Welcome to the Week 9 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.
Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen/Stefon Diggs/Cole Beasley
Allen has cooled off quite a bit in recent weeks. Still, he’s thrown for 2,172 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 5 interceptions on 277 pass attempts through 8 starts. He’s added 227 yards and 4 touchdowns on the ground. After averaging 33.1 fantasy points per game in his first 4 starts, Allen is averaging 17.1 fantasy points per game over his last 4 contests. With that being said, he boasts elite upside, scoring 36.24 and 37.5 fantasy points earlier this season. Allen gets an elite matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, who are allowing a league-high 358.7 passing yards per game. They’re also giving up 7.4 yards per attempt to go along with 13 passing touchdowns in 2020. The Buffalo Bills are currently 3 point underdogs in a game set at 55 points, giving them an implied team total of 26 points.
Diggs leads the Buffalo wide receivers, playing 91.5% of the offensive snaps this season. He’s turned a league-high 79 targets into 54 receptions for 695 yards and 3 touchdowns. Diggs has scored double-digit fantasy points in each of his 8 games this season, including an elite 32.3 fantasy point performance against the Miami Dolphins. He’s turned a team-high 7 red zone targets into 5 receptions for 33 yards and 2 touchdowns. He’s also had multiple red zone touchdowns called back this season. Diggs boasts 37.1% of Buffalo’s air yards in 2020, recording 845 air yards with a 10.7 aDOT. He’s the only must-start stacking option with Allen for Buffalo.
Beasley’s only played 61.9% of the offensive snaps, playing 90% of his snaps in the slot. He’s posted 41 receptions for 494 yards and 2 touchdowns on 51 targets. He’s coming off of his worst game of the season, although he’s scoring double-digit fantasy points in 6 of his 8 games, including a 25.2 fantasy point performance against the New York Jets. Beasley has also seen a team-high 7 red zone targets, recording 5 receptions for 27 yards and 2 touchdowns on them. He’s only seen 377 air yards with a 7.4 aDOT this season. Overall, he owns 16.5% of Buffalo’s air yards. Beasley is an efficient option who is featured in the red zone. There are a few ways to fill this stack out, but Beasley’s red zone usage adds to the overall upside of this stack.
Minnesota Vikings
Kirk Cousins/Dalvin Cook/Adam Thielen
Cousins has seen mixed results this season, throwing for 1,635 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions on 189 pass attempts. He’s averaging 24.6 fantasy points per game at home as opposed to 10.7 fantasy points per game on the road, though. Cousins has also scored 20+ fantasy points in each of his 3 home games in 2020. He gets a matchup against the Detroit Lions, who are allowing 248.4 passing yards per game and 7.7 adjusted yards per attempt. They’ve also given up 14 passing touchdowns this season. The Minnesota Vikings are 4 point favorites in a game set at 52 points, and they boast an implied team total of 28 points this weekend.
Cook has dealt with injuries this season, playing only 58.3% of Minnesota’s offensive snaps. He owns 652 yards and 10 touchdowns on 122 carries through 6 games, though. He also boasts 14 receptions for 127 yards and 1 touchdown on 19 targets. In limited games, Cook’s seen 20 red zone carries for 89 yards and 8 touchdowns. Surprisingly, he hasn’t seen a red zone target this season. Detroit is giving up 130 rushing yards per game to go along with 11 rushing touchdowns. They’re also giving up 4.3 yards per carry this season. Cook is the focal point of Minnesota’s offense, making him a must-start in this stack.
Thielen’s played a position-high 91.9% of the Vikings offensive snaps in 2020. He’s posted 35 receptions for 442 yards and 7 touchdowns on 53 targets through 7 games this season. He also owns 29+ fantasy points in 3 of those 7 games. He’s seen a team-high 8 red zone targets, posting 8 receptions for 72 yards and 6 touchdowns on them. He boasts 42.9% of Minnesota’s air yards, recording 716 air yards with a 13.5 aDOT. He gets an elite matchup against Jeffrey Okudah this weekend. Thielen will continue to be a focal point of Minnesota’s offense, and this is a matchup he can take advantage of.
Miami Dolphins
Tua Tagovailoa/DeVante Parker/Mike Gesicki
Tagovailoa has played limited snaps as a rookie. He’s thrown for 102 yards and 1 touchdown on 24 pass attempts thus far. In his first start, he posted only 6.72 fantasy points against the Los Angeles Rams, although the game quickly turned into a blowout, and he wasn’t needed. Tagovailoa gets an interesting matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, who are allowing 247.3 passing yards per game this season. They’re also giving up 6.8 adjusted yards per attempt while allowing 12 passing touchdowns this season. The Miami Dolphins are 4.5 point underdogs in a game set at 48.5 points. They feature an implied team total of 22 points.
Parker’s played 74.8% of Miami’s offensive snaps through 7 games this season. He leads the Dolphins in targets (42), receptions (30), receiving yards (367), and receiving touchdowns (3). Parker saw only two targets in Tagovailoa’s first start, but he caught a red zone touchdown in that game. Surprisingly, he’s only seen a pair of red zone targets this season, turning both into touchdowns. Parker’s recorded 23.8% of Miami’s air yards in 2020. He owns a 9.3 aDOT to go along with 391 air yards. He’s the top receiving option for the Dolphins, and will likely continue to play the WR1 role with the rookie quarterback.
Gesicki’s only played 58% of offensive snaps for Miami this season. With that being said, he’s essentially a slot receiver and will see more snaps with Isaiah Ford being traded to the New England Patriots. On limited snaps, Gesicki’s recorded 19 receptions for 289 yards and 2 touchdowns on 32 targets. He boasts a team-high 8 red zone targets, turning them into only 2 receptions for 23 yards and 2 touchdowns. Gesicki’s seen 384 air yards with a 12 aDOT this season. He’s recorded 23.3% of Miami’s air yards this season. Gesicki fills out this tournament stack, and he will find more volume with Ford in New England.
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