Wild Card Weekend changes everything for DFS. With a condensed slate and limited player pools, stacking becomes even more critical, and building around Puka Nacua offers one of the safest floors with elite ceiling.
That said, in an effort to touch on the highest number of players, I’m looking at the Wild Card DFS slate as a whole. Some of the ideas and research shared below can be repurposed into Showdown or Single Day slates; however, the content for those niche spots wouldn’t cover the larger schedule that is most popular among casual players.
Puka Nacua Wild Card DFS Stack
QB | Matthew Stafford (at CAR)
RB | Saquon Barkley (vs. SF)
RB | Woody Marks (at PIT)
WR | Puka Nacua (at CAR)
WR | Tetairoa McMillan (vs. LAR)
WR | Christian Watson (at CHI)
TE | Oronde Gadsden II (at NE)
Flex | Luther Burden III (vs. GB)
D/ST | Philadelphia Eagles (vs. SF)
We got news on Monday that the Rams expect Davante Adams (hamstring) to return to action this weekend, his first action since suffering a setback during Week 15.
Matthew Stafford is locked to the pocket and is the only QB I have ranked in the top tiers this week that plays like that, making him something of a unicorn for this slate. My expectation is that it will make him less attractive to the masses, but for those who do trend in this direction, to double down on his top two pass catchers.
I can’t blame them.
Stafford has cleared 25 fantasy points five times this season, with three of those games seeing both Puka Nacua and Adams active. In each of those contests, their combined target share has been north of 41% and they have recorded multiple TD receptions. In theory, I get the desire to double down, but this is a great spot to pivot off the norm.
MORE: PFSN’s FREE DFS Lineup Optimizer
You’ve seen me build rosters with Ram running backs before this, and that’s not random.
- Weeks 1-7: 67.7% success rate vs RBs (No. 5)
- Weeks 8-18: 56.3% success rate vs RBs (No. 28)
I don’t like pairing a running back with Stafford, but I do fear the backfield enough to wonder off the path of rostering two pass catchers as a part of this stock.
Tetairoa McMillan as a Puka Nacua Stack Bring-Back
Any part of a good stack involves considering the other side of the equation. Again, you need to assume you’re right in some of your assumptions, so I’m going to do that here.
I’m assuming this Los Angeles passing attack will thrive and that we’ll see them push the Panthers into an uncomfortable game environment.
In four of Stafford’s aforementioned five big games, the opponent has funneled over 31% of their targets to a single player (the lone exception was a game against the 49ers, where Christian McCaffrey earned a 25.6% target share, arguably more impressive than +31% for a receiver).
In essence, when forced to push against the Rams, the opposition has honed in on a single playmaker. Those dots aren’t hard to connect, but are the majority of Ram stackers going to be looking at Tetairoa McMillan?
Tetairoa McMillan is now the Panthers’ new rookie receiving yards leader with 1,013 on the season. pic.twitter.com/kWjFjt6HLN
— Preme Football (@premefootball) January 4, 2026
I’m not so sure. These teams met in Week 13, and the impressive rookie saw just 10% (a season low) of passes thrown his way as he was a clear focal point.
That’s a tough data point to swallow, and I expect many to use it as an excuse to pivot. But take it just half a step further, and you can come around to the idea of using him as a bring-back.
I play with advanced numbers a ton, but this isn’t one of those times. It’s basic. The Rams allocated time and energy to slow McMillan six weeks ago; that’s a fact. They lost and allowed 31 points, that’s also a fact.
MORE:Â Wild Card Fantasy Rankings for Every Position
I don’t think Los Angeles ignores McMillan, but if what they tried the first time didn’t result in the desired results, a change in scheme is possible, if not likely.
Philadelphia Eagles D/ST Pairs With Puka Nacua Stack
The D/ST position is highly variable, so I’m more concerned with rostering a unit that makes sense with the team I’ve built. You’ve seen me list the Eagles as my choice in consecutive lineups, so let’s get into it.
They have a stout run defense, and that, in part, fuels the sixth-highest opponent average depth of throw. There’s a need to stretch them vertically to loosen them up near the line of scrimmage, and when you’re a successful team like the Eagles, game script also demands increased aggression on the other side.
- Brock Purdy, deep passes (15+ yards): 78.7 rating (No. 24), 13.5% (No. 33, last)
- Brock Purdy, short passes (under 10 yards): 110.3 rating (No. 1), 0.5% INT (No. 4)
Notice that I didn’t pair the Eagles D/ST in my stack (Lineup #1). Not a mistake. We need the defense to make splash plays, and if they are doing that, counting on the passing game in any capacity is a risk that isn’t worth taking.
The ownership of the D/ST figures to be flat: I think we get as much upside as anyone with this play, and it allows us to likely back the CMC lineups into a bit of a corner.