Welcome to the Week 8 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.
Green Bay Packers
Aaron Rodgers/Jamaal Williams/Davante Adams
Rodgers bounced back with 27.32 fantasy points against the Houston Texans last week. Through 6 games, he owns 1,657 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions on 208 pass attempts. He’s added 45 yards on the ground, as well. Rodgers has posted 24+ fantasy points in 4 of his 6 games, averaging 29.6 fantasy points per game in those contests. He gets an elite matchup against the Minnesota Vikings, who he scored 33.76 fantasy points against in Week 1 of this season. Overall, Minnesota is allowing 286.7 passing yards per game while giving up 14 passing touchdowns. They’re also allowing 9.2 adjusted yards per attempt in 2020. The Green Bay Packers are currently -7 point favorites in a game set at 51 points, giving them one of the highest implied team totals on the slate at 29 points.
Williams has played a position-high 50.9% of the offensive snaps for Green Bay this season. Overall, he owns 219 yards and 1 touchdown on 52 carries to go along with 17 receptions for 156 yards on 19 targets through the air. Aaron Jones continues to deal with a calf injury, though, and Williams played 89% of the offensive snaps without Jones active last week. He posted 21.4 fantasy points in that game, totaling 114 yards and 1 touchdown on 23 touches. Most importantly, he saw 82.1% of the running back touches, even in somewhat of a blowout game. If Jones is out again this week, Williams will be featured in a workhorse role in one of the top offenses on the slate once again.
Adams has been one of the best receivers in the NFL when healthy this season. He’s only played 54.1% of Green Bay’s offensive snaps thus far. He’s played in three fully healthy games, although he didn’t see full snaps in a blowout loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Still, he owns 33 receptions for 413 yards and 4 touchdowns on 43 targets in those games. Adams has scored 44+ fantasy points twice this season, including against Minnesota. Even in limited games, he ranks second on the team in red zone targets. He’s turned his 6 targets into 5 receptions for 22 yards and 2 touchdowns. Adams has seen 391 air yards with an 8.5 aDOT this season. He boasts 21.9% of Green Bay’s air yards this season. He’s an elite option on all slates and a must-start in any Packers stack.
Tennessee Titans
Ryan Tannehill/Derrick Henry/A.J. Brown
Tannehill has quietly been a dominant fantasy option this season. He’s thrown for 1,590 yards, 15 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions on 203 pass attempts through 6 games. He’s also added 82 yards and 1 touchdown on the ground. Tannehill has posted 30+ fantasy points in 2 of his last 3 games, as well. He gets a great matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals, who are allowing 261.4 passing yards per game to go along with 15 passing touchdowns this season. They’re also giving up 7.4 adjusted yards per attempt in 2020. The Tennessee Titans are -5.5 point favorites in a game set at 53.5 points, and they boast an implied team total of 29.5 points this weekend.
Henry’s played 67.8% of Tennessee’s offensive snaps this season. He’s totaled 663 yards and 7 touchdowns on 143 attempts. He’s also added 10 receptions for 81 yards on 17 targets through 6 games. Henry leads the NFL in red zone carries, posting 90 yards and 6 touchdowns on 34 red zone rushing attempts. He also ranks second in the NFL in rushing attempts inside the five-yard line. Cincinnati has struggled against the run, allowing 133.7 rushing yards per game in 2020. They’re giving up 4.9 yards per carry while allowing 6 rushing touchdowns this season, as well. As -5.5 point favorites, Henry is a must-start in a Tennessee stack.
Brown has struggled with injuries this season, posting 23 receptions for 332 yards and 4 touchdowns on 32 targets through 4 games. Overall, he’s only played 55% of the offensive snaps for Tennessee. He’s posted 20+ fantasy points in each of his 3 games since returning from injury, though. Brown owns 5 red zone targets in limited action, turning them into 4 receptions for 45 yards and 3 touchdowns. He’s seen 336 air yards with a 10.5 aDOT this season. Brown also owns 22.3% of Tennessee’s air yards, making him an elite pairing option with Tannehill.
Cincinnati Bengals
Joe Burrow/Tyler Boyd/A.J. Green
Burrow has seen mixed results throughout his rookie season. Through 7 games, he’s thrown for 2,023 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions on 293 pass attempts. He boasts 121 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground, as well. Burrow is coming off of his best game as a rookie, scoring 38.64 fantasy points against the Cleveland Browns. He gets a matchup against the Tennessee Titans, who are allowing 272 passing yards per game. They’ve given up 15 passing touchdowns in 2020, as well, although they’ve held their opponents to only 6.7 adjusted yards per attempt. The Cincinnati Bengals are +5.5 point underdogs in a game set at 53.5 points, but they still own an implied team total of 24 points.
Boyd is the focal point of the Cincinnati passing attacking, playing a team-high 78.2% of the offensive snaps. He leads the team in targets (61), receptions (48), and receiving yards (517) while ranking second in receiving touchdowns with 2. Similarly to Burrow, Boyd is coming off of his best game of the season, posting 30.74 fantasy points. He’s seen a team-high 9 red zone targets, recording 6 receptions for 52 yards and 2 touchdowns. Boyd’s recorded 537 air yards with only an 8.8 aDOT in 2020. He’s seen 21.2% of Cincinnati’s air yards, but his lack of air yards has allowed him to be an extremely efficient player.
Green has struggled this season, but he’s played 69.2% of the offensive snaps for the Bengals. He’s turned 58 targets into only 29 receptions for 297 yards without scoring a touchdown. Green has only seen three red zone targets in 2020, failing to catch any of them. With that being said, he ranks third in the NFL in end zone targets. Green’s seen 835 air yards with a 14.4 aDOT in 2020. He boasts 33.1% of Cincinnati’s air yards, as well. He’s recorded 15.2 and 17.6 fantasy points without scoring over his last 2 games, and Green is likely to continue to see positive regression. Keep in mind, there are a number of great stacking options to slot instead of Green, as well.
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