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NFL · One-Off

What Is a One-Off in DFS?

Last updated October 4, 2026 by Ship It Nation

In NFL DFS, a one-off is a player you select outside your stacks, commonly a running back or a receiver without his quarterback. An opposing receiver intentionally paired with your stack instead serves as a bring-back.

Why It Matters

You can use a running back's workload or a receiver's targets to strengthen a lineup built around another offense. A receiver still depends on his quarterback to deliver the ball, but you do not have to roster both. Compare that receiver's individual upside with the benefit of adding another player to your existing stack.

Example

Say your lineup already includes a quarterback and one of his receivers. You add a running back from a different game who projects for 20 carries and four targets, without anyone else from that matchup. He is a one-off because you are buying his workload rather than building around his team's offense.

Pro tip

Before adding a one-off, compare him with an affordable teammate of your existing stack. Decide whether his individual upside is worth passing up that extra scoring connection.

Hear Us Break It Down

Hand-picked moments from our free live streams where our hosts break down this term.

Balance popular one-offs with a lower-owned stack You can use Parker Washington individually without building around his whole game. Pairing popular one-offs with a lower-owned stack gives you another way to make your lineup different. “When you play them as one-offs, you should have a lower-owned stack.” NFL · Sunday, Oct 4 17:13 ▶ Why a player can fit a stack better than a one-off You can question Williams as a standalone play at his ownership while liking him in a less popular double stack. Pairing him with Geno Smith connects his upside to the same strong passing performance your quarterback needs. NFL · Saturday, Sep 26 38:20 ▶ Why too many one-offs can limit your lineup's ceiling You need enough of your individual selections to hit when you fill a lineup with one-offs. Even if several succeed, misses elsewhere can hold down your total, which is why the discussion questions builds relying on too many separate player outcomes. “And it's hard to dodge landmines where you might pick some really good one-offs in your lineup, but if you have too many one-offs, you're also going to miss some.” NFL · Saturday, Sep 26 42:52 ▶
More mentions 12
THU 10/8 “But the Cowboys did have so many points outscoring those other guys that you just needed that one off with five grand on the table.” 24:23 ▶ MON 10/5 “Different one-offs here and there, right, in different situations.” 9:04 ▶ SUN 10/4 “I mean, obviously a lot of guys are in play when we talk about game stacks and stuff, but as like one-off pieces, I think we're good.” 44:36 ▶ SUN 10/4 “I wouldn't be surprised if that's James Cook ownership and, at that number he's a good place I'll have him in the player pool yeah I like more one-offs in this game like you said I think James Cook a really good play $7,400 just the way...” 11:53 ▶ SAT 10/3 “If you're trying to build a lineup where you're just trying to hit on, let's say, two or three contrarian one-offs that are meant to be better values than some of these guys, that, to me, seems like a really hard route.” 38:14 ▶ THU 10/1 “One-off guys. I think you can see your rooms. Evans and Coleman, you can start your lineups there.” 6:50 ▶ MON 9/28 “Like, again, if you're already going in on the game stack, this is also to, um, Blickle and I talked about this on leverage lane on Saturday, but we said on a week like this, when everyone's sort of picking these one-offs and these second...” 32:01 ▶ SUN 9/27 “If you had some Tootin one-offs because you're trying to leverage Parker Washington, I guess, as a cheap running back.” 28:57 ▶ SAT 9/26 “And it's hard to dodge landmines where you might pick some really good one-offs in your lineup, but if you have too many one-offs, you're also going to miss some.” 43:02 ▶ FRI 9/25 “Joe Mack, I think is a decent one-off catcher as a value play, especially when we want to spend up at pitcher.” 21:05 ▶ FRI 9/25 “Raleigh Brown does intrigue me as a little one-off.” 6:47 ▶ THU 9/24 “I can't even really recommend really too many one-offs that I could say.” 15:41 ▶

Common Questions

Are one-offs bad in DFS tournaments?

No. A strong one-off can complement a tournament stack through his scoring potential, salary or ownership. He does not have to be unpopular, especially when your stack is already different from the field. The question is whether he improves the complete lineup more than an additional stacked player would.

What is the difference between a one-off and a punt?

A one-off describes a player's relationship to your other selections; a punt describes his low salary. An expensive star can be a one-off, and a cheap player can belong to a stack. A player is both when you roster him individually to save salary.

Is a bring-back the same as a one-off?

Not necessarily. A bring-back is an opposing player you add to benefit from the same game as your stack. Even if he is your only player from his team, he serves a connected role in a game stack. A true standalone one-off is selected outside that connection.

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