Stack em' up

By: Josh Frey-Sam

Stacking a quarterback with a high-end wide receiver or a tight end can be a cheat code to winning fantasy football.

There’s nothing better than seeing two of your players connect for a touchdown and getting double the points in one shot.

That’s what we’re talking about today: my favourite stacks of 2026.

I. Joe Burrow & Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals

This is like clockwork.

I don’t think I really need numbers to back up this ranking.

This is the top stack in fantasy football, and it has been for years.

The Bengals will be improved on defence this season, but that won’t change this offence’s DNA. It throws the ball when it’s trailing; it throws the ball when it’s leading.

Chase is a threat for the triple crown, and Burrow is an MVP candidate if they are both healthy. Stack with the utmost confidence.

II. Drake Maye & AJ Brown, New England Patriots

What do you get when you get an MVP-calibre quarterback, a dominant wide receiver who has been starved of quality targets and an offensive co-ordintaor who wants to sling the rock?

Wins. Lots and lots of wins.

I don’t think we’re hyping up Drake Maye and AJ Brown too much. In fact, I think there’s a world in which we’re not hyping them up enough.

Brown has shown nothing to suggest he’s lost a step during training camp, and now he unites with one of the top passers in the game.

While I think a +25% target share is in store for Brown, what really gets you excited about this duo is the potential in the red zone.

The Patriots had 38 pass attempts inside the 10 last season, which was tied for the fifth-most in the league. Drake Maye converted 14 of those attempts into touchdowns, which was also the fifth-most.

Now, the Pats are projected to play one of the toughest schedules for a WR this season, but they also play in a division with the Jets and Miami.

The Pats needed Brown, and Brown needed the Pats. Now, we get to reap the benefits of this match.

III. Dak Prescott & George Pickens/ CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys

For the record, I am in the group of those who believe CeeDee Lamb is still the No. 1 WR in this Cowboys offence, but I’m not mad if you wait a round and stack George Pickens with Dak instead.

A lot of experts have floated the following stats around this off-season:

When both Lamb and Pickens were on the field last year, Lamb earned a 25.7% target share to Pickens’ 19.8%. Lamb also posted 2.5 yards per route run and 0.46 fantasy points per route run to Pickens’ 2.2 and 0.41, respectively.

But what they don’t talk about is that Pickens was virtually irrelevant in the first week of the season, as he got comfortable with a new offence.

Why I like either WR is if you look at Weeks 7-17 (when Lamb returned from injury), Dak ranked as the QB8 in total points, while George and CeeDee ranked as the WR 7 and 9, respectively.

Like the Bengals, this Cowboys defence will be better this season, but I’m no worried about that affecting this Cowboys offence, which will still be liable to put up 40 every week.

IV. Tyler Shough & Chris Olave, New Orleans Saints

While this probably won’t be the highest-scoring stack of the season, I’m not sure there’s one that’s more fun to leave your drafts with this month.

Something about the uncertainty of Tyler Shough taking a step in Year 2 and Chris Olave staying healthy gets me fired up.

Now, this isn’t a shot in the dark.

In the second half of the season, from Weeks 10-17 (when Shough took over as the Saints starter), Olave was the WR3 in points per game, and Shough was the QB12. During that time, Olave also drew the seventh-most targets among all WRs, and averaged more targets than the likes of JSN, George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb.

What gets you even more excited about this duo is that the Saints have one of the easiest schedules in football this season, including games against the Bucs, Cards and Falcons in the fantasy playoffs. Also, this becomes one of the best duos to own with rookie Jordyn Tyson slated to miss two months of action with a hamstring injury.

Shough and CO2 are teed up for a monster season.

V. Jaxson Dart & Malik Nabers, New York Giants

Matt Nagy this. Dart and Nabers’ health that.

Blah blah blah.

Here’s what I know: Jaxson Dart is one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the NFL when he decides to run, and will rack up week-winning rushing numbers several times this season. I also know that he’s going to target the crap out of Malik Nabers in every area of the field.

If anything less than 27% of Dart’s passes are in Nabers’ direction, I will be shocked.

The tough part about projecting this stack is that these two have barely played a quarter of football together, so there’s really no foundation for this duo besides what’s been laid in training camp currently.

Sometimes, you just need to trust that two uber-talented players are going to make it work. That’s a bet I’m willing to make.

Honourable mentions (in order):

Bo Nix & Jaylen Waddle, Denver Broncos

Jalen Hurts & Devonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles

Trevor Lawrence & Parker Washington, Jacksonville Jaguars

Lamar Jackson & Zay Flowers, Baltimore Ravens

Caleb Williams & Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears

Thanks for reading and, as always, have a great day.

Josh