NFL DFS Stacking Basics: QB Stacks, Bring-Backs and Game Stacks

Stacking means rostering players whose fantasy scores tend to move together. In NFL DFS it is the most important structural idea for tournament play, and it is the main reason good tournament lineups look different from a simple list of the highest-projected players at each position.

Why correlation matters

When a quarterback throws a touchdown, a receiver almost always catches it. The quarterback gets the passing touchdown and the receiver gets the receiving touchdown, so one play scores twice in your lineup. If the quarterback has a big day, it is very likely that at least one of his pass catchers did too.

That positive correlation does not raise your lineup's average score much. What it does is widen the range of outcomes. A stacked lineup is more likely to post a very high score, and also more likely to post a poor one. In cash games, where you only need to beat roughly half the field, that extra variance is usually unwanted. In tournaments, where only a small share of entries get paid well, the high outcomes are what you are building for.

The quarterback stack

The most common stack pairs a quarterback with one or two of his pass catchers: wide receivers, a tight end, or a running back who gets a lot of targets. A one-receiver stack, often called a QB pair, keeps more salary for the rest of the lineup. A double stack leans harder into the idea that this passing game will have a big day.

When choosing which pass catchers to stack, look at target share, red-zone usage and how the defense is likely to be attacked. A receiver who earns a large share of his team's targets is more tightly tied to his quarterback's outcome than a receiver who runs fewer routes.

Bring-backs

A bring-back is a player from the opposing team in the same game as your stack. The reasoning: if your quarterback's team scores a lot, the opponent is likely to throw more to keep up. A shootout helps both sides of the game.

Bring-backs are usually a receiver or tight end from the opposing team. Running backs are a weaker fit, because a team that falls behind tends to run less. A full game stack (quarterback, one or two pass catchers, and one or two bring-back players) is a bet that one specific game turns into a high-scoring shootout.

Negative correlation to watch for

• Rostering a team's defense against your own quarterback: the defense scores when the quarterback struggles.
• Pairing a running back and a receiver from the same team without the quarterback: they compete for the same touches and touchdowns.
• Multiple running backs from the same backfield: one player's carries usually come at the other's expense.

Choosing which games to stack

Start with the betting market. Games with high over/under totals and a close spread are the most likely to produce shootouts, and they are usually the most popular to stack. Popular stacks are not bad, but if everyone builds the same game stack, you need it to hit and also need the rest of your lineup to stand out.

Many tournament players mix a popular game stack with less popular stacks from games the market expects to score less. If one of those games does turn into a shootout, the lineup has fewer competitors with the same build. Our article on ownership and leverage covers that trade-off in more depth.

Stacking across many lineups

When you build many lineups, stacking becomes a portfolio decision. How many lineups get each quarterback? How often does each stack include a bring-back? Setting stack rules and exposure limits keeps your lineups spread across the outcomes you believe in, instead of letting the highest-projected stack take over every lineup.