"Stacking" a QB and WR from the same team is a viable strategy in both GPPs and cash games.

Stacking is the idea of rostering 2-3 players from the same NFL team on a given week. The hope is that if one player plays has an extraordinary game he will have a positive impact on the other’s stats as well. In this high-risk, high-reward play, you must also consider if one player does not perform well, it affects more than just one roster spot in your lineup.

Also, it is important to stack differently in GPP Tournaments than in Cash Games. In GPPs you should stack with upside and uniqueness, but in cash games you should focus on higher floors and safer alternatives.

Positive vs. Negative Correlation

It only makes sense that your players in the stack have a positive correlation with one another. For example, it is popular to stack quarterbacks with their top receiver. The performance of that pair is closely tied to one another so a good game from the quarterback more often than not means a good game for his top receiver.

Negative correlation is the opposite. You would never want to stack a quarterback with his opposing defense. The more your quarterback scores, the lower the score that defense will have. You should keep this in mind when selecting your team defense against any of your other skill positions in your lineup as well.

Types of Stacks

There are many types of positively correlated stacks that can be quite effective in DFS. In tournaments, this can be the difference between winning and losing. Essentially you are putting your money on one player blowing up, and one or more of your other players benefiting from the huge game in a positive way. It is also a great way to diversify yourself from other teams in the contest.

• Quarterback/Wide Receiver Stack – Pretty self-explanatory. If your quarterback throws a touchdown to your receiver, you receive double the points for one touchdown. The strategy you use here is different in GPPs and Cash Games, however. More about that later.
  
  
• Quarterback/Tight End Stack – This is also a popular stack. Most of the time, unless you are investing in a top end option, you are hoping for a touchdown at this position. Historically, you don’t have to blow this position out of the water to win, but it is not a bad place to improve your upside with a stack.
  
  
• Quarterback/No. 2 Wide Receiver Stack – This is a riskier option than above, but you can also gain the same reward. In a high-scoring game where you know your quarterback will have to throw a lot, this is not a bad option. Number two wide receivers are capable of having good games with the right quarterback and game script situation.
  
  
• Running back/Defense Stack – This was a new strategy for me last year but it makes a lot of sense. If your defense is doing well, it probably means the team is ahead. If the team is ahead, the running back will get more touches to kill the clock at the end of the game. A good defense paired with a running back is a great stack because it guarantees more touches.
  
  
• Running back/Kicker Stack – At first, this stack may seem to be negatively correlated, but it actually goes along with a similar mentality as the last stack. If a team is up in the game, the running back will be getting a lot of touches, but at the same time, the team could be more inclined to kick a field goal as well. Also, even if your running back gets in the end zone, great, your kicker gets an extra point. But if he gets stuffed, this is also positive, as your kicker will kick a field goal. This is an extremely effective stack for teams that spend a lot of time in the red zone.

GPP Tournaments

In GPP tournaments, you need to achieve two things with your stacks: increase your upside and increase your uniqueness. It is no surprise that boom-bust players are important in your GPP lineups, but you can take advantage of this with stacks as well. A great stack last year for GPP tournaments was Ben Roethlisberger and Martavis Bryant. You will remember Roethlisberger threw five touchdowns in Week 8, and for an encore threw six in Week 9. Bryant was a high-variance player who took in some long scores during that period, but he wasn’t highly owned in DFS. This stack took home some serious money last year because of its uniqueness.

Cash Games

Cash games, in comparison, are all about building a high-floor team. You don’t gain anything in a 50/50 contest by getting first place. You want to pair a quarterback with his top receiving option. More often than not, these wide receivers score a touchdown and that sets you off with a high floor at quarterback right away as well. A good combination last year was Aaron Rodgers stacked with Jordy Nelson. These two could make your week or, in this case, your floor with one play. A top-end combination with a small amount of risk is your goal when choosing to stack in cash games.