How Much Stack is Too Much Stack?

By Tim Goldberg (@FireUpFantasyTG)

May 14, 2025

When it comes to drafting there are a million different strategies out there. One of the most universally accepted concepts is “team stacking.” This strategy is essential to fantasy football success and provides strong upside across all formats, Re-Draft Leagues, DFS, and especially Best Ball.  Whether you are a rookie, casual player, or a tournament winner, this article will hit on the key pieces of stacking during your draft. 

Back to Basics: What Is “Stacking”?

Stacking is simple, idiot. Kidding, stacking just means drafting multiple players from the same team, usually a quarterback and one or more of his pass-catchers. This could be any combination of Wide Receivers, Tight Ends, sometimes Running Backs, I suppose.

Why Do People Stack?

Do you think scoring tons of points is cool? Do you like to win stuff? Ya, me too. Did you know stacking is one of the easiest ways to rack up points fast?

The logic is pretty straightforward, if your QB throws for 300+ yards and 3 TDs, chances are, at least a couple of those TDs went to someone else on your roster. That means you’re getting points for the pass, the catch, and double points on yardage and touchdowns.

When your QB/WR combo hits that 70 yard touchdown on the first play of the game, it’s the same feeling you get when someone cancels plans when you secretly didn’t want to go in the first place, or when you realize you got 7 chicken nuggets in your McDonalds 6-piece.  Okay, you get it, it just feels good to hit your stack, so stack, and stack right.  

How Many Players Should I Stack?

The rule of thumb is usually no more than 3 pass catchers, 4 could be okay at the right price, 5 is unnecessary and 6+ is full chaos mode. Stop it, you need to get help.  

Over-stacking is an issue for many reasons. For starters, it’s unlikely that 5+ players from the same team all put up significant numbers in the same game.  This is leaving your roster with unfulfilled value that you could have drafted elsewhere.  With such a one team dominant roster, your success becomes too reliant on that team never having a bad game, and remembered, this is the NFL, most of the games are bad.  (Except those sweet Thursday Night games, those ones are always good!!!)

But seriously, having too many players from the same team becomes boom-or-bust real fast, and when it busts, and buddy, it will bust, you’re left staring in the mirror asking yourself “why am I the way that I am?!” 

So don’t be weird, just stack a normal amount of players so you don’t lay awake at night wondering why you took GABE DAVIS instead of addressing more important team needs. (I’ll get over my 2024 Davis exposure eventually, alright.) 

Stacking Stats for Advance Rates

In previous years, these are the average advance rates for teams using different builds in Best Ball tournaments.

No StackTeams that didn’t stack at all advanced at an average rate of 15.8%, slightly below the expected rate of 16.7%

Single (Skinny) StackTeams with one QB/WR or QB/TE stack advanced at an average rate of 16.8%, right around the expected rate.

Double StackTeams stacking a QB with two pass-catchers advanced at an average rate of 17.2%.

Triple StackRostering a QB with three of his receivers jumped the average advance rate to 19.4%.

Two Double Stacks ***The highest success rate came from teams using two separate double stacks, with a 19.8% advance rate, the most successful approach, and the one I will likely lean on most in 2025.

Should I Reach to Complete a Stack?

“Reaching,” is just the term for taking a player earlier than you probably should, based on their ADP (Average Draft Pick.) The short answer is no.  Reaching for players in drafts is like sticking your leg into quicksand, you might be able to get out of it, but why even mess with it in the first place?!

Sure, you might end up with a cute little stack to show your group chat, but, at what cost? Every time you reach down for players you are missing out on important value elsewhere

. If you find yourself consistently skipping over players you’d normally click at that spot just to force a stack, you should reconsider your overall draft approach and ask yourself; 

“Will this team be okay if I pivot?” and “Is there another potential stack I can target later on in this draft?” 

Most time the answers will be yes and you can just adjust on the fly for the sake of your sanity and your lineup. 

 Should I Stack the Team’s Running Back Too? 

Personally? I don’t love it and I won’t be making a habit of it.  Sure, I get it, if the team’s offense is rolling, everyone benefits. But if the RB is stealing all the touchdowns and chewing up the clock, that is not helping your stack, it’s actively working against it. Rushing TDs from your passing stack feels like getting socks for Christmas, it’s not the worst thing in the world, but it definitely could’ve been cooler.  

If you are looking to stack an RB, consider making it the pass-catching RB2. It’s cheaper, fits the offensive correlation better, and gives you more upside.

Should I Game Stack for the Playoffs? (Weeks 15, 16, 17)

Yes. Yes. And more YES. Stacking for the playoffs is one of the most important parts of Best Ball draft strategy.. If you’re lucky enough to make it to the playoffs, it’s important to remember, by a that time, everyone’s roster is loaded. .

So what could separate the winner from all the losers?  

What can provide that extra edge?  

The answer is simple, Game Stacks!

What is the difference between a “Team Stack” and a “Game Stack?” 

A game stack is similar to a team stack, with one key difference: you're not just pairing your quarterback with his pass catchers, you’re also rostering players from the opposing team in the same matchup. The goal is simple: target a high-scoring shootout and capitalize on both teams scoring a lot of points.

This approach becomes especially important during the fantasy playoffs, specifically Week 17, “Championship Week”. That week decides everything, so you must understand the playoff matchups and build accordingly.

For example, if two explosive offenses with weak secondary’s face off, that’s the perfect recipe for a high-upside game stack.

Lucky for you, I’ll be posting our FireUpFantasy Playoff Stacking Chart on X @FireUpFantasyTG later this week. It highlights the most stackable matchups heading into the playoffs.

Hypothetical Example: In Week 17, you might have Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jared Goff. Great! But guess what? So will a ton of other teams. If that duo goes off, it helps... but not enough to separate you from the pack. Now, if you also roster George Kittle and Ricky Pearsall on the other side and they’re catching the 49ers' touchdowns, you’ve just created a unique edge with correlation that most lineups won’t have.

This matters most in Week 17 because you’re no longer facing just 12 or 16  , you could be up against 1,000+ entries, depending on the tournament. Having unique, high-upside game stack combinations is how you create leverage and give yourself a real shot at the top prize.

Trying to win a tournament with the wrong Week 17 stack? That’s like me trying to hit a 7-iron out of the rough, technically not impossible, but buddy... you don’t have a good shot.

Example: (My Personal Hell) My 2023 lineup that finished in second place (humble brag) had almost no stacking correlation, outside of Derrick Henry and Chig Okonkwo, My only real game stack was Christian McCaffrey and Zay Flowers both who ended up in my final lineup. Going into week 17 I only had one healthy Quarterback, a “naked” Jordan Love (no other Packers).

Guess What, the first-place finisher also had Jordan Love... and he stacked him with Jayden Reed, who casually dropped 3 touchdowns. That single difference? It cost me $34,650 and won him the $50k top prize. So yes, stacking can make all the difference.  But hey, this is fantasy football and anything can happen, and any lineup could be the one!

So have fun, attack drafts with a purpose, and I hope this answers the question,

“How much stack is too much stack?!”