2023 Fantasy Football WR/CB Match-Up Report Week 17: Justin Jefferson Will Lead You to a Fantasy Title
Welcome to the weekly wide receiver/cornerback breakdown for fantasy football Week 17! Here, we analyze each of the outside matchups one by one, as well as 10 of my favorite matchups in the slot. If you're still here, you are likely in your fantasy championship or looking to make some money in DFS, so 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 at this time of the year, 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 Week 17
| WR CB Matchup Report | |||||
| Left WR vs Right CB | |||||
| Wide Receiver | Team | DK / FD $ | Cornerback | Opp | Matchup |
| Marquise Brown | ARI | $5200 / $6200 | Kelee Ringo | PHI | Risky |
| The heel/ankle injury has really been bothering Brown and it takes away his speed which is his biggest asset. He didnt play last week but they're saying he could return this week. The the likely lack of burst and rust, I would not be able to trust Brown this week in fantasy playoffs or DFS lineups. | |||||
| Drake London | ATL | $5000 / $6100 | Jaylon Johnson | CHI | Risky |
| Johnson is the #1 graded corner in PFF coverage grades and has only given up 1 touchdown on the season to go with his 49% reception percentage in his coverage. Between the tough matchup and the nightmare that is Arthur Smith coaching, I cant trust London in your fantasy championship or DFS lineup this week. | |||||
| Odell Beckham. | BAL | $4500 / $5800 | Jalen Ramsey | MIA | Risky |
| Beckham had a couple of nice weeks but he has been battling injuries and the Ravens offense has been heavily focused on Zay Flowers and tight end Isaiah Likely who both have great rapport with Lamar Jackson. This week Baltimore faces another tough matchup against Miami and Ramsey has only allowed 14 receptions in his coverage since returning. | |||||
| Stefon Diggs | BUF | $8200 / $7600 | Jonathan Jones | NE | Moderate |
| Diggs had another down week last week only catching 5 passes for 29 yards, but he did still lead the team with a 38% target percentage. He and Allen just aren't connecting and in a matchup against New England this week, Bill Belicheck will likely look to take Diggs away so it could be another tough one. Jones has had a good season, only allowing a 61% reception percentage and 1 touchdown in his coverage and will likely have some safety help with Diggs most of the time too. I wouldn't bench him in fantasy championships unless you're loaded, but I don't expect a huge game either so wouldnt use him in DFS. | |||||
| DJ Chark Jr. | CAR | $3600 / $6000 | Tyson Campbell | JAC | Risky |
| I said last week "Chark doesn't get a lot of targets so he is still risky but if you get Stokes out there then he could be considered as a DFS dart throw.".If you used him in DFS you were very happy after a 2 touchdown game. Take that money and run, it wont happen again this week. | |||||
| DJ Moore | CHI | $6600 / $7500 | AJ Terrell | ATL | Moderate |
| Dealing with a high ankle sprain, Moore will be tough to trust this week and also gets a downgrade with the Terrell shadow coming. Terrell is one of the best shadow coverage corners and has limited some of the leagues best receivers. Moore will be hard to trust and is more of a flex option in your fantasy championships. | |||||
| Ja'Marr Chase | CIN | $7600 / $8300 | L'Jarius Sneed | KC | Moderate |
| As of Wednesday, Chase was taking part of the walk-through practice and may be trying to return this week. He wont be 100%, but if he is out there he is in a WR2 range and you have to play him in your championships. KC gives up a ton of receptions and receiving yards to opposing receivers so the matchups is good. If Chase cant go, this will be Andrei Iosivas ($3200/$4900) again playing the understudy role and he can definitely be considered a DFS dart throw who should see some volume. | |||||
| Amari Cooper | CLE | $7200 / $7500 | DJ Reed. | NYJ | Moderate |
| We liked Cooper in a plus matchup last week and he had a historic game and led a lot of people to championship games this week. Unfortunately, now he has to face the Jets secondary which is arguably the best cornerback duo in the league. With the tough matchup, I downgrade Cooper into the low-end WR2 range so he is still usable in your championships, just dont expect a repeat of last week. | |||||
| Michael Gallup | DAL | $3200 / $5100 | Cameron Sutton | DET | Risky |
| Still sharing the outside spot with Tolbert and Turpin, Gallup only had 2 catches for 4 yards last week and just cant be trusted. | |||||
| Brandon Johnson | DEN | $3300 / $4700 | Michael Davis | LAC | Risky |
| With Courtland Sutton in concussion protocol and unlikely to play, this spot will likely be a split between Johnson and Marvin Mims The Broncos also decided to bench Russell Wilson this week and will be going with Jarrett Stidham at quarterback "to try to provide a spark" to the offense. I wish this was Sutton because the matchup is good against the Davis who has allowed 9 touchdowns in his coverage, so if he somehow clears protocol you play him, but Johnson/Mims splitting the duties is too risky. | |||||
| Jameson Williams | DET | $3800 / $5200 | DaRon Bland | DAL | Moderate |
| With the increased usage lately and still at a low DFS salary, Williams is intriguing as a DFS pay-down play this week. He was second on the team in targets and catches last week and this game should be a shootout where they will need to throw to keep up with Dallas. I like him as a WR3/Flex play in season long as well as a solid DFS option. | |||||
| Romeo Doubs | GB | $5600 / $5700 | Mekhi Blackmon | MIN | Moderate |
| Doubs got back into the endzone last week and scored nearly 18 fantasy points. With the wide receiver room still being banged up in Green Bay, Doubs is one of the only healthy options left for Jordan Love so the volume should be there. On top of it, the matchup against Minnesota is good as they allow nearly 170 receiving yards per game to opposing wide receivers. Doubs is a WR3/Flex option for me. | |||||
| Nico Collins | HOU | $7200 / $7300 | Tre Avery | TEN | Safe |
| It was a rough game for Houston last week as they went through 2 backup quarterbacks and were outplayed all game by Cleveland. This week they face a much more generous secondary in Tennessee and Nico will get backup cornerback Tre Avery in coverage who has allowed a 76% reception percentage and 6 touchdowns in the 10 games he has played this season. If C.J. Stroud is back this week, Nico is a must start. If its Mills (or Keenum), its a downgrade, but I still like the matchup so Id move him to moderate. | |||||
| Michael Pittman | IND | $7500 / $7700 | Amik Robertson | LV | Safe |
| Last week we were confused on if Pittman was playing or not. First he was cleared but then we were told that new concussion symptoms put him back into the protocol and forced him to miss the game. If he can go this week, we like the matchup against Robertson and would have him in there as a back end WR1. Keep an eye on the injury reports throughout the week. | |||||
| Calvin Ridley | JAC | $6700 / $7100 | Donte Jackson | CAR | Safe |
| I said in last week's article, "with the plus matchup and the volume Ridley is seeing, he should have a solid PPR floor" and he did much more with 2 touchdowns and 25.8 fantasy points. This week the matchup is much tougher against Carolina, but Jackson has allowed 4 touchdowns in his coverage on the season. The matchup is neutral but the volume is there for Ridley to continue to have the safe floor, even if Trevor Lawrence is out. | |||||
| Justin Watson | KC | $3400 / $5300 | Chidobe Awuzie | CIN | Moderate |
| With Kansas City struggling and Pat Mahomes looking to get back on track, he has been trying to find pass catchers he can trust and Watson seems to be one of them. He has caught 3 touchdowns in te past 6 weeks and saw 6 targets last week which put him clearly ahead of the rest of the bunch as the guy after Kelce and Rice. The Bengals are a plus matchup for receivers as well soI like Watson as a DFS bargain play with his touchdown upside in a good matchup. | |||||
| Davante Adams | LV | $7400 / $7200 | Jaylon Jones | IND | Moderate |
| I told you last week that the Sneed shadow would be worrisome and Adams had a dud with 1 catch for 4 yards. The matchup gets better this week against Jones who has allowed 4 touchdowns and 11 yards per reception in his coverage. Vegas has played well with the ground and pound approach, but Adams is still a stud who you need to play in your championships and can be a contrarian play in DFS at a decent price. | |||||
| Joshua Palmer | LAC | $4900 / $6000 | Pat Surtain II | DEN | Risky |
| Palmer has immediately stepped into a lead receiver role with Keenan Allen out and he led the team in snap and target percentage last week. While Surtain probably wont shadow Palmer, he will see plenty of him which definitely limits his upside. Between the negative matchup and Easton Stick at quarterback, Palmer is risky in fantasy championships. | |||||
| Demarcus Robinson | LAR | $4600 / $6400 | Deonte Banks | NYG | Moderate |
| Even after Tutu Atwell cleared concussion protocol, Robinson still started and had 6 catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. He was already starting to eat into the role a bit but he has now scored touchdowns in 3 straight games and is a legit threat in an offense that is rolling right now. He will still be behind Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua in the target pecking order so he will still carry some risk with limited volume, but he can be a touchdown dependent pay-down DFS option with the way he has played these past few weeks. | |||||
| Cedrick Wilson | MIA | $3600 / $5300 | Brandon Stephens | BAL | Moderate |
| Jaylen Waddle is dealing with a high ankle sprain and will likely miss this week, thrusting Wilson into a starting role. He has been a good contributor to this offense and saw a near 15% target share last week. It is a tough matchup against the Ravens #1 ranked coverage secondary so even with the increase in usage, Wilson will be tough to trust as anything other than a GPP dart throw. | |||||
| Justin Jefferson | MIN | $8800 / $9200 | Carrington Valentine | GB | Safe |
| This could have been a great matchup between Jefferson and Jaire Alexander but Alexander is now suspended after apparently making himself captain and crashing the coin toss last week. Without Alexander, Jefferson gets the recently benched Carrington Valentine, making this one of the best matchups on the slate this week and sets up Jefferson (with no Hockenson) to have a monster day and lead people to fantasy championships. | |||||
| Devante Parker | NE | $3600 / $5300 | Rasul Douglas | BUF | Risky |
| Douglas has played great in Buffalo after being traded from Green Bay at the deadline. The New England offense is not exciting and Parker cant be trusted in week 17 in a tough matchup. | |||||
| A.T. Perry | NO | $3500 / $4900 | Carlton Davis | TB | Risky |
| Even with a plus matchup against Tampa Bay's secondary, Perry isnt seeing enough volume to be trusted. He did catch his lone pass last week for a 35 yard touchdown so if you want a contrarian GPP dart throw you could consider him in this plus matchup, but he has just as good of a chance of putting up a goose egg so he is too risky for me. | |||||
| Jalin Hyatt | NYG | $3200 / $5200 | Cobie Durant | LAR | Risky |
| After showing us a flash mid-season, Hyatt has done nothing the past 2 weeks. He didnt even see a target last week. Even in what should be a plus matchup, he is too risky with the lack of targets. | |||||
| Garrett Wilson | NYJ | $5800 / $7000 | Martin Emerson Jr. | CLE | Moderate |
| Even with all of the quarterback issues in New York, Wilson has been able to sustain fantasy value, and showed it again with ANOTHER backup quarterback last week reeling in 9 passes on 14 targets. Yes, Cleveland is a good defense, but the PPR floor with all the targets Wilson sees makes him a guy you can still start in your championship games, even though it wont be pretty and the ceiling is capped. | |||||
| A.J. Brown | PHI | $8600 / $8500 | Antonio Hamilton Sr. | ARI | Safe |
| Here is another one of my favorite matchups this week. Arizona has allowed 27 receiving touchdowns and just about 3,500 yards in their coverage this season and Brown is heavily targeted most weeks as Jalen Hurts' favorite target. He should see plenty of volume in a great matchup, making him a must start everywhere. | |||||
| George Pickens | PIT | $5300 / $6800 | Tariq Woolen | SEA | Safe |
| What a monster performance we saw from Pickens last week! Grant it, he had it on most people's bench, but he showed us what his ceiling looks like. The matchup gets tougher this week against Seattle and Woolen who has only allowed a 62% reception percentage and 3 touchdowns in his coverage on the year. It's a neutral matchup, and I consider Pickens a high-end WR3 coming off his career game and looking like he will once again have Rudolph at quarterback who clearly likes throwing to him. | |||||
| Brandon Aiyuk | SF | $7000 / $7500 | Kendall Fuller | WAS | Safe |
| Against a tough Baltimore defense, Aiyuk racked up the yardage with 113 yards on 6 catches and has gone over 100 receiving yards in 2 of his last 3 games and has done is 6 times this season. He now gets a great matchup against Washington as well who allows over 260 passing yards per game and has also given up 33 receiving touchdowns. | |||||
| DK Metcalf | SEA | $7100 / $7300 | Joey Porter Jr. | PIT | Moderate |
| Metcalf has been on a heater this past month or so, but gets a tough matchup this week against Porter who has been a great shadow corner and has limited some big receivers such as DeAndre Hopkins, Amari Cooper, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Porter and the Steelers have allowed the sixth fewest fantasy points to receivers in the past 4 weeks so while you will certainly play Metcalf in your fantasy championship, Im downgrading him a bit with a tough matchup on hand. | |||||
| Mike Evans | TB | $7800 / $8700 | Isaac Yiadom | NO | Safe |
| Usually we get to see Evans battle with Marshon Lattimore in these Bucs/Saints games, but not this time. With Lattimore still injured, Evans will see Yiadom who has played well, but is no match for Evans. Evans scored 2 more touchdowns last week to give him a league leading 13 on the season and is clearly Baker Mayfield's favorite target. Its a good matchup for a guy who is clearly always a threat to score touchdowns, in a game they are playing to try to lock up a division title. | |||||
| DeAndre Hopkins | TEN | $6000 / $6700 | Steven Nelson | HOU | Moderate |
| With Ryan Tannehill back at quarterback last week, Hopkins led the receivers in targets... with 4... They did go very run heavy last week and will likely do that once again this week against a Houston defense that can be beat on the ground. If Houston gets Stroud back and their offense gets going, the Titans will have to throw to keep up so I would consider Hopkins a flex option in your fantasy championships as he should have a decent floor this week. | |||||
| Terry McLaurin | WAS | $5500 / $6600 | Ambry Thomas | SF | Moderate |
| For the second week in a row the struggling Sam Howell was benched for veteran Jacoby Brissett and now Washington has turned the reins over to Brissett moving forward. This is good for McLaurin who has produced well with Brissett and caught 2 touchdown passes from him in week 15. San Francisco has shown vulnerability in the secondary so I like McLaurin to have a good game to be a high-end WR3 for your championship matchup. | |||||
| Right WR vs Left CB | |||||
| Wide Receiver | Team | DraftKings/FanDuel | Cornerback | Opp | Matchup |
| Michael Wilson | ARI | $3500 / $5100 | James Bradberry | PHI | Risky |
| There are numbers that I like, such as his 90% snap share and team leading 71 air yards, but in their 2 games together so far Wilson has not clicked with Kyler Murray. He can be a big target for him and in a game where they will need to score to keep up with Philly, there should be opportunity. With no track record though, Wilson is nothing more than a DFS dart throw this week, but a decent one. | |||||
| Van Jefferson | ATL | $3000 / $4500 | Tyrique Stevenson | CHI | RIsky |
| We dont even trust the best Falcons players like Drake London, Bijan Robinson and Kyle Pitts so theres no way you can feel safe about Jefferson or anyone else. That said, he is one of my favorite min-priced GPP dart throw in a matchup against Stevenson who is among the most generous cornerbacks in the league. Think of him as a scratch ticket, dont expect to win but when it hits its fun. | |||||
| Rashod Bateman | BAL | $3600 / $5300 | Xavien Howard | MIA | Risky |
| In a rotation on the outside with Beckham and Nelson Agholor, there simply isnt enough volume to trust any of the pieces in the Baltimore receiving game behind Flowers and Likely. | |||||
| Gabe Davis | BUF | $5500 / $6900 | Alex Austin | NE | Moderate |
| You probably didn't believe me, but I told you here and also on Coop's Fantasy Football Fiasco that "this week IS a Gabe Davis week." and the reason why is because he struggles against man coverage but plays well against zone. Well this week he faces New England who plays zone coverage on about 65% of their defensive snaps and will also have extra attention on limiting Diggs. I like Davis once again to contribute for a decent floor and a good mid-range option in DFS against some more zone coverage on the side of the rookie Austin. | |||||
| Jonathan Mingo | CAR | $3500 / $5200 | Darious Williams | JAC | Risky |
| Carolina is just bad. Mingo is playing a healthy snap share and has been seeing targets prior to last week, but this whole offense is risky to trust, especially with a matchup against Williams who is graded as a top 15 cover corner on PFF. | |||||
| Darnell Mooney | CHI | $3900 / $4900 | Clark Phillips III | ATL | Moderate |
| With a banged up Moore likely seeing a Terrell shadow this week, there should be increased opportunities for Mooney. I wouldnt trust him enough for season long championship matchups, but hes a good pay-down DFS option against a backup corner in Phillips, especially with Cole Kmet also banged up. | |||||
| Tee Higgins | CIN | $6500 / $7800 | Jaylen Watson | KC | Safe |
| We are hoping Chase plays so he sees the Sneed shadow which would create a great matchup for Higgins against Watson on the other side. Higgins is coming off a 140 yard game with a touchdown and Watson has allowed 5 touchdowns in his coverage on the season. Higgins is a solid WR2 for me this week. | |||||
| Cedric Tillman | CLE | $3200 / $5000 | Sauce Gardner | NYJ | Risky |
| Since being given the increased opportunities, Tillman has played a 72-80% snap share so the arrow is pointing up for Tillman. Unfortunately he will match up with Sauce Gardner this week so I will look elsewhere this week but keep an eye on him for DFS next week and try to trade for him in dynasty.. | |||||
| Brandin Cooks | DAL | $4900 / $6100 | Khalil Dorsey | DET | Safe |
| Other than catching a touchdown last week, Cooks has had a few down weeks in a row. This game has the makings of a shootout and with Dallas poised for a playoff run, they will defintely be looking to get him back in the mix and back involved in the offense. I like Cooks as a WR3/Flex play this week with the hopes he will see a little target bump while still getting quality looks for touchdown opportunities. | |||||
| Jerry Jeudy | DEN | $5100 / $6200 | Asante Samuel Jr. | LAC | Moderate |
| Jeudy gets a little bump this week because Sutton will likely miss this game in concussion protocol which will open more opportunities for Jeudy like it did last week when he led the team in targets. The Chargers are the 7th lowest graded team in coverage grades on PFF and they have allowed 4,202 yards and 25 touchdowns in their coverage this season. The matchup and anticipated volume is there to make him useful this week. | |||||
| Josh Reynolds | DET | $3400 / $5500 | Stephon Gilmore | DAL | Risky |
| A 59.5% snap share, 10% target share and a matchup against Gilmore makes Reynolds a risky play in championship week. | |||||
| Christian Watson | GB | $4700 / $6800 | Akayleb Evans | MIN | Risky |
| Keep an eye on the injury report, but with Green Bay fighting for their lives, if he can go, he likely will. If he does play, I like the matchup against Evans but I dont think I can trust Watson's hamstrings enough to start him with the fear he could tweak the injury and come out early. Its too risky for me in championship week and I will look elsewhere until I know he is fully healthy. | |||||
| Noah Brown | HOU | $5100 / $6500 | Roger McCreary | TEN | Safe |
| Brown led the team in targets last week but it was a mess with the backup quarterbacks. Stroud should be back this week and if he is, I like Brown in a matchup against the porous Tennessee secondary who is tied for the 4th lowest graded team coverage grade, and McCreary who has allowed 549 receiving yards in his coverage. | |||||
| Alec Pierce | IND | $3900 / $5400 | Jack Jones | LV | Moderate |
| If I told you that Pierce saw 7 targets and had 114 air yards last week with Michael Pittman out, you'd think hed at least had a decent game. He only had 3 catches for 30 yards and 6 fantasy points. He cant be trusted, especially against a Raiders defense that has been playing great football of late. | |||||
| Tim Jones | JAC | $3000 / $4800 | Jaycee Horn | CAR | RIsky |
| We know Christian Kirk is on IR and now it is looking like Zay Jones is trending towards not playing this week. If he doesnt play, Tim Jones played the second highest snap share last week after Ridley, so he gets the spor in the article, but in a tough matchup and sharing snaps with several others, he doesnt get a spot in my lineups. | |||||
| Marquez Valdes-Scantling | KC | $3100 / $5100 | DJ Turner | CIN | Risky |
| His 57% snap percentage on the season is the highest of all Chiefs receivers but he has done next to nothing with the opportunities and Mahomes hasnt had time in the pocket to get any of those long MVS routes going. Too risky. | |||||
| Jakobi Meyers | LV | $5300 / $6800 | JuJu Brents | IND | Moderate |
| Now healthy again, the rookie Brents is back to playing at a high level and will be a tough matchup for Meyers. The Vegas offense has been led by the ground game with Aidan O'Connell struggling to get a consistent flow going with his receivers. Meyers is still seeing a 26% target share in a consolidated passing game, so he is still in the mix as a flex option, but he is fairly risky with the shaky quarterback situation and tougher matchup this week. | |||||
| Quentin Johnston | LAC | $3700 / $5600 | Fabian Moreau | DEN | Risky |
| Johnston has only 2 catches in back to back weeks playing in a struggling offense under Easton Stick. He is getting the opportunity to play since there arent many other receiving options, but evin in a decent matchup against Moreau, he hasnt shown us enough upside to trust him in championship week. | |||||
| Puka Nacua | LAR | $7900 / $7900 | Adoree' Jackson | NYG | Safe |
| Jackson is the 113th graded corner of the123 graded on PFF and he has allowed 13.2 yards per reception in his coverage. Puka is coming off a big game where he caught 9 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown and should continue to stay hot as a key partof a clicking Rams offense in a plus matchup this week. | |||||
| Tyreek Hill | MIA | $9300 / $9800 | Marlon Humphrey | BAL | Safe |
| He still isnt 100%, but even a less than full strength Hill against a great corner in Gilmore last week had 9 catches and 99 recediving yards. He faces another tough defense this week, but Tyreek is a must start every time he is on the field. | |||||
| Jordan Addison | MIN | $5500 / $7300 | Eric Stokes | GB | Safe |
| This is another one where you have to keep an eye on the injury report as Addison is dealing with an ankle injury, but if he does play its a plus matchup for him against a depleted Green Bay secondary playing backups and getting torched. If he is healthy enough to play this week he can be used in season long and has a good price point in DFS as well. | |||||
| Jalen Reagor | NE | $3000 / $4400 | Christian Benford | BUF | Risky |
| Playing an 86% snap share but not doing much with it in a struggling offense. Benford and the Bills are a tough matchup as well so this is a no for me. | |||||
| Rashid Shaheed | NO | $4600 / $6200 | Zyon McCollum | TB | Moderate |
| Shaheed is back up to a 82% snap share working back from injury and had a solid outing last week with 5 catches for 70 yards and a touchdown. He is a big play receiver who gets a plus matchup this week against a Buccaneers secondary that has been generous to opposing wide receivers, allowing 4,266 receiving yards in their coverage. He's in flex consideration if you need the upside in your season long championship, and is at a favorable DFS pricepoint with his high ceiling. | |||||
| Darius Slayton | NYG | $3400 / $5400 | Ahkello Withersoppn | LAR | Moderate |
| Slayton is still the guy seeing the most snaps in the Giants wide receiver rotation, and he had the lone touchdown catch last week. The Rams are the 2nd lowest graded team in PFF coverage grades, but the Giants offense is unpredictable and tough to trust. The price is low enough in DFS to throw a dart at Slayton if you want since he is out there running routes and showe dhi big play ability with Tyrod taylor at quarterback, but it is still fairly risky. | |||||
| Jason Brownlee | NYJ | $3100 / $4300 | Denzel Ward | CLE | Risky |
| Brownlee is getting the opportunity to play now and caught an 8 yard touchdown with his only reception last week. Even with his 82% snap share, the target volime is low, the quarterback play is poor, and the matchup against Ward and the Browns is bad. | |||||
| DeVonta Smith | PHI | $7300 / $7200 | Starling ThomasV | ARI | Moderate |
| Since the bye week, Smith saw at least 8 targets in every game until the last 2 weeks when he only saw 5 in each. He did manage to rack up 79 receiving yards and score a touchdown last week and gets an even better matchup this week against Thomas and the Cardinals secondary. Thomas has allowed an 81.8% reception percentage and the Cardinals grade in the bottom 5 in team coverage grades. With the plus matchup, Smith will be involved enough to play as a WR3/flex in season long leagues championships. | |||||
| Diontae Johnson | PIT | $5000 / $6600 | Michael Jackson | SEA | Moderate |
| It was Pickens who had the connection with Mason Rudolph last week, but Johnson did only have 1 less target than Pickens. He gets a favorable matchup this week against a Seahawks defense that has allowed 350 receptions which is 25th in the league. Johnson should have a double digit ppr point floor in a plus matchup so he is a flex option this week. | |||||
| Deebo Samuel | SF | $7700 / $8800 | Benjamin St-Juste | WAS | Safe |
| Deebo only had 4 catches last week in a down game, but the target volume was there with his 14 targets. Clearly a focal point of the 49ers offense, he will see targets and opportunities and gets a plus matchup this week as well against one of the worst defenses in the league. | |||||
| Tyler Lockett | SEA | $5700 / $7000 | Levi Wallace | PIT | Safe |
| With Geno Smith back under center last week, we saw Lockett lead the team in targets with 11 and turned them into 8 catches for 81 yards, both team highs. While DK scored the touchdown, Lockett was clearly a main focus and will be once again this week, especially if DK is seeing the Porter shadow on the other side. I like the matchup and opportunity for Lockett this week. | |||||
| Chris Godwin | TB | $6100 / $6700 | Paulson Adebo | NO | Safe |
| Godwin has seen at least 11 targets in each of his last 3 games and has 16 catches for 233 yards over the past 2 weeks. While Adebo has played well, he did kinda get gashed last week against Puka Nacua and Godwin also moves into the slot a bunch where he will see one of our favorite marks in Alontae Taylor. With a good matchup and a clicking Buccaneers offense playing to win the division, I will continue to ride the hot hand of Godwin here this week who should continue to see significant volume. | |||||
| Treylon Burks | TEN | $3300 / $5200 | Derek Stingley | HOU | Risky |
| The Titans passing game couldnt get much going last week with Tannehill and he could be getting the start once again with Levis still unlikely to play. Even with a 73% snap percentage, Burks isnt getting enough or doing enough to be trusted this week. | |||||
| Jahan Dotson | WAS | $4100 / $5500 | Charvarius Ward | SF | Risky |
| While the San Francisco secondary has not been great lately, Ward has been solid and is only allowing a 53% reception percentage in his coverage. Washington will likely have to pass a bunch and now gets the veteran Brissett under center so that is a little bump for Dotson, but not enough for me to take him out of the risky category. | |||||
Top 10 Matchups in the Slot for Week 17
| Slot WR vs Slot CB | |||||
| Wide Receiver | Team | DraftKings/FanDuel | Cornerback | Opp | Matchup |
| CeeDee Lamb | DAL | $9100 / $9400 | Brian Branch | DET | Safe |
| Lamb got back on track last week with 6 catches for 118 yards and a touchdown. Branch is a solid young player, but is still adjusting to the league and has some holes in his coverage game being a converted safety. The veteran Lamb should be able to take advantage of a plus matchup in a game that should be back and forth and high scoring. | |||||
| Cooper Kupp | LAR | $8100 / $8000 | Cor'Dale Flott | NYG | Safe |
| Man, I liked Kupp a lot last week and he let us down by dropping 2 would-be touchdowns which would have been huge for us. We like to attack the Giants against Jackson or against Flott and this is a very favorable matchup for a technician like Kupp. Being the hard worker and gamer that he is, Kupp will want to bounce back and atone for his drops last week and he will have the matchup and opportunity to do just that this week. | |||||
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET | $8400 / $8600 | Jourdan Lewis | DAL | Safe |
| We just talked about how this game should be a shootout and when Detroit passes, 35% of the time it goes to St. Brown. He had 14 targets last week which he turned into 12 catches for 106 yards and a touchdown. Dallas is also a team that you want to attack in the slot and that works out perfect for Detroit who has ARSB making his living there. | |||||
| Zay Flowers | BAL | $5600 / $6300 | Kader Kohou | MIA | Safe |
| I was a bit worried about Flowers last week with the foot injury, but he looked great on Monday night where he led the team with 13 targets, 9 catches and 72 yards while adding a touchdown on his way to 22 fantasy points. He gets an even better matchup this week against Kohou who faced Lamb last week who had 118 yards and a touchdown. With a plus matchup and the great rapport he has with Lamar Jackson, I like Flowers once again this week. | |||||
| Rashee Rice | KC | $6900 / $7400 | Mike Hilton | CIN | Safe |
| We have been begging for weeks to get consistent playing time for Rice and it is finally happening! His role has continued to increase and last week we saw him have a 29% target share and his 12 targets were double the next receiver and was even 5 more than Travis Kelce saw. Rice has seen at least 9 targets in each of the last 5 games so with the continued volume he is seeing, he is in play everywhere this week in a game where Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense look to get back on track. | |||||
| Chris Olave | NO | $6800 / $7400 | Christian Izien | TB | Safe |
| Finally looking fully healthy, Olave had a great game last week catching 9 of his 13 targets and racking up 123 yards and and 23 fantasy points. He gets a great matchup this week against the rookie Izien who is one of my favorite corners to target in this article. Olave is one of my favorite plays on the slate and I will be using some combination of him, AJ Brown and Jefferson in all my lineups this week. | |||||
| Jayden Reed | GB | $5400 / $6700 | Josh Metellus | MIN | Safe |
| Reed has really stepped up as a key to the Green Bay offense, especially with Christian Watson missing games.He has scored at least 15 fantasy points in 5 of his last 6 games he played and has been seeing about a 23% target share. He has been dealing with a toe injury, so watch the practice reports, but if he is out there he is absolutely in play with the volume he is seeing and running out of the slot where he will see a bunch of Metellus who is not known for his coverage skills. | |||||
| Demario Douglas | NE | $4300 / $6100 | Taron Johnson | BUF | Moderate |
| "Pop" Douglas led the Patriots receivers with 8 targets last week and managed to haul in 5 passes for 74 yrads and tally 12.4 fantasy points. He does carry some risk as a part of a shaky New England offense and playing against a surging Bills team with a solid defense, but his PPR floor does make him a playable flex option in PPR settings. | |||||
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA | $4800 / $5800 | Chandon Sullivan | PIT | Moderate |
| What I like about this one is that the Steelers are stronger on the outside and have been exploited in the slot. He does still have to deal with Metcalf and Lockett who are both playing well, so his ceiling is a bit capped with having to share the targets, but JSN has been seeing his looks, including some high quality ones in the redzone lately. His upside and increased target percentage in a plus matchup puts him in play once again this week. | |||||
| Adam Thielen | CAR | $5900 / $6900 | Antonio Johnson | JAC | Moderate |
| Thielen is not producing the same way he did in the first half of the season, but we did see a strong performance last week with 6 catches for 94 yards. I have him back in consideration this week partially because of his 25% target share last week, but also because of the matchup. The crafty veteran will match up with the rookie 5th round pick who played his most slot snaps of the season last week and is just getting his feet wet. The Carolina offense scares me, but I like the veteran to be able to take advantage of the inexperienced corner enough to have a safe floor for your fantasy championships. | |||||
*Information gathered from research done at Pro Football Focus and from Kevin Tompkins' Target Report.