Fantasy Football 2024: Ranking The Top QB-WR Stacks

Fantasy Football 2024: Ranking The Top QB-WR Stacks0 of 5

Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase and QB Joe BurrowDylan Buell/Getty Images

There is no shortage of strategies that fantasy football managers can use during a draft. Experienced players have probably employed—or at least heard of—tactics such as Zero RB, Hero RB, Zero WR and Elite QB, to name a few.

One strategy that has been gaining steam in recent years is stacking. This approach has managers targeting two players from the same offense—usually the quarterback and his top pass-catcher—to capitalize on the scoring correlation between the pairing.

While there’s been plenty of analysis done on whether stacking is an effective strategy outside of best ball leagues, there’s at least some merit in the tactic. Managers who took Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver A.J. Brown last year were rewarded in a big way, although there’s plenty of risk as well. Just ask those who selected both Justin Jefferson and Kirk Cousins in their 2023 draft.

With that in mind, we’ve ranked the top QB-WR stacks for the 2024 NFL season based on factors such as prior results, 2024 upside, rankings and average draft positions (ADP).

Fantasy points, ADP, rankings and other data courtesy of FantasyPros using PPR metrics.

No. 5: Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown1 of 5

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It won’t be easy or cost-effective to stack Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver A.J. Brown this year.

Hurts is currently the QB2 with an ADP of 27, while Brown is the WR6 with an ADP of 9. That makes them the most expensive QB-WR stack for the 2024 campaign.

While this pairing is doable for managers who are high on the Philadelphia offense, linking them up will be putting a lot of eggs in one basket. It’s especially risky since the Eagles are undergoing a bit of an identity shakeup.

After getting off to a 10-1 start last year, the Eagles lost five of their final six regular-season games before getting thrashed in the Wild Card Round. That epic collapse resulted in the Eagles parting ways with offensive coordinator Brian Johnson and replacing him with Kellen Moore, amongst other changes.

One of these adjustments will be integrating prized free-agent acquisition Saquon Barkley. The star running back was the Eagles’ marquee offseason pickup and figures to play a large role in the team’s plans going forward. Philadelphia already ran on roughly 45 percent of its offensive plays last season—the seventh-highest percentage in the NFL—and could see that figure tick up in 2024 due to the presence of Barkley.

The loss of superstar center Jason Kelce may also negatively affect Hurts’ ability to generate fantasy points. Kelce played an instrumental role not only in his quarterback’s protection, but leading the way for Hurts to score several of his 15 rushing touchdowns on the vaunted “tush push” play last year.

While there’s still plenty to like about the Hurts-Brown connection, they’re trending more toward a slight step back from their incredible 2023 performances. Stacking them may not be worth the hefty investment that it will require.

No. 4: Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill2 of 5

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Tyreek Hill has proved to be the Miami Dolphins’ missing piece. Their trade for the superstar wideout helped elevate Tua Tagovailoa into a legitimate franchise quarterback, one who just signed a team-record four-year, $212.4 million contract extension.

Although Tagovailoa has guided Miami to playoff berths in each of the last two seasons, his fantasy production hasn’t exactly stood out. Despite staying healthy and playing in all 17 games for the first time in his career last season, Tagovailoa finished as the QB9. That’s only six spots above his QB15 finish during an injury-plagued 2022 campaign in which he missed four starts and left others early.

Tagovailoa isn’t expected to make a leap in 2024, either, as he’s currently the QB14 with an ADP of 120. It will likely take another wideout stepping up for the fifth-year signal-caller to reach another level. Jaylen Waddle failed to do that last year when he finished as the WR34, a significant drop from his WR8 spot in 2022.

Hill will also have to continue delivering as fantasy’s most consistent receiver. He’s been exactly that since arriving in South Beach, but it remains to be seen if he can keep his blistering pace up. The wideout has posted back-to-back WR2 finishes and even made a run at Calvin Johnson’s single-season receiving record last year, but he’s now on the wrong side of 30 and may soon start declining.

Don’t bet against at least one more superb year from Hill, as he’s had few issues with injuries (having only missed two games in the last four seasons combined) and appears motivated to secure a new contract while he’s still in his prime.

Even as the WR2 with an ADP of 3, Hill still looks like one fantasy’s safest draft selections. Stacking him with Tagovailoa is a sound strategy for managers who eschew taking a high-end quarterback but still want a stable option around the 10th round of their draft.

No. 3 Jared Goff and Amon-Ra St. Brown3 of 5

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The Detroit Lions have emerged as a legitimate Super Bowl contender behind a rejuvenated Jared Goff and emergent Amon-Ra. St Brown. Both players received blockbuster four-year extensions this offseason, too.

Despite being a fourth-round pick in 2021, St. Brown found instant success in the NFL and has only improved since. He finished his rookie year as a respectable WR21 in PPR formats, progressed to the WR7 in 2022 and broke out as a true superstar with his WR3 performance last year. Despite that showing, St. Brown is only ranked as the WR5 with an ADP of 6.5, making him a strong value in the first round of 2024 fantasy drafts.

Goff has quietly become one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks over the last two years, a development aided by St. Brown’s presence. Although he got off to a rough start during his initial campaign in the Motor City, Goff finished as the QB10 in 2022 and moved up to QB7 last year. Despite that, he’s currently coming off draft boards as the QB16 with an ADP of 129.

Although the Lions did part ways with No. 2 wideout Josh Reynolds this offseason, they have 2022 first-round pick Jameson Williams waiting in the wings ready to take on a larger role. If he makes a leap, the passing offense will have plenty of firepower between St. Brown, Williams, emerging star tight end Sam LaPorta—who led all tight ends in PPR points last year—and versatile pass-catching back Jahmyr Gibbs.

While Detroit is stacked with weapons, St. Brown is still the clear-cut main option in this offense. He had a team-leading 164 targets in 2023—44 more than LaPorta—and is a legitimate candidate to lead the league in every major receiving category.

The Goff-ARSB battery is the real deal and is well worth stacking in your league.

No. 2: Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase4 of 5

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Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase have spent the better part of the last half-decade decimating opposing defenses. Nothing short of injuries should slow them in 2024.

This duo has been dominant ever since linking up at LSU in 2018, kicking off a pairing that was instrumental in winning a national championship the following season. Their connection continued in the NFL when the Cincinnati Bengals selected Burrow at the top of the 2020 draft and reunited him with Chase one year later.

On paper, Chase doesn’t appear to be much of a value as the WR3 with an ADP of 5 after back-to-back WR11 finishes. Burrow is a bit more affordable as the QB7 with an ADP of 60, but he finished last year as the QB25 during an injury-shortened season.

In his 38 NFL games with Burrow, Chase has amassed 237 catches for 3,308 yards and 28 touchdowns. Those numbers would be even more impressive if not for the various injuries that cost the duo time plenty of time together over the last two seasons. Chase missed five games in 2022, while Burrow was sidelined for the final seven games of last season.

Fantasy managers should be relieved to hear that Burrow is placing a heavy focus on staying healthy for the long haul. During an appearance on the Pardon My Take podcast (h/t ESPN), Burrow said he’s added 10-15 pounds of muscle during the offseason, changed up his training process and is working to incorporate more recovery time in his routine.

If the superstar signal-caller can stay on the field after missing significant action in two of his four NFL campaigns, the sky is the limit for him and Chase.

No. 1: Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb5 of 5

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The Dallas Cowboys boasted one of the NFL’s most high-flying offenses last year, ranking third in passing yards per game and first in passing touchdowns. This potent attack was spearheaded by Dak Prescott evolving into a legitimate MVP candidate—he finished behind only eventual winner Lamar Jackson in the voting—and CeeDee Lamb’s breakout campaign.

Lamb was downright unstoppable in 2023, finishing with a career-high 1,749 yards and 12 touchdowns on 135 receptions. He was a one-man show for much of the campaign, as Brandin Cooks was the Cowboys’ second-most productive wide receiver but had only 657 yards on 54 catches.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Lamb—who already was fantasy’s No. 1 scoring wideout last year—further raise his game in 2024. Dallas will need him to do so following a quiet offseason that saw more talent leave the roster than enter it.

Michael Gallup, the team’s No. 3 wideout, was released at the start of the new league year. The team didn’t make any notable pickups to replace him, either. Sixth-round wideout Ryan Flournoy was the Cowboys’ only free-agent pickup or draft selection at the position.

The hope is that Jalen Tolbert can step in to fill the void, but the third-year wideout caught only 22 passes for 268 yards in 2023. He still has to prove he can take on a sizable role.

Dallas’ ground game hasn’t been anything to write home about, either. It hovered around league average in rushing yards per game and scored only 14 rushing touchdowns in 2023.

The Cowboys could take another step back in that department following the departure of starter Tony Pollard. Dallas failed to replace him with a proven option outside of Ezekiel Elliott, who unceremoniously returned to the organization following a career-worst campaign with the New England Patriots.

With fewer weapons now surrounding him, Prescott could be in line for a slight regression from his QB3 finish in 2023. As the QB8 with an ADP of 67, he’ll still be worth stacking with Lamb—who is unsurprisingly the WR1 with an ADP of 2—due to the potential of this duo putting up historic numbers.