The last picks in drafts can be crucial for climbing to the top of best ball tournaments. And while hitting on anyone who contributes useful weeks in the last two rounds should be considered a success, nailing players who correlate with a quarterback on the squad is a double dose of goodness.
Furthermore, most of the top-heavy payouts at Underdog Fantasy in their massive-field tournaments are decided in Week 17. And since the final week of the fantasy season turns into a DFS-style tournament, having game stacks can be difference-making. So, Week 17 game-stacking is the rage in the best ball community.
This piece looks at players available in the final two rounds of Underdog Fantasy best ball drafts (i.e., after the 192nd pick) who can round out stacks or serve as a bring-back option in Week 17. Readers shouldn’t get too hung up on the titles of the two sections. The section for elite offenses was based on last year’s highest-scoring teams. And the section for intriguing offenses was for the remaining teams with compelling stacking options, bring backs or both available after the 192nd pick. Finally, if a team isn’t included, it doesn’t mean they’re unstackable. Instead, they lack viable choices in either category in the final two rounds.
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Best Ball Late-Round Stacking Dart Throws and Week 17 Bring Backs
Elite Offenses
The Chiefs and Bengals have elite quarterbacks and are highly desirable to stack. Additionally, they will play in Week 17, making them even more popular to stack because of the potential for a shootout in the most critical week of the best ball season.
Kansas City's pass-catching hierarchy is uncertain behind Travis Kelce. Conversely, Cincinnati's target distribution will be highly concentrated at the top. Justyn Ross is an intriguing prospect who was undrafted in 2022 and missed the entire season after undergoing foot surgery. He generated buzz last offseason and was the subject of more hype this offseason. Ross broke out at an early age at Clemson and is a massive target in a wideout room that lacks big bodies. His range of outcomes spans from failing to make the roster to carving out a starting gig.
Trayveon Williams is listed as a bring-back pick for the Chiefs but not a stacking option for the Bengals. Conversely, Charlie Jones appears as a stacking option for Cincinnati but not a bring-back selection for the Chiefs. Williams doesn't have the pass-catching profile to provide much upside as a stacking option with Joe Burrow. Yet, he could be the primary backup for Joe Mixon if the team has more confidence in the veteran than rookie Chase Brown. If Williams were forced into duty in Week 17, he'd be an appealing game-stacking choice with the Chiefs. He'd also have standalone value as a starter any other week in the season.
Jones correlates with Burrow as a pass-catcher. However, he's buried behind Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd. Still, Jones would be pushed up the pecking order if any of the three wideouts ahead of him were injured and be a desirable weekly stacking option with Burrow. In addition, even as a No. 4 wideout, he could occasionally pop up for usable performances in Cincinnati's pass-happy offense. According to nfelo app, the Bengals had the second-highest Pass Rate Over Expected (7.6% PROE) in 2022.
The Bills are another pass-first offense with muddy waters after their top pass-catching option, Stefon Diggs. Buffalo had the third-highest PROE (6.1%) in 2022. The team took a slow-and-low approach bringing Khalil Shakir along after choosing him with the 148th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. Shakir had two of his most productive games of his rookie year in Buffalo's two playoff contests. They could put more on his plate this year after making minimal investments at wide receiver in the offseason.
Yet, Deonte Harty was brought into the fold as a free agent. Harty's an explosive vertical weapon who flashed potential in a rotational role for the Saints, doing his best work in 2021. Among wideouts targeted at least 50 times in 2021, Harty had Pro Football Focus's (PFF) seventh-highest receiving grade and was sixth in Yards per Route Run (2.69). Despite his diminutive size, Harty can line up on the outside or in the slot. Per PFF, he played 41.1% of his 421 passing snaps for the Saints in the slot and 55.8% aligned wide. So, don't fall into the trap of lazy analysts painting him as a slot-only receiver.
The top bring backs from the Patriots are Hunter Henry and DeVante Parker. Henry is only a year removed from being the apple of Mac Jones's eye in the red zone and scoring all nine of his touchdowns from inside the 20-yard line.
Unfortunately, Parker isn't a stranger to missing games. He played in 10 games in 2021 and 13 in 2022. Parker's first year with the Patriots wasn't exceptional. Still, the Patriots approached their offensive coordinator and play-caller role as an afterthought last year, which showed in their offensive incompetence. Thankfully, the team has an experienced offensive coordinator this year after adding Bill O'Brien to the staff to fill that role.
Parker still appeared to have something left in the tank in 2022, tying for 32nd out of 92 wideouts targeted at least 45 times in 2022 in PFF's receiving grade. The big-bodied contested-catch specialist is a projected starter on a team that doesn't have a target hog. Therefore, Parker could reasonably lead the team in targets any given week.
A.J. Brown is typically a first-round pick. And DeVonta Smith's average draft position (ADP) is at the back of the second round in Underdog Fantasy drafts. So, it's often challenging to stack either of them with Jalen Hurts without reaching for at least one. Dallas Goedert has an ADP of 71.4. So, taking Hurts without Brown or Smith and nabbing an exciting stacking option is possible. However, gamers still might want to double stack with Hurts. Further, suppose another drafter spoils your plans to stack Goedert with Hurts by reaching for the tight end. In that case, Olamide Zaccheaus and Dan Arnold offer gamers dart throws in the last round of drafts, with both often going undrafted, adding a layer of contrarian appeal for choosing them.
Sadly for the Eagles, Quez Watkins hasn't gotten the job done as their No. 3 wide receiver. Zaccheaus could dispatch the incumbent wideout and fill a vertical-threat role. According to PFF, Zaccheaus has had 11 receptions on 24 targets of 20-plus yards downfield in his career. Conversely, Watkins has had 13 receptions on 36 targets of 20-plus yards downfield in his career.
Arnold is basically a jumbo slot wide receiver masquerading as a tight end. He's played 51.8% of his career snaps in the slot, 31.4% aligned inline and 14.6% wide. Arnold can coexist with Goedert in two-TE personnel groupings and has contingency value if Goedert is injured. Among tight ends targeted at least 45 times in 2021, Arnold was eighth in Yards per Route Run (1.61 Y/RR). He also commanded a target on a rock-solid 18.9% of his routes that season.
Trey McBride and Michael Wilson are the most alluring bring-back choices from the rebuilding Cardinals. McBride was a highly accomplished college tight end but got off to a slow start in his professional debut last season. And Wilson's college career was marred by injuries. Nevertheless, he earned positive reviews from many draft pundits during the pre-draft circuit and was selected with the 95th pick in this year's NFL Draft. Both could have meaningful roles while the Cardinals evaluate their young talent.
The Lions and Cowboys were among last year's highest-scoring teams and will meet in Week 17. Both teams have semi-intriguing last-round darts and bring-back choices.
The Cowboys might take a committee approach to replace the void left by Dalton Schultz. But Jake Ferguson could get the first crack at leading the group in routes and playing time. Ferguson was a rookie last year. So, he has professional experience incoming rookie Luke Schoonmaker doesn't have at a position with a steep learning curve. Ferguson's three highest-graded collegiate seasons by PFF were all better than Schoonmaker's best season, too.
Malik Davis is a better bet than tiny rookie Deuce Vaughn to tote the rock for the Cowboys in the event of an injury to Tony Pollard. He's the handcuff to draft in Dallas's backfield but could be rendered useless if the Cowboys sign a veteran free agent.
The six-game suspension the NFL handed to Jameson Williams for breaking the league's rules for gambling threw a wrench into Detroit's plans at wide receiver. They're thin behind Amon-Ra St. Brown. Kalif Raymond was the most effective ancillary option among Detroit's returning wide receivers. His 2.8 receptions per game, 36.2 receiving yards per game, 1.91 Y/RR and 19.3% targets per route run were moderately-useful-to-good marks in 2022. The undersized wideout has a capped ceiling entering his seventh season, though.
Antoine Green isn't a lock to make the Lions. But the seventh-round pick in this year's draft has eye-catching speed for a 6-foot-2 wide receiver. Green isn't just a testing speedster. Instead, he has functional speed. Per PFF, Green averaged 19.0 yards per reception on 90 receptions in his college career and had 43 receptions for 798 yards (18.6 yards per reception), 2.34 Y/RR and seven touchdowns on 65 targets in nine games in 2022.
Kyle Shanahan has repeatedly shown he can craft high-octane offenses. Unfortunately, it's a top-heavy group without late-round options. The Commanders provide gamers who stacked the 49ers with a bring-back choice. Post-draft hype should be taken with a grain of salt, but Washington said they had a third-round grade on their sixth-round pick, running back Chris Rodriguez. Brian Robinson and Antonio Gibson were selected earlier in their respective draft classes. However, this is the first running back they've chosen with their new offensive coordinator and former NFL running back, Eric Bienemy. Rodriguez could eventually overtake Robinson, Gibson or both on the depth chart if neither improves on their early showings in the NFL.
Intriguing Offenses
Touchdowns are the king for late-round tight ends. Noah Fant is attached to an ascending offense and has touchdown potential, even if his modest role could take a hit after the Seahawks spent the 20th pick on wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba.
The Allen Robinson, Calvin Austin and Hakeem Butler trio are competing for Pittsburgh's slot gig. A-Rob will turn 30 in August and had the two worst years of his career in 2021 and 2022. He may be dust. But another change of scenery and a move to the big-slot role that helped extend Larry Fitzgerald's career are reasons for optimism about a bounce back.
Austin missed his rookie campaign in 2022 after suffering a foot injury requiring season-ending surgery. The 138th pick in last year's draft was a dynamo at Memphis, finishing his collegiate career with two 1,000-plus-yard campaigns. Moreover, he earned high praise from Ahmad Gardner. "Sauce" repeatedly called Austin the toughest matchup he faced in college. Austin has top-flight speed, burst and agility and put them to good use in his college career. The pint-sized speedster had 16.3 yards per reception on 156 receptions in college and scored 22 receiving touchdowns.
Butler is a dark horse in the group with an interesting wrinkle. He's TE eligible. Unfortunately, Butler didn't live up to the expectations that accompanied a productive college career and getting selected by the Cardinals in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. Then again, not much went right for the Cardinals during Kliff Kingsbury's tenure. The offense operated the best when Kyler Murray improvised, despite Kingsbury being a purported offensive guru.
Butler earned another shot in the NFL by dominating the XFL. According to PFF, Butler was second in targets (69), second in receptions (51), third in receiving yards, sixth in Yards per Route Run (1.84) and first in touchdown receptions (eight) among players targeted at least 20 times. It's also exciting he did his damage while primarily playing the slot, aligning there on 73.1% of his passing snaps. Gamers drafting many best ball teams shouldn't sleep on Butler as a contrarian pick in Steelers stacks or as a Week 17 bring-back choice for Seahawks stacks.
Most of Miami's targets will be funneled to the explosive one-two punch of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Still, the team's No. 3 wide receiver could occasionally have a useful fantasy week and has additional appeal as someone who would have an enhanced role if Hill or Waddle was hurt. So, will Chosen Anderson or Braxton Berrios win the job? Initially, I was tempted to put both players on the table. Instead, I opted to use common sense and take a stance on Berrios after looking at their contract details at Spotrac. The money says the job is Berrios's, barring an upset.
Isaiah Likely is the compelling late-round stacking pick for the Ravens or bring-back player for a Dolphins stack. Likely had a promising rookie season in 2022. Namely, he caught touchdowns in three games and exploded for 103 receiving yards on 13 targets and eight receptions in the final game of the regular season.
New offensive coordinator Todd Monken should breathe life into a stale offense after crafting and guiding high-scoring offenses at Georgia the previous three years. Encouragingly, Monken also had an acumen for involving multiple tight ends in Georgia's offense, creating the potential for Likely to have fantasy value even if Mark Andrews is healthy all season. And Likely would likely be a top-10 fantasy TE in any contests Andrews misses.
Josh Palmer had 4.5 receptions per game, 48.1 receiving yards per game and three touchdowns in 16 games for the Chargers last year. But the third-year pro probably needs an injury for a chance to build on his sophomore season. Palmer's playing time and opportunities benefited from Keenan Allen and Mike Williams missing games last year, and the team has since spent a first-round pick on Quentin Johnston.
Donald Parham is an off-the-radar option for gamers drafting at least three tight ends. Parham is a pass-catching No. 2 tight end who's caught seven touchdowns in 33 games in his minor role for the Chargers since 2020. Parham was also targeted on an adequate 18.3% of his routes in his career. If nothing else, his inviting big frame in the red zone gives him touchdown potential if Gerald Everett stays healthy.
Jerry Jeudy and Courtland Sutton are understandably the presumed top two receivers for the Broncos, and they traded up in the second round of this year's draft to pick Marvin Mims. Still, could new head coach Sean Payton take a shine to Tim Patrick? Maybe. Patrick had a higher PFF receiving grade in 2021 than Sutton and Jeudy, and his 1.48 Y/RR was more than Sutton's 1.43 Y/RR. Sadly, Patrick missed last year after tearing his ACL, adding another hurdle to clear. Regardless, Patrick has shown some ability in the NFL and could climb the depth chart by the end of the year as he shakes the rust off from his knee injury.
Luke Musgrave has excellent athletic measurements. And he had 11 receptions for 169 yards and a touchdown on 15 targets in his two healthy games at Oregon State last season. Those were enough reasons for the Packers to spend the 43rd pick in this draft on him. And his most significant competition for Green Bay's starting job at tight end is fellow rookie Tucker Kraft, who the Packers picked 79th and has a huge leap in the level of competition after playing at FCS South Dakota State.
The Vikings cut Dalvin Cook, leaving Alexander Mattison as the lead running back. Will second-year-pro Ty Chandler or rookie seventh-round pick DeWayne McBride win the backup job? They'll duke it during the summer to lay stake to the job, and their ADP will climb when the dust settles. So, beyond being worthy dice rolls as Week 17 bring-back picks for Packers stacks, guessing correctly should provide gamers who take the winner of the backup job with closing ADP value (i.e., the difference between where a player is selected at the time of the draft and where they're picked when the draft fills before Week 1).
I wrote about Darius Slayton as the best value in the 18th round at the end of last month, and his ADP has since climbed from 210.5 to 200.5. I still like him for the reasons I outlined in that piece.
I'll leave the Puka Nacua hype to D-Bro, the driver of the rookie's bandwagon.
If you wonder why I love Puka Nacua...
I love TALENTED players
2022: (min 50 tgs)
PFF rec grade: 2nd
YPRR: 2nd
YPRR vs man (min 15 man tgs): 25th
(Out of 274 WRs)YPRR vs zone (" " zone tgs): 5th
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2021:PFF rec grade: 6th
YPRR: 30th
YPRR pic.twitter.com/B1FNSpSoRd...
- Derek Brown (@DBro_FFB) March 28, 2023
Brown isn't the only analyst intrigued by Nacua. Before the draft, Matt Harmon of Yahoo! Fantasy and Reception Perception called Nakua one of his "favorite receivers projected to go on Day 3." Harmon's full analysis of the three-game sample he used for his success grades against man coverage, zone coverage and press coverage was also encouraging for Nacua's outlook.
Nate Tice also mentioned Nacua as a player he's looking at in dynasty leagues on The Athletic Football Show (skip ahead to roughly the 1:18:00 mark if you're looking for the discussion). Danny Kelly from The Ringer also likes him as a sleeper. Obviously, dynasty leagues are a different animal than best ball contests. Nevertheless, their optimism about Nacua's potential in the long term is worth noting.
Kelly also called out Zach Evans in that section of the podcast. Evans could be ticketed for the backup job at running back behind Cam Akers. And while Akers finished last year on a high note, it wasn't smooth sailing to get to that point. If Akers ends up back in Sean McVay's doghouse, Evans could have value this year.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
