| WR CB Matchup Report |
| | | | | | |
| Left WR vs Right CB |
| Wide Receiver | Team | DK / FD $ | Cornerback | Opp | Matchup |
| Marvin Harrison | ARI | $5400 / $6800 | Ahkello Witherspoon | LAR | Upgrade |
| Marvin Harrison’s fantasy viability this season has largely been tied to his touchdown production and his only multi-score outing of the season came against these Rams in Week 2. While he won’t have the benefit of running in the coverage of Tre'Davious White this time around, he’s still in a nice spot against Ahkello Witherspoon. Witherspoon has been in and out of the lineup this season but when he’s starting he’s good for a catch rate around 70% and a mid-teens yards per catch mark. |
| Ja'Marr Chase | CIN | $8500 / $9500 | Pat Surtain II | DEN | Downgrade |
| The WR1 in fantasy facing off against arguably the league’s best cover corner is exactly the type of showdown you want to put a bow on the fantasy playoffs. Chase is undoubtedly in a very difficult spot against Pat Surtain this week, who is allowing just under 20 yards per game on average this year, but clearly has the skills to overcome this tough matchup. |
| Courtland Sutton | DEN | $6500 / $7100 | Cam Taylor-Britt | CIN | Upgrade |
| Last week brought a tougher matchup for Courtland Sutton, running against Kristian Fulton, but the veteran wideout still managed to turn in his 8th-straight double-digit performance. This week he’s in a much more favorable position as he’ll face Cam Taylor-Britt. Taylor-Britt is in the midst of an improved stretch of play, allowing 19 receiving yards per game over his last 4, but has been benefiting from matchups against some of the league’s worst passing-attacks. He’s still near the top of the list in terms of yardage allowed and remains the league-leader with 10 touchdowns. |
| Quentin Johnston | LAC | $5300 / $6100 | Christian Gonzalez | NE | Downgrade |
| Quentin Johnston showed his stripes last week as a certified touchdown merchant, failing to find the end zone and tanking his fantasy viability. He’ll have his work cut out for him this week as he’ll face Christian Gonzalez, who shadows 2nd-highest rate in the league. Gonzalez is holding opponents to a 45% catch rate and a yards per reception number of 10.7 yards but more troubling for Johnston is Gonzalez’s 9-game streak without allowing a touchdown. |
| DeMarcus Robinson | LAR | $4000 / $5000 | Starling Thomas V | ARI | Neutral |
| DeMarcus Robinson, a cardio king extraordinaire, has been up to his usual tricks recently - posting 3-straight zeros despite running routes on approximately 74% of Stafford’s dropbacks. His matchup this week, Starling Thomas V, technically falls into the “Neutral” camp but has strung together a very good season by most statistical measures. Robinson shouldn’t be considered as anything but a Showdown slate dart. |
| Kayshon Boutte | NE | $3500 / $4700 | Kristian Fulton | LAC | Neutral |
| Kayshon Boutte remains the Patriots only viable deep threat and flashed the upside associated with that role last week, posting a 5/95/1 line against the Bills. This week he’ll line up against Kristian Fulton of the Chargers, who has been playing at an above-average level this season. Allowing catches has been Fulton’s weak spot this year so a big play is still on the board for Boutte but its hard to rely on that outcome. |
| | | | | | |
| Right WR vs Left CB |
| Wide Receiver | Team | DraftKings/FanDuel | Cornerback | Opp | Matchup |
| Michael Wilson | ARI | $4200 / $5000 | Darious Williams | LAR | Neutral |
| Michael Wilson is another cardio king this season but he at least offers a little bit of a floor on a weekly basis. This week he draws coverage from Darious Williams of the Rams, who got back on track last week with a 16 yard performance against the Jets. Williams is usually good for a missed tackle or two every week and that has served to inflate his yardage to 468 in just 11 starts this season. |
| Tee Higgins | CIN | $6800 / $7800 | Riley Moss | DEN | Neutral |
| Despite playing just 11 games this year, Tee Higgins has found the end zone 7 times and currently sits as WR8 in points per game. This week he’ll face a corner who has also missed some time this year as Riley Moss is set to make his return from a 4-week absence. Moss is one of the league’s most-targeted corners as opponents avoid throwing toward Pat Surtain and that has ballooned his yardage to over 47 per game. Despite those totals, Moss’s return is a stabilizing force in the Denver secondary and I’d expect them to perform better as a unit this week. |
| Troy Franklin | DEN | $3300 / $5200 | Josh Newton | DEN | Downgrade |
| Another week, another Bronco leading the team in snaps on the right side of the formation. Last week it was Troy Franklin with that honor and this week that nets him a matchup against Josh Newton. Newton has also benefited from defending lack-luster passing attacks recently but is still allowing nearly 50 yards per game in his 5 starts this season. There aren’t enough blemishes on his resume to justify calling him an “upgrade,” but he’s getting pretty close. |
| Joshua Palmer | LAC | $4400 / $5500 | Jonathan Jones | NE | Neutral |
| Joshua Palmer mans the other perimeter spot for the Chargers when they’re at full strength and this week that places him in the coverage of Jonathan Jones. It has been a rollercoaster ride for Jones this year, who has turned in 9 games below 25 receiving yards but also accumlated more than 55% of his yardage allowed across 3 of his games. The good games far out-number the bad so we'll settle this one with a "Neutral" tag. |
| Puka Nacua | LAR | $8000 / $8900 | Sean Murphy-Bunting | ARI | Neutral |
| Last week is a perfect example of why we love players like Puka Nacua, who managed to post a 13.6 fantasy point performance despite a difficult matchup and a Rams offense that was stuck in the mud. This week he’ll run in the coverage of Sean Murphy-Bunting, the Cardinals’ perimeter DB with stats like those of a slot corner. While Murphy-Bunting is about as “Neutral” as it gets, a 72% catch rate is very promising for a target monster like Puka. |
| Kendrick Bourne | NE | $3400 / $4800 | Tarheeb Still | LAC | Neutral |
| Among the platoon of so-so receivers rotating on the right side of the Patriots’ formation, Kendrick Bourne is seeing the most playing time lately. This week he’ll be the primary assignment of Tarheeb Still, the Chargers’ 5th-round rookie who has a pretty even mix of good games and bad. Bourne is a safe cross-off this week but that has much more to do with his role than his matchup. |
| | | | | | |
| Slot WR vs Slot CB (UPGRADES) |
| Wide Receiver | Team | DraftKings/FanDuel | Cornerback | Opp | Matchup |
| Devaughn Vele | DEN | $4000 / $5200 | Mike Hilton | CIN | Upgrade |
| The only matchup in the slot that is even close to an “Upgrade” is that between Devaughn Vele of the Broncos and Cincinnati’s Mike Hilton. Vele is the only consistent snap-earner besides Courtland Sutton and Mike Hilton is allowing nearly 76% of his targets to be hauled in. More promising for Vele is the fact that 56% of Hilton’s yards have come after the catch, a specialty of the Bronco’s big-bodied slot receiver. |
