The top player stacks for Week 6 in DFS

The stacking strategy in DFS involves pairing multiple skill position players from the same team. In some occasions, there is value in loading up with an “onslaught” — as it’s termed in the DFS community — with sometimes up to four players from the same team.

Just like any strategy option in DFS, there are multiple ways to grab value from stacking. You can pay up for your stack and find two of the highest-scoring players in all of DFS that week. Sometimes, you can even find two of the highest scorers without paying up and instead finding value in the middle range. And of course, you can win using my favorite strategy — bargain stacks that allow you to find game-winners in the rest of your lineup.

Every week we’ll break down all of my favorite stacks overall and make the case for why you should be using them in your DFS tournament and cash games.

(These tacks are not specific to FanDuel or DraftKings unless signified in the write-up.)

DeShaun Watson, QB, and DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans

Hosting the Browns means a high implied team points total and likely a high ownership in tournament for Watson, but shouldn’t sway you. There are enough good quarterback plays this week that stacks will be spread. Don’t miss out on the best value and the only mid-priced stack that also offers tourney-winning upside. The one way teams have slowed down Watson has been the pass rush, but the Browns rank No. 32 in pass rush overall. Both Watson and Hopkins are still not properly priced for their recent production and over the past two weeks only Antonio Brown has seen more targets than Hopkins.

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Derek Carr, QB, and Amari Cooper, WR, Oakland Raiders

The Carr/Cooper tandem is one of Week 6’s highest-upside stacks given the projected low ownership for both. Carr won’t be owned by many because he is coming off an injury and Cooper won’t be owned by many because he has yet to get going this year. The Chargers’ pass defense has allowed more big plays than they’ve wanted to and in Week 5 they allowed two 25-plus-yard touchdowns to the Giants feeble passing offense. Cooper will likely see more of Chargers cornerback Trevor Williams than Casey Hayward and that’s a good thing.

Kirk Cousins, QB, and Jamison Crowder, WR, Washington Redskins

With the 49ers coming to down after a grueling overtime loss, the Redskins onslaught is a certain possibility in this one. The Redskins talked about getting Crowder more involved all week and now he draws 49ers slot cornerback K’Waun Williams, who has graded out among the 10 worst cornerbacks in the NFL. Cousins should also take advantage of a 49ers secondary that starts three cornerbacks who all grade out among the 15 worst at their position. This is the breakout game for Cousins we’ve been waiting for and you can still get him cheap.

Trevor Siemian, QB, Emmanuel Sanders, WR, and A.J. Derby, TE, Denver Broncos

The Giants enter Week 6 in shambles with two of their three best defenders out with injuries, two more starters out, and a gimpy Jason Pierre-Paul who is playing through a shoulder injury. The Broncos are 11.5-point favorites and they have one of the highest implied totals of the week. The Giants have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season (and in years past they’ve finished top-five in Steve Spagnuolo’s scheme). The Giants have elite cornerback Janoris Jenkins locked in on Demaryius Thomas and that means Sanders should eat all day against cornerback Eli Apple, who has already allowed four touchdowns in coverage this season.

Tom Brady, QB, Rob Gronkowski, TE, and Danny Amendola, WR, New England Patriots

The Patriots are 9.5-point favorites with a high implied total, but there is a good chance they turn on the jets (no pun intended) and crank up 50 points in this one. Amendola draws the easiest matchup of the wide receiver group against middling slot cornerback Buster Skrine. Gronkowski is healthy enough to not even appear on the final Patriots injury report and he has a history of torching the Jets. In his past three full games against the Jets, Gronkowski has racked up 225 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 21 receptions.

Alex Smith, QB, and Tyreek Hill, WR, Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs passing offense led by Smith has become the most matchup-proof offense this season, as crazy as that may sound. Hill draws the most favorable matchup this week against Artie Burns. There’s no denying that Burns has improved this year, but Hill has the advantage over him overall and from a raw speed standpoint. The Steelers pass defense grades out well on paper so you should be able to snag this stack at relatively low ownership.

Case Keenum, QB, Adam Thielen, WR, and Jerick McKinnon, RB, Minnesota Vikings

One of my favorite value stacks of the week is the Vikings trio. McKinnon established himself as the featured back with nearly 150 total yards and a score on 20-plus Week 5 touches, and Thielen should be an absolute target hog with Stefon Diggs ruled out. Thielen draws an excellent matchup against struggling slot cornerback Quinten Rollins, who has seemingly been playing out of position since the Packers lined him up there.

Marcus Mariota, QB, Rishard Matthews, WR, and DeMarco Murray, RB, Tennessee Titans

If you want to talk about low ownership with massive upside, look no further than the Titans this week. Mariota’s status seems uncertain, but he has practiced all week and he’s certainly worth taking a chance on given the fact that he matches up against a Colts defense that ranks No. 30 in our pass coverage overall. The Colts have also allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks and made Brian Hoyer look like a DFS hero in Week 5. Matthews is the No. 1 target with Eric Decker struggling and Corey Davis out while Murray has resumed his role as the near-every down back.

Matt Ryan, QB, and Julio Jones, WR, Atlanta Falcons

Sometimes you have to pay up for a stack. When you can get Ryan and Jones coming out of their bye week, at home, against a putrid Dolphins team, you pull the trigger. Jones has arguably the best matchup in this game, against struggling Dolphins cornerback Xavien Howard. The Falcons offense also has Vegas implied totals on their side in this one. They’re expecting points from Atlanta and so should you.