you want to spend down even more, consider a Brian Hoyer ($6,000) and Eddie Royal ($5,700) pairing against an Indianapolis Colts defense that had to travel back from London this week.
