It can be hard to gauge how high you should draft your first QB off the board in fantasy football drafts. Some stick with the old fashion method of drafting your QB as early as possible, while others prefer to gain as much value as possible by drafting a few difference-making WRs or RBs. Regardless of your approach, targeting fantasy football stacks is a great way to get a leg-up on the competition.
Drafting QBs with one or a few of their primary weapons is one of the best ways to provide more upside on any given Sunday. Here are a few middle-to-low-cost stacks that should be considered on draft day to complete that final roster.
(Average Draft Position [ADP] is courtesy of 4for4’s Underdog Fantasy data)
Value 2023 Fantasy Football Stacks To Target
Cooper Kupp (WR4) & Matthew Stafford (QB21) | Los Angeles Rams
It shouldn’t be a shock that targeting a fantasy football stack of Cooper Kupp and Matthew Stafford is a good idea. We’ve seen continuously since Stafford’s trade to the Rams in 2021 that Kupp is the only target in Los Angeles that Stafford trusts more than anyone.
Although you’ll be spending at least a first or second-round draft pick acquiring Kupp to your roster, that’s worth the draft pick alone. This combination might’ve been one of those popular stacks in the last few years. Yet, now the fear of Stafford’s lingering injury history, combined with the Rams’ disappointing 2022 season, is leaving drafters weary of targeting this Super Bowl-winning stack.
Although I’ve been hesitant about drafting Stafford in the past for the same reason, it’s so hard to pass up the opportunity of grabbing Stafford as your QB2 or QB3 at his current ADP. Some may not be sold on Stafford’s future in the league. However, with Sean McVay and Aaron Donald not deciding to retire and the Rams not looking at a backup QB with more potential than Stetson Bennett, I think it’s safe to say that the Rams believe in Stafford’s health as much as you should on draft day.
Darren Waller (TE7) & Daniel Jones (QB14) | New York Giants
If you aren’t planning on drafting a QB throughout the first few rounds, this is the perfect stack for you. If you’re looking for a mid-range fantasy football stack with a ton of upside, once again, this is the perfect one for you.
When the Darren Waller trade was originally reported, people were foaming at the mouth over this potential championship-winning fantasy football stack. Now that the trade hype has faded, fantasy managers aren’t drafting this combination as high as I thought they originally would. With the lack of highly-talented WRs in New York surrounding Daniel Jones, we could be looking at New York’s true No. 1 target. Drafting one without the other in this scenario still could be a winning formula, yet their ADP makes it very obtainable to pair them together.
Although Jones was in a contract year last season, which may have resulted in his success, he did finish as a top-10 QB. Drafting a potential QB1 with a ton of rushing upside at QB14 feels like the best QB value in the entire draft.
Pat Freiermuth (TE10) & Kenny Pickett (QB23) | Pittsburgh Steelers
I know a Pittsburgh fantasy football stack doesn’t sound like the sexiest pick in the world. Yet, sometimes, the ones you don’t expect to produce are the ones that you regret not getting most come mid-season.
Pat Freiermuth has shown all the potential in the last few years that he could become a top fantasy TE. Yes, I know you probably don’t want to invest in the future of your team in Kenny Pickett. But, even if you’re not completely sold on the future of Pickett, just take a look at what changes Pittsburgh has made to their offense.
Pittsburgh traded for WR Allen Robinson to be that third receiver behind Diontae Johnson and George Pickens. In the 2023 NFL Draft, they focused on the trenches by drafting tackle Broderick Jones and Tight end Darnell Washington.
How does that positively impact Freiermuth by drafting another TE, though? Washington is unanimously viewed as the best blocking TE in the 2023 NFL Draft class, even being talked about as basically being a “sixth offensive lineman” for Pittsburgh. It seems like a match made in heaven for Washington to get most of the attempts as the primary blocking TE, while Freiermuth capitalizes on his young QB looking for short passes trying to get the ball out of his hands.
Pickett probably shouldn’t be your QB1 in this scenario. Still, if you can grab him as your QB2/QB3 and use him during bye weeks, it seems like a win in my book. Pickett will be heavily protected behind this new and improved offensive line while being in a run-first offense. Pickett being so heavily protected in 2023 makes him very likely to finish the entire season without missing any time. Having a QB you’re confident will always be available during byes and injuries is a very important formula that some managers don’t prioritize as much as they should.
I also highly suggest pairing this fantasy football stack with RB Najee Harris to complete the three-headed monster between Pickett, Harris and Freiermuth.
Jerry Jeudy (WR22) & Russell Wilson (QB18) | Denver Broncos
Although Russell Wilson and the Broncos had quite an underperforming season last year, most of it was based on unrealistic expectations from the public. I know that investing in an offense that struggled to score more than 20 points a game in 2022 is a gamble, but scared tactics don’t win you championships
There are three reasons I’m not hesitating in investing in a Wilson bounce-back season:
1: Sean Payton doesn’t accept mediocrity. This is the coach who was a part of the Bountygate scandal. Coach Payton wanted to win so badly he was willing to do the unspeakable. There’s a reason he’s worth first-round draft capital when traded to Denver.
2: Javonte Williams and Samaje Perine
3: Wilson has had time to cope with his loss
We all want to speak on the importance of dealing with mental health struggles until it happens to a player we spent draft capital on. Some may not know this, but Wilson, unfortunately, lost his long-time best friend and mental coach, Trevor Moawand, in September 2021 to cancer. Wilson hasn’t looked the same since his friend’s unfortunate passing, and I must say… Can you blame him? Imagine you lose your best friend and the person who mentally prepares you most for game day. Could you put that aside and stay on your A-game? Just remember, not everyone can be Brett Favre, using it as inspiration and putting on phenomenal performances while mentally they’re at their lowest. Newsflash! Wilson is human.
Sometimes when you cook something, you don’t just throw whatever in the oven, set it to 425 degrees and bake it for 15 minutes. Sometimes you gotta let it marinate, allow the juices to soak in, and throw it in the slow cooker. Give Russ time, and “let Russ cook.”
Juju Smith-Schuster (WR50) & Mac Jones (QB30) | New England Patriots
This is another fantasy football stack that isn’t sexy. But if all the winning formulas were popular during the offseason, then there’d be a lot more championship belts around people’s waists.
This stack has all the potential in the world at its current ADP, and every single manager has the opportunity to get this stack, no matter what their draft position is. It all comes down to one person… DeAndre Hopkins. If Hopkins doesn’t sign in New England, and JuJu Smith-Schuster is secured as the team’s WR1, then I’m all in.
With Jakobi Meyers heading to Las Vegas, there’s nobody I can see absorbing that vacant target share in New England more than Smith-Schuster. I value him as the Meyers 2.0, but with a more consistent ability to find the end zone – the main thing that previously left Meyers’ managers frustrated.
A lot like Harris earlier, I see a potential RB1 season for Rhamondre Stevenson with what the New England offensive is shaping into. Stacking Jones with Smith-Schuster on bye weeks or during injury spurts could be a winning method in 2023.
Thanks for reading our favorite 2023 fantasy football stacks. Check out more of our fantasy football content and other written work here at In-Between Media, or head over to our YouTube channel to get your fix via video.