Best Ball season is upon us and soon we’ll have regular-season football. The 2023 NFL season starts on Sept. 7, so we have plenty of time to get Best Ball drafts in on DraftKings. As always, stacking is a popular strategy in all formats. Here we’ll go over some team stacks to avoid in Best Ball fantasy football.
2023 NFL Best Ball: Team Stacks to avoid
Tennessee Titans
Ryan Tannehill, QB
DeAndre Hopkins, WR
Treylon Burks, WR
Derrick Henry, RB
The issue with the Titans is A) their offense wasn’t very good last season and B) they should run the ball a lot. Plus, Tannehill isn’t an appealing target in Best Ball as there’s no way he outscores the top-24 QBs or so. So there’s really no good correlation on Tennessee. Henry should get plenty of carries and is fantasy relevant. Hopkins and Burks may end up OK options in deeper season-long leagues. Best Ball seems like a stretch for them. Plus, there’s a scenario where Tannehill underperforms and Malik Willis or Will Levis takes over, so you’ll need to spend a pick there as insurance.
Chicago Bears
Justin Fields, QB
DJ Moore, WR
Darnell Mooney, WR
Cole Kmet, TE
It’s not that Fields and Moore are fades individually, you just aren’t going to want to stack Chicago. If Fields doesn’t take much of a step forward as a passer, the Bears should just run the ball a ton with Fields, D’Onta Foreman and Khalil Herbert. Moore may have some PPR value and is the logical option if you want a mini-stack. But Fields and these receivers don’t necessarily have a positive correlation.
Arizona Cardinals
Colt McCoy/Kyler Murray, QB
Marquise Brown, WR
Rondale Moore, WR
James Conner, RB
McCoy should start the season at QB and it’s unclear if/when Murray will be back. If it’s later in the season, Murray isn’t a viable Best Ball option. Even if it’s early, there’s not much talent on offense for Arizona. Brown and Moore are fringe FLEX plays in season-long and Conner should end up being TD-dependent, which isn’t good if the Cardinals never score.
New England Patriots
Mac Jones, QB
JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR
DeVante Parker, WR
Hunter Henry, TE
If the Patriots are going to be competitive this season, Jones will need to take a big step. Or the team will just run the ball a ton and play defense. New England is in a gauntlet of a division in the AFC East. The Pats’ schedule is rough and the only saving grace is they’ll probably be playing from behind a decent amount. Still, none of these receivers jump off the page and the only fantasy-relevant player, RB Rhamondre Stevenson, may see his stock take a hit if another FA RB is brought in before the regular season.