Welcome to the weekly wide receiver/cornerback breakdown for fantasy football, PLAYOFF EDITION! All season here, we have analyzed each of the outside matchups one by one, as well as some of my favorite matchups in the slot. Even though season-long leagues are done, there are different playoff leagues and plenty of people looking to make some money in DFS, so we still want to help you win. In any format, it is important to dig deep and find the best matchups to gain a competitive advantage, optimize your starting lineups, and win! This article is critical for fantasy football players as it will help you find the right matchups to target when setting your lineups. You can follow me on Twitter, @FantasyCoachJB, and reach out with all your fantasy football questions as well.

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Fantasy Football WR/CB Matchup Report Divisional Round:

WR CB Matchup Report
      
Left WR vs Right CB
Wide ReceiverTeamDK / FD $CornerbackOppMatchup
Rashod BatemanBAL$4000 / $5100Steven NelsonHOURisky
Houston plays sides and Nelson lines up on the right side about 95% of the time, The Houston secondary has been playing good football and both outside corners have a less than 60% reception percentage allowed in their coverage. Bateman did see 6 targets in week 17 but has yet to score double digit fantasy points this season so that makes him risky. He does see some red zone targets so he could be used as a GPP flyer but nothing more than that.
Stefon DiggsBUF$7000 / $7500L'Jarius SneedKCModerate
Once again Diggs will see a tough matchup as he will likely see a shadow from Sneed. Sneed has yet to allow a touchdown in his coverage all season and has only allowed a 50% reception percentage while playing shadow coverage on some of the best receivers in the league. Diggs and Allen definitely have shown a little disconnect this season, but Diggs does still see plenty of targets as the main receiver. The targets and talent make him playable, but the matchup caps his upside so I cant call him a safe play this week.
Jameson WilliamsDET$3600 / $5300Jamel DeanTBModerate
Last week we saw Williams run his highest route percentage of the season at 87%, but he wasn't able to do much with the increased usage as he only saw 2 targets. Dean has been known to get beat deep so Williams with his great speed could certainly get behind Dean for a big play, so he can be used as a DFS flyer, but the target share isnt safe enough to trust other than that.
Romeo DoubsGB$5600 / $6100Ambry ThomasSFSafe
What a game from Doubs in the wild card round where he put up 27 PPR points catching 6 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown. He saw a 29% target share which was partially the result of Watson being eased back in from his injury, and partially because Doubs and Love were just rolling. If the connection continues, it is a good matchup for Doubs against Thomas who is the lesser of the 49ers cornerbacks. He has allowed a near 70% reception percentage in his coverage which is much more generous than Ward on the other side. Doubs is a low-end WR2 for me and can be used this week in a situation where Green Bay should have to throw to keep up with San Francisco.
Nico CollinsHOU$7100 / $8700Brandon StephensBALSafe
Last week I said "Cleveland has a great defense, but Stroud and Collins are clicking right now andI dont see that stopping even in a tough matchup." Collins went out and caught 6 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown and did not disappoint. Nico has seen 7 or more targets in 6 of his last 8 games and has scored over 20 fantasy points 4 times in that span. While Baltimore is one of the best defenses in the league, Stephens has still allowed 706 receiving yards in his coverage so there is opportunity for Collins to still make his mark in this game. With the roll he is on, we can continue to ride the hot hand, even in a tougher matchup.
Justin WatsonKC$3300 / $5000Rasul DouglasBUFRisky
Watson continues to run the most routes of the rotational outside receivers in kansas City, but he doesn't see enough target volume to trust in fantasy. He has only seen more than 3 targets twice in his last 8 games and has only scored double digit fantasy points twice all season. Especially in a matchup against Douglas who has been a great addition to the Buffalo defense, Watson is a no for me this week.
Deebo SamuelSF$7700 / $8300Jaire AlexanderGBSafe
Deebo had a solid stretch in the back half of the season, scoring 18 or more fantasy points in 5 of the 6 games from week 12-17. We all know he is an explosive playmaker and can score at any given time with the ball in his hand, but he will get a tougher matchup this week and likely see a bit of a shadow from Jaire Alexander. Alexander has only allowed 2 touchdowns in his coverage this season so the matchup does make me pump the brakes a bit on Deebo and prefer to look at Aiyuk on the other side, but its not enough to scare me off Deebo completely.
Mike EvansTB$7200 / $7600Cameron SuttonDETModerate
The Lions have used Sutton to shadow at times since they haven't gotten consistent play out of whatever corner is opposite him. In an instance like this one, they could use him to shadow Evans and Melifonwu could also help over the top. Evans is always a threat to score as evident by his league leading touchdown tally, but Detroit will focus their coverage on him and that will limit his upside this week.
      
Right WR vs Left CB
Wide ReceiverTeamDraftKings/FanDuelCornerbackOppMatchup
Odell Beckham.BAL$4600 / $5600Derek StingleyHOURisky
Beckham has been dealing with nagging injuries so his snap percentage has been way down. He hasn't seen more than 3 targets since week 14 so I'll be curious to see if he gets an increased usage in the playoffs with a couple of weeks to rest up. The matchup is a tough one as well as Houston has been playing well on defense and Stingley is one of the premier young corners in the league who has only allowed a 52% reception percentage and 355 yards in his coverage this season. With a tough matchup and questionable usage, I cant trust Odell this week.
Gabe DavisBUF$5000 / $6000Jaylen WatsonKCRisky
A PCL strain kept Davis out of the wild card round but he is considered day-to-day for this weeks game so keep an eye on the practice reports. Even if he does play, he will resume his typical boom/bust role but with Diggs locked in the Sneed shadow coverage, there could be some increased targets headed Davis' way. Even with a few more targets, his inconsistency and injury concern make him risky this week.
Josh ReynoldsDET$3700 / $6100Carlton Davis IIITBRisky
Reynolds has plenty of snaps but his issue has always been the lack of targets to go along with the snaps. Last week he saw a healthy 7 targets and scored double digit fantasy points with his 5 grabs. He will likely come back to the 4-5 target range this week and while the matchup is decent, there just wont be enough volume to trust as anything more than a DFS pay-down flyer.
Christian WatsonGB$4200 / $5800Charvarious WardSFRisky
Easing his way back from his hamstring injury, Watson only saw 1 target last week and was rotating with Wicks and Melton. His usage could increase this week but even if it does, the matchup against Ward is a tough one. Ward is graded 9th in PFF cornerback coverage grades and has only allowed a 54% reception percentage in his coverage. I dont trust that Watson is healthy enough to contribute significantly in a tough matchup.
John MetchieHOU$3400 / $5000Marlon HumphreyBALModerate
Noah Brown was questionable coming into last week and tried to play but was knocked out of the game right off the bat. With him out, Metchie had a 68% route percentage which was second on the team to Nico Collins. Humphrey has only allowed a 50% reception percentage and 1 touchdown in his coverage on the season, but he is still dealing with a calf injuryand could miss this one too, forcing Ronald Darby into an increased role. Metchie will continue to see an increased role with the injuries in the wide receiver room, so at the low price point he is at, he can be considered a DFS dart throw if youre looking to save some salary, especially if Humphrey is out.
Marquez Valdes-ScantlingKC$3000 / $4700Christian BenfordBUFRisky
Benford is dealing with a knee injury that knocked him out of last week's game. If he cant go it would be Kair Elam who is a much better matchup, but even if the matchup becomes more favorable, the 6% target share he sees is just too risky to trust. MVS is rotating with Mecole Hardman and it was Hardman who got some quality looks so if you wanted to take a dart throw at a Chiefs receiver then you could possibly try Hardman (3000/4800) but know it is still a risk with his limited action.
Brandon AiyukSF$6900 / $7900Carrington ValentineGBSafe
If you take out the week 18 game that he only ran a few routes, Aiyuk has been one of the most reliable fantasy receivers this season. He has scored double digit fantasy points in every game but 2 from week 1-17. He has averages 6.5 targets per game and 16.5 PPR points in that span and gets a plus matchup this week against Valentine who allows 11.6 yards per reception in his coverage. With Deebo likely to see a lot of Jaire Alexander, Aiyuk could see a few extra targets coming his way this week and that along with the matchup makes him a good play in the divisional weekend.
Chris GodwinTB$6300 / $6900Kindle VildorDETSafe
Vildor took over for the struggling Jerry Jacobs but he hasn't been much better. In the 6 games he has played, he has allowed 289 yards on 12 receptions and 3 touchdowns in his coverage. This is a plus matchup for Godwin and with Evans seeing extra attention it could lead to a heavy volume Godwin game this week. He is one of my favorite plays of the week, especially if the Bucs get down and need to throw. This could be one of those games where Godwin sees double digit targets.

Top Matchups in the Slot for Divisional Round:

Slot WR vs Slot CB
Wide ReceiverTeamDraftKings/FanDuelCornerbackOppMatchup
Amon-Ra St. BrownDET$8200 / $9200Christian IzienTBSafe
We have been targeting Christian Izien for weeks now in this article and this week it is ARSB who gets to take advantage of Izien. He has allowed close to an 80% reception percentage and 300 yards after the catch in his coverage this season. This plays into St. Brown's strength as he is a catch and run guy who can take those short and intermediate passes and turn them into big plays. He is one of my favorite plays of the week in a very favorable matchup.
Rashee RiceKC$6800 / $7800Taron JohnsonBUFSafe
Taron Johnson needs to clear concussion protocol to go, but if he doesnt, this becomes a great matchup for Rice who has become the #1 receiver in Kansas City. Over the past 6 weeks Rice has emerged as a trusted target for Patrick Mahomes and he is seeing an averagoe of about 9 targets per game and has finished as a top 15 PPR wide receiver in 4 of his 5 games in that span. With the target share he is seeing, he offers a safe floor with a high ceiling that gets even higher if Johnson is out.
Zay FlowersBAL$6000 / $7000Desmond KingHOUSafe
This is the matchup I like the most for Baltimore this week. The outside corners for the Texans are very good in coverage, but King is more of a tackling corner than a cover corner. He has allowed 31 catches on 35 passes thrown his way since taking over the starting nickel corner role so it is a positive matchup for a guy like Flowers who is a high volume receiver. Flowers has been a favorite target of Lamar Jackson, seeing double digit targets in 2 of his last 4 games and scoring 18 or more PPR points in 4 of his last 5.
Jayden ReedGB$5200 / $6600Deommodore LenoirSFSafe
The Packers exploded for 48 points last week but Reed, who has been one of their leading contributors, put up a goose egg. With the Packers playing with a lead most of the game, they went run heavy and played 2 tight end sets for a big portion of the game and Reed came out of the lineup more than he usually does. This week should require more passing to keep up with San Francisco, so Reed should bounce back and could be lesser owned in GPP after last weeks dud if people arent looking deep enough into the "why". Lenoir has allowed over 800 receiving yards in his coverage so in a good matchup, with a good predictive game script and a solid price point, I like Reed a lot in DFS this week.
Khalil ShakirBUF$3800 / $5900Trent McDuffieKCSafe
We saw Shakir score last week after putting a nice move on the defender for a run after the catch score. I like Shakir as a solid value DFS play and a sneaky playoff league play since Diggs will have a tough matchup with Sneed, and Davis may or not play with the PCL injury. Shakir should see an increased target share against McDuffie who is good, but has allowed a 68.5% reception percentage and 11 yards per reception in his coverage.