Wide Receiver vs. Cornerback Matchup Analysis: Week 1

Sep 10, 2021

Joe Scarnici/Getty Images

This is a free sample of premium weekly content contained in the 4for4 DFS subscription. Not a subscriber? Sign up now!

We are kicking off Week 1 after having a relatively normal offseason, complete with training camp and preseason games. COVID is still an issue, but there are protocols and safety procedures, so we'll have to monitor COVID results once again. However, I'm back covering the wide receivers and their cornerback matchups for 4for4.

Below is a chart detailing each wide receiver versus cornerback matchup for Week 1, target rates, cornerback yards per target and reception, catch rate allowed, yards and fantasy points per target allowed. We'll be using data from 2020 (minimum 20 targets in coverage), as well as our own knowledge of how good or bad the cornerbacks are actually for the first few weeks of the season. The two most important columns are fantasy points per target and the last one (+/-), which indicates whether the matchup is an upgrade or downgrade for the receiver (N indicates a neutral matchup).

For up-to-the-minute and Sunday morning updates, be sure to join the 4for4 DFS subscription-only Discord channel.

After the chart, I also provide key notes such as veteran receivers that will square off against rookies, how a wide receiver matchup might affect the team's tight end, etc. There are some key injuries to watch throughout the rest of the week and this chart will be updated to reflect breaking news.

Week 1 Wide Receiver vs. Cornerback Matchups

I've called out rookies, so those are matchups you may want to exploit. N' in the Upgrade/Downgrade (+/-) column indicates neutral matchup. Click header to sort. Outside of shadow situations, LWRs and RWRs generally match up with both outside cornerbacks over the course of a game, as almost every wide receiver moves around the offensive formation to varying degrees, and almost every defense plays zone coverage on at least half of its snaps.

M/U = aFPA ranking vs. WR. Tar % = targets per snap in coverage. C% = catch rate allowed. YPR = yards per reception allowed. YPT = yards per target allowed. FP/T = PPR fantasy points per target allowed.

Wide Receiver vs. Cornerback Matchups Week 1
Day	Tm	WR	Pos	Opp	CB	POS	M/U	Tar %	C %	YPR	YPT	FP/T	Shad	(+/-)
Sun	ARI	DeAndre Hopkins	LWR	TEN	Kristian Fulton	RCB	29	9.8%	66.7%	11.75	7.83	1.95	N	+
Sun	ARI	Christian Kirk	SWR	TEN	Elijah Molden (Rookie)	SCB	29	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	ARI	A.J. Green	RWR	TEN	Janoris Jenkins	LCB	29	14.2%	55.6%	14.40	8.00	1.61	N	N
Sun	ATL	Olamide Zaccheaus	LWR	PHI	Steven Nelson	RCB	27	13.0%	50.7%	13.06	6.62	1.68	N	+
Sun	ATL	Russell Gage	SWR	PHI	Avonte Maddox	SCB	27	14.1%	61.5%	15.63	9.62	1.73	N	+
Sun	ATL	Calvin Ridley	RWR	PHI	Darius Slay	LCB	27	14.4%	71.8%	13.33	9.58	1.93	N	+
Mon	BAL	Devin Duvernay	LWR	LV	Casey Hayward Jr	RCB	21	15.1%	49.3%	17.47	8.61	1.61	N	N
Mon	BAL	Sammy Watkins	SWR	LV	Damon Arnette	SCB	21	12.1%	76.0%	15.58	11.84	2.18	N	+
Mon	BAL	Marquise Brown	RWR	LV	Trayvon Mullen	LCB	21	12.3%	57.4%	13.10	7.51	1.50	N	N
Sun	BUF	Emmanuel Sanders	LWR	PIT	Justin Layne	RCB	20	7.3%	71.4%	13.60	9.71	1.69	N	+
Sun	BUF	Cole Beasley	SWR	PIT	Cameron Sutton	SCB	20	11.5%	54.5%	11.67	6.36	1.32	N	-
Sun	BUF	Stefon Diggs	RWR	PIT	Joe Haden	LCB	20	13.7%	46.4%	14.22	6.59	1.38	N	-
Sun	CAR	D.J. Moore	LWR	NYJ	Brandin Echols (Rookie)	RCB	18	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	CAR	Terrace Marshall	SWR	NYJ	Javelin Guidry	SCB	18	7.2%	85.7%	8.33	7.14	1.57	N	N
Sun	CAR	Robby Anderson	RWR	NYJ	Bryce Hall	LCB	18	13.0%	69.8%	11.13	7.77	1.75	N	+
Sun	CHI	Allen Robinson	LWR	LAR	Jalen Ramsey	RCB	1	10.3%	46.7%	10.36	4.83	1.25	Y	-
Sun	CHI	Damiere Byrd	SWR	LAR	David Long Jr	SCB	1	9.9%	57.1%	14.25	8.14	2.24	N	+
Sun	CHI	Darnell Mooney	RWR	LAR	Darious Williams	LCB	1	11.2%	45.2%	14.96	6.76	1.22	N	-
Sun	CIN	Ja'Marr Chase	LWR	MIN	Bashaud Breeland	RCB	24	12.0%	46.0%	14.22	6.54	1.59	N	N
Sun	CIN	Tyler Boyd	SWR	MIN	Mackensie Alexander	SCB	24	12.6%	61.7%	12.24	7.55	1.50	N	N
Sun	CIN	Tee Higgins	RWR	MIN	Patrick Peterson	LCB	24	10.2%	62.7%	13.79	8.64	2.03	N	+
Sun	CLE	Donovan Peoples-Jones	LWR	KC	Mike Hughes	RCB	5	11.7%	66.7%	12.63	8.42	2.01	N	+
Sun	CLE	Jarvis Landry	SWR	KC	L'Jarius Sneed	SCB	5	16.6%	51.3%	9.85	5.05	1.17	N	-
Sun	CLE	Odell Beckham	RWR	KC	Charvarius Ward	LCB	5	11.3%	55.8%	12.76	7.12	1.73	N	+
Thu	DAL	CeeDee Lamb	LWR	TB	Jamel Dean	RCB	17	12.1%	56.9%	10.03	5.71	1.66	N	+
Thu	DAL	Michael Gallup	SWR	TB	Sean Murphy-Bunting	SCB	17	10.4%	72.9%	13.40	9.76	2.21	N	+
Thu	DAL	Amari Cooper	RWR	TB	Carlton Davis	LCB	17	15.1%	58.6%	12.98	7.61	1.69	N	+
Sun	DEN	Jerry Jeudy	LWR	NYG	Adoree' Jackson	RCB	12	14.0%	76.9%	14.30	11.00	3.25	N	+
Sun	DEN	K.J. Hamler	SWR	NYG	Darnay Holmes	SCB	12	9.5%	50.0%	13.36	6.68	1.17	N	-
Sun	DEN	Courtland Sutton	RWR	NYG	James Bradberry	LCB	12	11.0%	56.7%	11.37	6.45	1.48	N	N
Sun	DET	Tyrell Williams	LWR	SF	Jason Verrett	RCB	14	11.9%	66.1%	9.81	6.48	1.42	N	N
Sun	DET	Amon-Ra St. Brown	SWR	SF	K'Waun Williams	SCB	14	8.3%	64.3%	5.89	3.79	1.02	N	-
Sun	DET	Kalif Raymond	RWR	SF	Emmanuel Moseley	LCB	14	17.8%	54.9%	13.71	7.53	1.77	N	+
Sun	GB	Davante Adams	LWR	NO	Marshon Lattimore	RCB	13	14.6%	53.9%	14.49	7.82	1.79	Y	+
Sun	GB	Randall Cobb	SWR	NO	Chauncey Gardner-Johnson	SCB	13	13.8%	47.1%	11.36	5.36	1.09	N	-
Sun	GB	Marquez Valdes-Scantling	RWR	NO	Ken Crawley	LCB	13	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	HOU	Chris Conley	LWR	JAX	C.J. Henderson	RCB	23	17.4%	62.2%	13.86	8.62	2.02	N	+
Sun	HOU	Anthony Miller	SWR	JAX	Tyson Campbell (Rookie)	SCB	23	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	HOU	Brandin Cooks	RWR	JAX	Shaquill Griffin	LCB	23	13.8%	61.3%	12.80	7.85	1.88	N	+
Sun	IND	Zach Pascal	LWR	SEA	Tre Flowers	RCB	31	12.9%	74.5%	12.00	8.94	1.76	N	+
Sun	IND	Parris Campbell	SWR	SEA	Marquise Blair	SCB	31	8.9%	75.0%	17.33	13.00	2.05	N	+
Sun	IND	Michael Pittman	RWR	SEA	D.J. Reed	LCB	31	11.6%	58.1%	11.48	6.67	1.39	N	-
Sun	JAX	Marvin Jones	LWR	HOU	Terrance Mitchell	RCB	26	12.6%	54.9%	15.33	8.41	1.76	N	+
Sun	JAX	Laviska Shenault	SWR	HOU	Desmond King II	SCB	26	8.1%	66.7%	10.42	6.94	1.69	N	+
Sun	JAX	D.J. Chark	RWR	HOU	Vernon Hargreaves III	LCB	26	15.9%	68.6%	13.15	9.02	1.94	N	+
Sun	KC	Demarcus Robinson	LWR	CLE	Greg Newsome (Rookie)	RCB	25	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	KC	Tyreek Hill	SWR	CLE	Troy Hill	SCB	25	10.4%	60.7%	10.51	6.38	1.34	N	-
Sun	KC	Mecole Hardman	RWR	CLE	Denzel Ward	LCB	25	14.7%	49.3%	11.91	5.87	1.43	N	N
Sun	LAC	Mike Williams	LWR	WAS	Benjamin St-Juste (Rookie)	RCB	3	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	LAC	Keenan Allen	SWR	WAS	Kendall Fuller	SCB	3	13.9%	49.3%	12.51	6.17	1.53	N	N
Sun	LAC	Josh Palmer	RWR	WAS	William Jackson III	LCB	3	13.1%	46.3%	15.45	7.15	1.36	N	-
Sun	LAR	Van Jefferson	LWR	CHI	Jaylon Johnson	RCB	6	13.1%	50.8%	15.45	7.85	1.75	N	+
Sun	LAR	Cooper Kupp	SWR	CHI	Duke Shelley	SCB	6	9.9%	61.5%	9.75	6.00	1.68	N	+
Sun	LAR	Robert Woods	RWR	CHI	Kindle Vildor	LCB	6	15.2%	78.6%	10.18	8.00	2.44	N	+
Mon	LV	Bryan Edwards	LWR	BAL	Marlon Humphrey	RCB	7	15.8%	59.1%	9.85	5.83	1.30	N	-
Mon	LV	Hunter Renfrow	SWR	BAL	Tavon Young	SCB	7	17.4%	50.0%	20.00	10.00	1.50	N	N
Mon	LV	Henry Ruggs	RWR	BAL	Anthony Averett	LCB	7	15.7%	69.2%	11.59	8.03	1.65	N	+
Sun	MIA	Preston Williams	LWR	NE	Jalen Mills	RCB	10	-	-	-	-	-	N	-
Sun	MIA	Jaylen Waddle	SWR	NE	Jonathan Jones	SCB	10	16.7%	60.6%	10.21	6.18	1.65	N	+
Sun	MIA	DeVante Parker	RWR	NE	J.C. Jackson	LCB	10	14.5%	55.7%	15.15	8.44	1.83	N	+
Sun	MIN	Justin Jefferson	LWR	CIN	Chidobe Awuzie	RCB	19	14.4%	60.0%	18.05	10.83	2.20	N	+
Sun	MIN	Dede Westbrook	SWR	CIN	Mike Hilton	SCB	19	11.5%	51.6%	11.31	5.84	1.29	N	-
Sun	MIN	Adam Thielen	RWR	CIN	Eli Apple	LCB	19	11.1%	100.0%	7.00	7.00	1.70	N	+
Sun	NE	Nelson Agholor	LWR	MIA	Byron Jones	RCB	22	11.1%	60.4%	15.53	9.38	1.88	N	+
Sun	NE	Jakobi Meyers	SWR	MIA	Justin Coleman	SCB	22	10.5%	75.9%	12.23	9.28	2.31	N	+
Sun	NE	Kendrick Bourne	RWR	MIA	Xavien Howard	LCB	22	13.7%	45.5%	16.09	7.31	1.50	N	N
Sun	NO	Marquez Callaway	LWR	GB	Jaire Alexander	RCB	2	13.3%	42.3%	11.13	4.70	1.06	Y	-
Sun	NO	Lil'Jordan Humphrey	SWR	GB	Chandon Sullivan	SCB	2	10.8%	56.0%	10.79	6.04	1.40	N	N
Sun	NO	Deonte Harris	RWR	GB	Kevin King	LCB	2	10.7%	62.8%	15.22	9.56	1.72	N	+
Sun	NYG	Kenny Golladay	LWR	DEN	Patrick Surtain II (Rookie)	RCB	4	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	NYG	Sterling Shepard	SWR	DEN	Bryce Callahan	SCB	4	11.9%	52.3%	7.70	4.02	0.93	N	-
Sun	NYG	Darius Slayton	RWR	DEN	Kyle Fuller	LCB	4	10.9%	53.7%	11.83	6.36	1.44	N	N
Sun	NYJ	Jeff Smith	LWR	CAR	Donte Jackson	RCB	8	13.8%	51.9%	12.11	6.29	1.73	N	+
Sun	NYJ	Elijah Moore	SWR	CAR	Myles Hartsfeld	SCB	8	7.6%	57.1%	16.50	9.43	1.51	N	N
Sun	NYJ	Corey Davis	RWR	CAR	Jaycee Horn (Rookie)	LCB	8	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	PHI	DeVonta Smith	LWR	ATL	Fabian Moreau	RCB	30	12.4%	53.8%	18.00	9.69	1.97	N	+
Sun	PHI	Quez Watkins	SWR	ATL	Isaiah Oliver	SCB	30	12.0%	61.5%	15.53	9.55	2.12	N	+
Sun	PHI	Jalen Reagor	RWR	ATL	A.J. Terrell	LCB	30	14.4%	61.9%	13.60	8.42	1.82	N	+
Sun	PIT	Diontae Johnson	LWR	BUF	Levi Wallace	RCB	11	14.3%	55.4%	13.97	7.73	1.65	N	N
Sun	PIT	JuJu Smith-Schuster	SWR	BUF	Taron Johnson	SCB	11	12.6%	62.3%	11.95	7.44	1.47	N	N
Sun	PIT	Chase Claypool	RWR	BUF	Tre'Davious White	LCB	11	10.6%	50.9%	13.71	6.98	1.53	N	N
Sun	SF	Brandon Aiyuk	LWR	DET	Amani Oruwariye	RCB	28	13.4%	56.0%	17.14	9.60	1.76	N	+
Sun	SF	Mohamed Sanu	SWR	DET	A.J. Parker (Rookie)	SCB	28	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	SF	Deebo Samuel	RWR	DET	Jeff Okudah	LCB	28	17.6%	75.6%	15.79	11.93	2.08	N	+
Sun	SEA	DK Metcalf	LWR	IND	BoPete Keyes	RCB	16	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	SEA	Tyler Lockett	SWR	IND	Kenny Moore II	SCB	16	10.6%	58.3%	11.49	6.70	1.35	N	-
Sun	SEA	D'Wayne Eskridge	RWR	IND	Rock Ya-Sin	LCB	16	14.2%	62.3%	12.85	8.00	1.65	N	+
Thu	TB	Mike Evans	LWR	DAL	Trevon Diggs	RCB	32	17.6%	55.4%	15.51	8.59	1.82	N	+
Thu	TB	Chris Godwin	SWR	DAL	Jourdan Lewis	SCB	32	10.3%	63.3%	9.97	6.31	1.63	N	N
Thu	TB	Antonio Brown	RWR	DAL	Anthony Brown	LCB	32	14.2%	70.0%	13.07	9.15	2.07	N	+
Sun	TEN	A.J. Brown	LWR	ARI	Robert Alford	RCB	15	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	TEN	Josh Reynolds	SWR	ARI	Byron Murphy	SCB	15	12.3%	58.6%	12.03	7.05	1.50	N	N
Sun	TEN	Julio Jones	RWR	ARI	Marco Wilson (Rookie)	LCB	15	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	WAS	Terry McLaurin	LWR	LAC	Michael Davis	RCB	9	15.8%	58.9%	12.26	7.22	1.51	N	N
Sun	WAS	Adam Humphries	SWR	LAC	Chris Harris Jr	SCB	9	8.2%	57.7%	17.13	9.88	2.49	N	+
Sun	WAS	Dyami Brown	RWR	LAC	Asante Samuel Jr. (Rookie)	LCB	9	-	-	-	-	-	N	+

Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals vs. Patrick Peterson, Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota's secondary didn't improve much heading into 2021. This is not the Arizona Patrick Peterson from 2012. Peterson draws one of the up-and-coming receivers in Tee Higgins. Higgins ran the majority of his routes on the right last season, so he should draw Peterson for well over half of his snaps. Peterson allowed a near 63% catch rate on total targets, but an 82% catch rate on catchable targets. Peterson was responsible for six scores and just over two points per target.

Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings vs. Chidobe Awuzie, Cincinnati Bengals

Staying in this game, this appears to be one to stack. The Bengals added Chidobe Awuzie and Eli Apple, which is a good thing for opposing WRs. Awuzie gives up chunk plays at a high rate, which plays right into Jefferson's strengths. Last season, Jefferson lined up as the left receiver on 387 snaps, so he should line up on Awuzie's side of the field for the majority of his routes. I don't think Cinci can roll a safety over the top for help with Adam Thielen on the other side. Over 245 coverage snaps, Awuzie allowed three scores and 2.2 fantasy points per target.

Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers vs. Jeff Okudah, Detroit Lions

I like Brandon Aiyuk, as well, but I really like Deebo's matchup opposite Jeff Okudah. Samuel was San Francisco's primary right receiver, but he did move around and should draw some snaps in the slot opposite A.J. Parker. Okudah struggled as a rookie. He was only responsible for a score, but he allowed an 86% catch rate on catchable targets and 537 total yards in coverage, resulting in 2.1 fantasy points per target.

Jakobi Meyers, New England Patriots vs. Justin Coleman, Miami Dolphins

Meyers should avoid Miami's outside corners this week on most of his routes. New England added Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne, so they should be their primary outside receivers. Meyers draws the best matchup of this game, running his routes on Justin Coleman. Miami brought in Coleman from Detroit, so maybe they can help coach him up, but they'll have some work to do. Coleman struggled in Detroit for two seasons after showing some promise with Seattle. Coleman dealt with injuries last season and ended up appearing in 11 games. Over his 276 coverage snaps, he allowed a 91.7% completion rate on catchable targets. Three of the receptions he allowed went for scores and yielded 2.3 fantasy points per target.

Donovan Peoples-Jones, Cleveland Browns vs. Mike Hughes, Kansas City Chiefs

Jarvis Landry, Odell Beckham and Nick Chubb are going to get plenty of run, but Donovan Peoples-Jones is going to go overlooked in this offense and he shouldn't. He won the WR3 job and had himself a fantastic offseason. He was pretty evenly split on the outside, running a few more routes on the right side. He should see opportunities to run routes on Mike Hughes. Hughes appeared in four games last season and allowed just over two fantasy points per target. We'll see how rusty he is this week.