Best NFL DFS Stacks Week 7: Lineup picks for DraftKings, FanDuel tournaments, daily fantasy football cash games

10/19/2021

For the second consecutive week, the NFL DFS main slate for Sunday afternoon will feature just 10 games. There are six squads off in Week 7 while six will play in prime-time games. That will thin out the player pool and make it just a bit more difficult for daily fantasy football players to craft DraftKings and FanDuel lineups. That’s part of why stacking will be a great strategy in Week 7 tournaments and cash games. It raises your lineup’s ceiling but also gives you key lineup differentiation if you choose an interesting combination of teammates.

This week, there are plenty of solid-looking stacks to trust. The chalky, high-floor ones are easier to spot, as there are a few lopsided matchups set to occur on the Sunday slate. There are also a couple of big-time revenge games in Week 7 that could up the ceiling of some already top-tier producers.

As always, pairing a quarterback with a receiver or tight end is the most traditional stacking method. An RB/defense pairing is popular, too. That said, mixing it up and creating contrarian stacks can pay off and it will improve your chances of creating a unique lineup. So, if you like a particular team’s matchup, think through different ways to stack it.

DraftKings continues to provide more variable pricing than FanDuel. That can be very useful in weeks like this with fewer options, but savvy daily fantasy players should check the prices on both sites. That can help shape lineup strategy and identify the undervalued players and sleepers that folks should be targeting this week.

Below are some of our favorite sets of teammates for DraftKings and FanDuel lineups this week. Be sure to follow our Twitter account @SN_Fantasy to see all of our DFS content heading into kickoff every week.

Week 7 NFL DFS Picks: Top cash game stacks for DraftKings, FanDuel

QB Kyler Murray, WR DeAndre Hopkins, & TE Zach Ertz, Cardinals vs. Texans (DK/FD stack)

The mismatch between the Cardinals and the Texans is almost unfair. The Cardinals are the NFL’s lone unbeaten team while the Texans have won one game, their season opener against Urban Meyer’s lowly Jaguars. Arizona should dominate this matchup with ease, so you’ll want to be in on a few Cardinals in this one.

Having Murray is a no-brainer. He is averaging 290 passing yards, nearly 20 rushing yards, and 2.8 total TDs per game for Arizona. He has logged four-plus TDs in three of his six starts, so that gives him the upside needed for a 30-point game on both DraftKings and FanDuel.

Hopkins is playing in a big-time revenge game. The Texans traded Hopkins to the Cardinals in exchange for a second-round pick and David Johnson before the 2020 NFL season. It was a steal of a deal considering that Hopkins is one of the top-five receivers in the NFL, and he’ll want some payback on his former team — even with former coach/GM Bill O’Brien gone. Hopkins is averaging just 6.3 targets per game, but he has six TDs and is a candidate for a big game every time he’s on the field.

You can consider any of Murray’s other receiving weapons as the third option in this stack. A.J. Green, Christian Kirk, and Rondale Moore (and even Chase Edmonds) all have their merits, but we’ll roll with Ertz. The Texans have given up five TDs to TEs this year. That’s tied for the most in the NFL with the Chargers and Eagles. Ertz may be new in town, but this is the perfect spot for him and Murray to develop chemistry on the field. That could allow Ertz to post some solid numbers.

QB Matthew Stafford, WR Cooper Kupp, & WR Robert Woods, Rams vs. Lions (DK/FD stack)

Stafford’s revenge game against the Lions isn’t quite as compelling as Hopkins’ against the Texans, but this is surely a good spot for the Rams’ offense. The Lions are one of the NFL’s weakest teams, and their defense is more than burnable. Stafford and Co. should take advantage of that.

Stafford just manhandled the Giants last week to the tune of 251 yards and four TDs, and the Giants and Lions have actually allowed eerily similar passing numbers to quarterbacks this year through six games.

As such, it stands to reason that Stafford could have another big game against the Lions, especially if he wants to show up his former team a bit. If you’re playing Stafford, you might as well play both Kupp and Woods, too. Kupp is averaging 11.3 targets, 7.7 catches, 108.8 receiving yards and 1.2 touchdowns per game this season. Woods hasn’t been as consistent as Kupp, but he has still posted double-digit DraftKings points in five of the six games he has played this year. Both have a chance to go off against the Lions, who are allowing an average of 16.3 yards per reception by receivers this year.

Damien Harris & Patriots D/ST, Patriots vs. Jets (DK/FD Stack)

The last time the Patriots played the Jets, their defense excelled against Zach Wilson. They forced the rookie into four interceptions, held New York to six points, and posted 19 fantasy points on both the DraftKings and FanDuel platforms.

You can expect a lot of the same in Week 7. Bill Belichick has largely owned rookie QBs over the years, so he should continue to give Wilson, who has thrown an interception in each of his five NFL games and has posted nine in total, a lot of trouble.

Meanwhile, Harris had 62 rushing yards and a TD against the Jets last time out. That’s not elite, but the numbers are solid. He is coming off a 100-yard game with a TD and the Patriots are shorthanded at RB with James White now out for the season, so Harris could catch some more passes. That will help him in both the half-point and full-point PPR formats of FD and DK.

Harris and the Patriots D/ST will be a nice, safe combo. They’ll also be popular since neither is too expensive, so they’re only a good combination in cash game formats.

Week 7 DraftKings, FanDuel Picks: Best stacks for daily fantasy football GPPs/tournaments

QB Lamar Jackson, RB Latavius Murray (or Devonta Freeman if Murray isn’t healthy), & Marquise Brown, Ravens vs. Bengals (DK stack)

Jackson has made five starts during his career against the Bengals. They have almost all been highly successful. He sports a 5-0 record against Cincinnati, and the Ravens have won each of their past three meetings by 24-plus points. The Bengals are certainly better this year than they have been in years past, but can they contain Jackson? That question has yet to be answered. And the biggest issue they’ve had with him is his scrambling ability.

Jackson has posted at 87.2 rushing yards per game against the Bengals. He has two rushing touchdowns, as well. The Bengals rank dead-middle in rushing yards allowed to QBs this season with 98, but they’ve yet to face a true scrambler. Trevor Lawernce ran for 36 yards and a TD on them, so it can be done.

This is a good spot to bet on a big game from Jackson, especially after he let his running backs do a lot of the work against the Chargers. Speaking of, you can stack one of the Ravens’ backs with Jackson since their TD potential is so high. Murray would be our first choice, but he is nursing an ankle injury. If he can’t get healthy in time for the game, Freeman would likely see the most playing time, but Baltimore’s backfield is tough to pin down.

Round out this stack with an explosive, deep-play threat in Brown, and you’ll have a stack with a nice combination of high-floor and high-upside players. Plus, this will give many NFL DFS aficionados some key lineup differentiation.

RB Aaron Jones, WR Davante Adams & Packers D/ST, Packers vs. Washington (DK/FD Stack)

The Packers D/ST is a sleeper pick this week. It might not be the most exciting option to trust, but it has posted exactly seven fantasy points in four straight games. The week before that? It had six. The Packers are averaging better than three sacks per game in their past four and have recorded an interception in each of their past five.

While Green Bay’s defense is hot, Washington’s offense is, decidedly, not. It’s posted just 13 points against the Chiefs’ NFL-worst scoring defense last week while quarterback Taylor Heinicke struggled to make downfield plays. He doesn’t seem likely to take advantage of the absence of Jaire Alexander, and if Antonio Gibson (shin) can’t play, Washington’s offense will be shorthanded.

This has the makings of a potential big win for the Packers, as Washington’s defense has been porous this year. It has allowed the second-most fantasy points per game to WRs, so this is a good matchup for Adams, who should be targeted frequently by Aaron Rodgers early in the game. Trusting him and adding Jones, who should get plenty of carries if the Packers get out in front of this one, makes this an interesting stack.

Adams is a bit of a contrarian pairing with Jones and the Packers’ defense, but it could pay off in spades if the Packers have a big offensive day.

QB Jalen Hurts, WR DeVonta Smith, & WR Quez Watkins, Eagles at Raiders (DK/FD stack)

Hurts is becoming a pretty safe quarterback to play in NFL DFS formats. He has at least two TDs in all but one game this season and has racked up four rushing touchdowns in his past two outings. As long as he’s a scoring threat from in close, he will have a chance to pay off his slightly above-average DFS price tag.

The Raiders should be a nice matchup for Hurts and the Eagles. They have allowed the eighth-most rushing yards to quarterbacks, as they faced Lamar Jackson in the season opener, so we know they’re not the best against mobile QBs. Additionally, the team is allowing 24 points per game, so the Eagles should be able to score against them.

Pairing Hurts with two receivers may not look great on paper, as the Raiders have been solid against receivers this year. However, that may be a bit of a mirage. They have allowed the second-fewest touchdowns to the position this year (three) but have also allowed the 11th-most receptions (81) to receivers. At some point, the Raiders could cave and give up a long score. The Eagles have the personnel needed to do it.

Watkins is exactly the type of player that can burn teams downfield. Smith is a good all-around receiver and will give the Raiders some trouble, too. Neither is very expensive, so this stack will allow DFS players to spend up at other positions and target some of the best running backs on the slate.

And if the Raiders defense plays well, the Eagles will still have a chance to put up late-game numbers in garbage time. Philadelphia passes 62.6 percent of the time, good for the 10th-highest rate in the NFL, so these three players will have plenty of opportunities to connect on Sunday.

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