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Best Ball 101: Optimal Stacking Strategy

Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) celebrates after defeat the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Building NFL team stacks into best ball rosters is critical to maximizing upside, as fantasy points are correlated for offensive players on the same team. When a quarterback has a monster fantasy season, he is likely carrying multiple pass-catchers and/or running backs with him.

For example, Aaron Rodgers was the overall QB2 last year, and he brought Davante Adams (WR1), Aaron Jones (RB5) and Robert Tonyan (TE4) along for the ride. Tom Brady was the overall QB8, and he carried Chris Godwin (WR15), Mike Evans (WR16) and Antonio Brown (WR23) to top-24 per-game fantasy finishes.

Upside is the name of the game in best ball, and stacking offenses is the premier way to capture ceiling in fantasy football. Here are 10 optimal stacking strategies to know.

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1. Stack elite players on high-powered offenses wherever possible

The ceiling on high-powered stacks is unrivaled. Packers, Bills, Titans and Chiefs stacks consistently posted week-winning performances last season. Drafting a top-tier stack provides an enormous edge.

2. Avoid forcing stacks by reaching above ADP in the early and middle rounds

Be patient when hunting for stacks and let the draft come to you. If you reach multiple rounds to select a player, your competition will likely have that same player at the appropriate cost. In Rounds 10 and beyond, ADP becomes much less important, and reaching for players is perfectly fine.

3. Pay attention to the schedule and target offenses in potential shootouts during the fantasy playoffs

Correlating mini game stacks between teams that play each other in Weeks 15-17 can be a massive edge if you can correctly identify a shootout. I looked at the 2021 NFL schedule and selected the following games with possible scoring fireworks:

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