Welcome to the Week 6 edition of Bales’ Top Stacks. In this article, I will outline my favorite NFL stacking options for this week. I will not be including the Thursday, Sunday, or Monday night games, although I will be including my favorite StatHero stack at the bottom of the article. If you want all of my core plays along with our staff’s Final Thoughts article with access to our Discord, click here.
Miami Dolphins
Ryan Fitzpatrick/Myles Gaskin/DeVante Parker
Fitzpatrick continues to find plenty of success as the Miami Dolphin’s quarterback. Through 5 games, he boasts 1,344 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions on 170 pass attempts. He’s recorded 131 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground, as well. After his Week 1 struggles, Fitzpatrick has posted 25+ fantasy points in each of his last 4 games. He gets a matchup against the New York Jets, who are allowing 265.6 passing yards per game while also giving up 8 passing touchdowns in 2020. The Jets are also allowing 7.9 adjusted yards per attempt this season. The Dolphins are -10 point favorites in a game set at 47.5 points, giving them one of the highest implied totals on the slate at 28.8 points.
Gaskin has been the featured back in Miami, playing 66.1% of the offensive snaps through 5 games. He totaled 249 yards and 1 touchdown on 64 carries thus far while posting 23 receptions for 147 yards on 25 targets. Gaskin currently ranks sixth in the NFL with 17 red zone carries, although he wasn’t the goal line back until last week, scoring a one-yard touchdown against the San Francisco 49ers with Jordan Howard inactive. He gets a matchup against New York, who is allowing 128.6 rushing yards per game in 2020. They have given up 9 rushing touchdowns through 5 games while allowing 4.2 yards per carry. If Le’Veon Bell signs with Miami, Gaskin’s value will take a hit, but as it stands, he’s currently involved in all aspects of Miami’s offense.
Parker has played through injuries in 2020, leading the Miami wide receivers with a 75.9% offensive snap rate. He has been extremely efficient, turning 32 targets into 26 receptions for 329 yards and 2 touchdowns. He’s seen 23.8% of Miami’s air yards this season, recording 320 air yards with a 10 aDOT through 5 games. Oddly enough, Parker hasn’t been involved in the red zone for the Dolphins. He owns only one red zone target, turning it into a two-yard touchdown. Parker led Miami with 14 red zone targets in 2019, though, and I expect him to start being utilized in that area more as the season progresses. He’s a player that New York won’t have an answer for in the secondary, making him an elite option in this stack.
Minnesota Vikings
Kirk Cousins/Alexander Mattison/Adam Thielen
Cousins has been an underwhelming option this season, throwing for 1,132 yards, 8 touchdowns, and 7 interceptions on 139 pass attempts. He’s topped 20 fantasy points in only 2 of his 5 games, although they were his only two home games. Cousins getst an elite matchup against the Atlanta Falcons this weekend. They’re giving up 335.8 passing yards per game while allowing a league-high 15 passing touchdowns. They’re also giving up a league-high 9.5 adjusted yards per attempt this season. The Minnesota Vikings are -4 point favorites in a game set at 54.5 points, and they boast the highest implied total on the slate at 29.3 points.
Mattison has only played 31.8% of the offensive snaps as Dalvin Cook’s backup this season. He has totaled 219 yards and 1 touchdown on 44 carries, though. Mattison also turned 9 targets into 8 receptions for 57 yards. Furthermore, he posted 19.6 fantasy points without any touchdowns in an extended role when Cook was injured last week. Mattison gets a matchup against the Falcons, who are allowing 110.2 rushing yards this season. They’ve given up 5 rushing touchdowns through 5 games while allowing 4.3 yards per carry. Mattison will be an elite option if Cook is ruled out. If Cook plays this weekend, he’s the option for this stack.
Thielen has been one of the best receivers in the NFL in 2020. He’s played 92% of the offensive snaps thus far, turning 44 targets into 29 receptions for 364 yards and 6 touchdowns. Thielen owns a trio of games with 29+ fantasy points, as well. He’s seen 638 air yards with a 14.5 aDOT, recording a league-high 48.4% of his team’s air yards this season. Thielen has seen a team-high 7 red zone targets this season, posting 7 receptions for 70 yards and 5 touchdowns on them. Overall, he owns 70% of Minnesota’s red zone targets. His red zone usage is unsustainable, but Thielen’s going to continue to be featured in an elite role. He’s arguably the top receiver option on the entire slate.
Tennessee Titans
Ryan Tannehill/Derrick Henry/A.J. Brown
Tannehill is an extremely efficient option, throwing for 1,004 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 1 interception on 132 pass attempts through 4 games. He boasts 77 yards and 1 touchdown on the ground, as well. Tannehill has also posted 30 and 26.76 fantasy points in 2 of his last 3 games. He gets a matchup against the Houston Texans, who are only allowing 227 passing yards per game this season. With that being said, they are giving up 8.5 adjusted yards per attempt while allowing 9 passing touchdowns through 5 games. The Titans are -3.5 point favorites in a game set at 53 points, and they own an implied team total of 28.3 points this weekend.
Henry continues to find success, running for 376 yards and 4 touchdowns on 101 carries this season. He’s only seen 10 targets, turning them into 6 receptions for 32 yards. He’s played 68.7% of the offensive snaps, though, and is the clear lead back in Tennessee. Henry leads the NFL with 25 red zone carries, including 8 carries inside-the-5. He gets an elite matchup against Houston this weekend. They’re allowing 160.4 rushing yards per game in 2020. They’re also giving up 4.7 rushing yards per carry to go along with 6 rushing touchdowns through 5 games. Henry posted 30 fantasy points against the Minnesota Vikings but has yet to truly dominate a game similar to the way he has in the past.
Brown has only played in a pair of games in 2020, totaling 39.8% of the offensive snaps. He has found success, though, posting 12 receptions for 121 yards and 1 touchdown on 17 targets. He’s seen 151 air yards with an 8.9 aDOT this season. Overall, Brown has seen 15.6% of Tennessee’s air yards in 2020. He has turned 3 red zone targets into 2 receptions for 32 yards and 1 touchdown, suggesting he’ll continue to be a focal point of the offense in the red zone moving forward. Brown isn’t likely to stay this cheap for long, making him an elite option in a Tennessee stack this weekend.
StatHero
The most important note for StatHero is their scoring system. It’s different from what you’re likely used to, and we need to note what the most important aspects are. Quarterbacks are far and away the most important position, specifically passing yards. They get 0.05 fantasy points for every 1 passing yard compared to only 0.1 fantasy points per 1 rushing or receiving yard. For instance, a quarterback would receive 15 fantasy points for 300 yards passing. He would need 3.75 passing touchdowns to reach that. Running backs and receivers would need 1,50 yards to hit that number. They would need 2.5 touchdowns to score 15 fantasy points.
Tight ends are another major part of their scoring. They will receive 1.5 fantasy points per reception while running backs and wide receivers only receive 1 fantasy point per reception. With StatHero’s current scoring system, it could be a key to stack a team with a dominant quarterback and tight end pairing to go along with the other options on the offense.
The final scoring that could make or break your lineup is the distance bonus. Quarterbacks receive a slightly smaller bonus for long passing touchdowns, while running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends get a bit more of a bonus for touchdowns. Ultimately, you want touchdowns to come from 10+ yards out, which is the distance the bonus’ starts at.
Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers/Aaron Jones/Davante Adams
Rodgers looks like his old self, throwing for 1,214 yards and 13 touchdowns on 139 pass attempts through 4 games. He’s only added 31 yards on the ground, but he hasn’t needed his legs for fantasy production this season. Rodgers gets an interesting matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are giving up 239.8 passing yards per game in 2020. They have also allowed 7 passing touchdowns while giving up 6.7 adjusted yards per attempt. Rodgers and company are -1 point favorites in a game set at 56 points, and they feature an implied team total of 28.5 points.
Jones has only played 55.8% of the offensive snaps in 2020, but he’s a massive part of the offense. He owns 374 yards and 4 touchdowns on 65 carries to go along with 15 receptions for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns on 23 targets this season. Jones leads the NFL with 9 red zone targets, posting 4 receptions for 13 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also leads Green Bay with 14 red zone carries, proving to be one of the best red zone options in the NFL. Jones gets a tough matchup against the Tampa Bay Bucs, who are allowing a league-low 58.4 rushing yards per game and 2.7 yards per carry this season. They have allowed four rushing touchdowns, though. Jones isn’t a player that needs to rely heavily on his running production for fantasy points, though, and his ability to find the end zone is second to none in the NFL.
Adams essentially played one game and a few drives this season. He’s played 39.1% of the offensive snaps, totaling 17 receptions for 192 yards and 2 touchdowns on 20 targets. He saw 17 targets in his only healthy game, posting 14 receptions for 156 yards and 2 touchdowns. Even with limited snaps, Adams owns 14.9% of Green Bay’s air yards, totaling 186 air yards with a 9.3 aDOT. He saw 3 red zone targets in his limited action, recording 2 receptions for 11 yards and 1 touchdown. Adams has had weeks to recover and seemed to be healthy enough to play before Green Bay’s bye. He’s expected to return to full snaps this week and will likely see double-digit targets once again. He’s an elite option and a must-start in a Green Bay stack.
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