Stacking is an integral part of best ball and fantasy football strategy in general.

Adopting a Ricky Bobby "first or last" mindset makes sense in leagues that don't, you know, have a last-place punishment to worry about. Attempting to optimize our chances by correlating any given fantasy lineup is best for business when striving for your team's best-case ceiling.

Our Fantasy Life Rankings and Projections are meant to help pinpoint the league's best players and offenses; obviously we would all prefer to stack Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb over Bo Nix and Courtland Sutton all else being equal. Of course, that latter sentiment simply isn't based in reality — we have constantly evolving ADP and shit simply happens over the course of an 18-round draft.

This takes us to today's goal: Evaluating the most expensive, cheap and intriguing stack options among common stacking archetypes ahead of the 2024 season. There's definitely something to be said about prioritizing Week 17 game stacks in large best ball tournaments such as Best Ball Mania, but for today we'll just be focusing on single-offense stacks. Note that all ADP references refer to Underdog Fantasy. 

As always: It's a great day to be great.

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QB/WR1

• Most expensive: Jalen Hurts (QB2, pick 40.8) and A.J. Brown (WR6, 8.9)
• Cheapest: Drake Maye (QB26, 195.7) and Ja'Lynn Polk (WR66, 139)
• Wild card: Deshaun Watson (QB20, 161.8) and Amari Cooper (WR29, 41.4)

Hurts (QB2) and AJB (WR11) have been among fantasy's most productive scorers on a per-game basis since joining forces in 2022. The presence of Kellen Moore at OC should mean a faster pace, more passing and more motion — all good things for each player's respective fantasy upside. Locking in AJB in the middle of Round 1 and Hurts in Rounds 3-4 continues to make a lot of sense.

It's not guaranteed that Maye starts the season ahead of Jacoby Brissett, but don't discount his ability to function as a better fantasy QB than real-life option from Day 1. Consider: Maye's 57 rushing yards per game during the 2022-23 seasons was on par with what Anthony Richardson (59 in 2022) and Justin Fields (55 in 2019-20) put up in college. Meanwhile, Polk joins teammate DeMario Douglas, Josh Palmer and Adam Thielen as the only WRs with a Fantasy Life target projection north of 90 and an ESPN ADP outside the top 150 overall players.

Watson is one of my favorite late-round QBs thanks to the reality that he's still one of just four QBs in NFL history to average at least 20 fantasy points per game over his career. He also managed to post three top-10 finishes in five full games last year — and now his ADP is almost cut in half relative to 2023 (QB9, pick 82). Meanwhile, Cooper has actually averaged more receiving yards per game (77.1) in 11 contests with Watson compared to 22 games without (73.7) over the past two seasons; don't be surprised if the two-time reigning WR17 in PPR points per game (again) smashes his affordable ADP.

QB/TE1

• Most expensive: Patrick Mahomes (QB4, pick 49.6) and Travis Kelce (TE2, 39.1)
• Cheapest: Bo Nix (QB29, 206.6) and Greg Dulcich (TE35, 215.1)
• Wild card: Geno Smith (QB23, 169.8) and Noah Fant (TE19, 172.5)

It's not surprising to see Mahomes and Kelce top this list, although the latter player is far more affordable than in past years. While ADP varies by site, the days of Kelce going in Round 1 are consensually over: Taylor Swift's boyfriend is now available for purchase anywhere between the end of Round 2 and into the early stages of Round 4 throughout the industry. It'd make sense if the team's new WRs get plenty of targets; just realize the all-time leader in fantasy points per game should still find plenty of time for his trusty TE — there's HUGE TD upside here considering Mahomes' potential for positive regression in that department.

Jan. 29, 2023: Patrick Mahomes raises the Lamar Hunt Trophy while Travis Kelce celebrates after the Kansas City Chiefs' 23-20 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC championship game at Arrowhead Stadium.

What if Nix is actually good? The man did lead all Power 5 QBs in TDs (94) over the past two seasons after all. Yes, relatively elderly QB prospects generally haven't worked out too well over the years. Also yes, Nix is the favorite to start all 17 games for the Broncos this season, and historically it's been easier to find late-round spike weeks from QBs and TEs than RBs and WRs. Now, it's not guaranteed that Dulcich 1.) Ever gets fully healthy, and 2.) Completely owns the full-time job ahead of Adam Trautman and Lucas Krull, but this cheap passing game could surprise should Sean Payton re-establish himself as one of the game's brightest offensive minds.

Geno has the NFL's highest completion percentage over expected (+4.2%) among qualified 48 QBs over the past two seasons. Friendly reminder Smith is just one year removed from working as fantasy's QB9 on a per-game basis ahead of guys like Dak Prescott, Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert among others. Meanwhile, the money (two-year, $21 million extension) bodes well for Fant's chances of seeing a larger role than in past years, especially with 2023 contributors Will Dissly (Chargers) and Colby Parkinson (Rams) are both out of the picture. Fant is my highest-drafted TE of the offseason to this point and it's not particularly close. What could go wrong?

QB/RB1

• Most expensive: Patrick Mahomes (QB4, pick 49.6) and Isiah Pacheco (RB11, 45)
• Cheapest: Bo Nix (QB29, 206.6) and Javonte Williams (RB32, 110.2)
• Wild card: Josh Allen (QB1, 37.6) and James Cook (RB13, 58)

I cheated a bit here and left out QB/RB1 stacks that feature teammates at great risk of eating into each other's production. This canceled the Eagles, Colts and Ravens from the "most expensive" superlative; historically, dual-threat QBs don't bring out the best from their team's RBs in fantasy land.

Mahomes needs no introduction here, but don't discount the potential for his lead RB to add some serious receiving production to his typical goodness on the ground: Pacheco has caught an incredible 75 of his 82 career targets — good for the single-highest completion rate (91.5%) among 154 qualified pass-catchers. The potential absence of current free agent Jerick McKinnon could open up even more fantasy-friendly pass-down work for Pacheco, whose 58 projected targets are the ninth-most of any RB ahead of 2024.

Nix's aforementioned potential to start 17 games makes him a solid enough LATE round dart, while his low-aDOT play style could also continue to quietly make this one of the league's more fantasy-friendly backfields. Consider: The Broncos' league-high 144 RB targets were 30-plus more opportunities than all but three other backfields. It's not guaranteed Williams leads the way in the passing game, but he did rack up a team-high 58 targets last year, and it'd make sense if the rising fourth-year back is quite a bit more efficient a full year removed from his devastating 2022 knee injury.

Josh Allen's God-level fantasy production needs no introduction; however, it's a new era in the Buffalo passing game with Stefon Diggs now residing in Houston. TE Dalton Kincaid looks like a strong candidate to lead the offense in targets, but don't discount the potential for Cook to also see a boost in his pass-down work. Only Christian McCaffrey, Breece Hall, Rachaad White, Bijan Robinson and Alvin Kamara actually scored more PPR points from purely receiving production than Cook last year, and that was with a handful of pretty brutal dropped TDs. There aren't many RBs with even a somewhat realistic path to triple-digit targets — but Cook is one of them.

QB/WR1/WR2

• Most expensive: Jalen Hurts (QB2, pick 40.8), A.J. Brown (WR6, 8.9) and DeVonta Smith (WR18, 25.1)
• Cheapest: Drake Maye (QB26, 195.7), Ja'Lynn Polk (WR66, 139) and DeMario Douglas (WR71, 155.4)
• Wild card: Will Levis (QB24, 178.3), Calvin Ridley (WR35, 56.3) and DeAndre Hopkins (WR41, 68.6)

Hurts and AJB have already been discussed, but is there really room for a second banana here inside the Eagles' run-first offense? Answer: Yes, thanks primarily to Hurts' demonstrated ability to condense the passing game almost solely around his top-two WRs:

Teammate WRs with highest combined target share in 2023

1. Raiders (53.5% targets, Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers)
2. Eagles (52%, Brown, Smith)
3. Dolphins (50.5%, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle)

While we don't have the same actual evidence that Maye will do the same with Polk and Douglas, the rising second-year WR did show off some YAC goodness and had better underlying metrics than what his overall counting numbers suggested in Year 1. He's the favorite for No. 2 WR duties, although the new coaching staff and QB hardly make that a guarantee.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis (8) reacts after wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (10) received a pass for a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons during the first quarter at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023.

Levis is one of fantasy's cheapest QBs with an actual expectation to start 17 games. Fantasy Life Projections have the rising second-year talent throwing the 14th-most passes in the NFL this season, and he's fully expected to feature the offense's new $92 million man alongside the team's incumbent top option more than anyone else. *If* Levis winds up being really good, both of these WRs will look like bargains at their respective WR3 and WR4 ADPs.

QB/WR1/TE1

• Most expensive: Lamar Jackson (QB3, pick 46.5), Zay Flowers (WR26, 36.2) and Mark Andrews (TE4, 48.9)
• Cheapest: Bo Nix (QB29, 206.6), Courtland Sutton (WR49, 91.1) and Greg Dulcich (TE35, 215.1)
• Wild card: Russell Wilson (QB31, 208.7), George Pickens (WR28, 40.4) and Pat Freiermuth (TE14, 133.7)

Landing the league's reigning MVP alongside Flowers and Andrews in a single lineup is tricky due to their close ADPs. Flowers' 'splits in nine games with Andrews (4.5-51.2-0.1) are also concerning relative to his nine contests without (5-60.8-0.55). Ultimately, Jackson has produced just one top-24 WR in PPR points per game during his five years as a starter, but it's also fair to wonder if he's ever had talent of Flowers' caliber.Fantasy Life Projections currently have Zay getting a respectable 118 looks this season.

Subtracting Jerry Jeudy from the equation seemingly cements Sutton as this offense's No. 1 pass-game option more than ever, even if the veteran's longterm standing in Denver has been called into question after he skipped voluntary offseason workouts in protest of his contract situation. Still, Sutton is back into the swing of things and seemingly fully committed to being the best version of himself for the Broncos in 2024. He's one of fantasy's cheapest WRs with an easy path to triple-digit targets and represents a solid mid-round option for fantasy managers who missed out on the WR avalanche and desperately still need a stack.

Wilson quietly threw for 26 TDs in 15 games last season, ultimately finishing with a mere 0.38 fewer fantasy points per game than that Patrick Mahomes guy. Meanwhile, the Pickens tape backs up the idea that he might be ready to truly explode in Year 3 — something that has been commonplace in fantasy land over the years. It'd be a lot cooler if he was in an offense where 150-plus targets were on the table, but the utter lack of competition elsewhere bodes well for his overall upside. A similar sentiment is true for Freiermuth, who doesn't turn 26 until October and deserves credit for working as fantasy's TE10 in PPR points per game during the first two seasons of his career. Falcons TEs racked up the NFL's fourth-most targets during Arthur Smith's three-year tenure as head coach.

QB/WR1/WR2/WR3

• Most expensive: C.J. Stroud (QB6, pick 66.4), Nico Collins (WR13, 18.4), Stefon Diggs (WR23, 31.7) and Tank Dell (WR25, 34.7)
• Cheapest: Drake Maye (QB26, 193.9), Ja'Lynn Polk (WR66, 139), DeMario Douglas (WR71, 155.4) and Javon Baker (WR83, 196.1)
• Wild card: Matthew Stafford (QB19, 152), Puka Nacua (WR7, 10.2), Cooper Kupp (WR22, 29.2) and Demarcus Robinson (WR77, 172)

We're looking at arguably the best trio in the league in Houston:

• Nico Collins: This is a big and fast man who just averaged the second-most yards per target (11.9) in a single season since the metric first started being tracked in 1992 (min. 100 targets). He now joins Tyreek Hill, Cooper Kupp and Julio Jones as the only three WRs to average three-plus yards per route run in a single season over the past decade.
• Stefon Diggs: Here’s to hoping Diggs’ final 10 games in Buffalo were more of a fugazi and less of a sign of things to come. The 30-year-old veteran ripped off 127-1535-8, 103-1225-10, 108-1429-11 and 107-1183-8 receiving lines during his four seasons in Buffalo and provides this offense with a massive upgrade over guys like Robert Woods and Noah Brown.
• Tank Dell: Was absolutely electric as a rookie and actually tied Nico in total targets (52) in seven games together where each played at least half of the offense's snaps. Dell (36%) joined Collins (40%) as two of the league's top-eight WRs in percentage of games to produce a top-12 finish in half-PPR scoring.

The 2023 Broncos, 2018 Rams and 2020 Buccaneers are the only three teams to produce three top-24 WRs in PPR points per game in the same season since 2013. The 2024 Texans have the best chance to join this club based on current ADP.

There are certainly worse late-round dart throws than Polk (WR70, pick 156 ADP) and Douglas (WR81, pick 191.9). These are two of just three WRs with a Fantasy Life target projection north of 90 and an ADP outside the top 150 overall. Hell, Baker could surprise too; just realize Kendrick Bourne signed a three-year, $33 million extension this offseason and should find a home in three-WR sets once fully recovered from last year’s season-ending knee injury. Guys like K.J. Osborn and even JuJu Smith-Schuster also threaten to be progress-stoppers for the young WRs; don’t get too carried away here.

Last season, Nacua and Kupp played 12 full games together. They posted the following usage and production:

• Nacua: 100 targets, 66 receptions, 1,055 yards, 4 TD
• Kupp: 99 targets, 63 receptions, 753 yards, 5 TD

However, Robinson started to make waves late in the year, earning a whopping 40 targets during the team’s final six full games with the starters — Nacua and Kupp each had 51 targets during this span. The former Chiefs talent proved he was capable of putting together some solid performances down the stretch of last season:

• Week 13: 4 receptions-55 yards-1 TD, PPR WR20
• Week 14: 3-46-1, WR23
• Week 15: 2-44-1, WR25
• Week 16: 6-82-1, WR15
• Week 17: 6-92-0, WR25
• Wild Card: 3-44-0

My most-drafted WR of the offseason, nobody is expecting Robinson to overtake Puka Nacua or Cooper Kupp in Matthew Stafford's pecking order, but he does profile as the No. 3 WR inside of an offense that has ranked first in total snaps out of 11 personnel in three consecutive seasons. There's legit potential here for something close to top-50 standalone production and truly enticing contingency upside should either Nacua or Kupp miss any game action.