Wide Receiver vs. Cornerback Matchup Analysis: Week 1

Sep 05, 2019

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We're ready to kick off the 2019 season. I'm back covering the wide receivers and their cornerback matchups. When it comes to selecting receivers in DFS, it’s important to understand who will cover them. Many times defense-versus-position stats alone don't tell the whole story or overlooked defensive injuries will have a significant effect.

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 and yards per target allowed. We'll be using data from 2018 (minimum 20 targets in coverage), as well as our own knowledge of how good or bad the cornerbacks 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).

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

Note: An asterisk (*) indicates WR or CB plays outside in two-wide sets. 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 receivers 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.

**Week 1 - Wide Receiver vs. Cornerback Matchups**
Day	Tm	WR	Pos	Opp	CB	M/U	Tar %	C %	YPR	YPT	FP/T	Shad	(+/-)
Sun	ARI	Christian Kirk	LWR	DET	Rashaan Melvin	11	21.5%	57.4%	15.31	8.78	1.80	N	+
Sun	ARI	Larry Fitzgerald	SWR	DET	Justin Coleman	11	13.3%	53.4%	10.10	5.40	1.28	N	-
Sun	ARI	Michael Crabtree	RWR	DET	Darius Slay	11	16.9%	47.6%	11.92	5.67	1.55	N	N
Sun	ATL	Julio Jones	LWR	MIN	Xavier Rhodes	5	17.1%	56.5%	10.85	6.13	1.35	Y	-
Sun	ATL	Mohamed Sanu	SWR	MIN	Mackensie Alexander	5	11.3%	47.2%	11.29	5.33	1.01	N	-
Sun	ATL	Calvin Ridley	RWR	MIN	Trae Waynes	5	13.7%	62.3%	11.94	7.43	1.48	N	N
Sun	BAL	Miles Boykin	LWR	MIA	Eric Rowe	29	14.6%	58.3%	15.14	8.83	2.47	N	+
Sun	BAL	Willie Snead	SWR	MIA	Minkah Fitzpatrick	29	10.9%	47.1%	15.25	7.18	1.19	N	-
Sun	BAL	Marquise Brown	RWR	MIA	Xavien Howard	29	12.7%	44.2%	15.43	6.83	1.70	N	-
Sun	BUF	John Brown	LWR	NYJ	Darryl Roberts	32	9.7%	61.0%	15.12	9.22	1.97	N	+
Sun	BUF	Cole Beasley	SWR	NYJ	Brian Poole	32	11.2%	64.8%	12.46	8.07	1.57	N	N
Sun	BUF	Zay Jones	RWR	NYJ	Trumaine Johnson	32	14.9%	58.2%	14.94	8.69	1.56	N	N
Sun	CAR	D.J. Moore	LWR	LAR	Marcus Peters	22	13.6%	62.3%	15.09	9.41	2.09	N	+
Sun	CAR	Jarius Wright	SWR	LAR	Nickell Robey-Coleman	22	10.6%	51.3%	8.65	4.44	1.57	N	N
Sun	CAR	Curtis Samuel	RWR	LAR	Aqib Talib	22	10.8%	56.5%	14.85	8.39	1.40	N	-
Thu	CHI	Taylor Gabriel	LWR	GB	Kevin King	19	13.5%	50.0%	13.27	6.64	1.71	N	+
Thu	CHI	Anthony Miller	SWR	GB	Josh Jackson	19	12.9%	61.5%	15.50	9.54	1.92	N	+
Thu	CHI	Allen Robinson	RWR	GB	Jaire Alexander	19	17.8%	57.5%	14.29	8.22	1.56	N	N
Sun	CIN	Damion Willis	LWR	SEA	Tre Flowers	21	13.9%	57.3%	16.09	9.23	1.82	N	+
Sun	CIN	Tyler Boyd	SWR	SEA	Ugo Amadi	21	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	CIN	John Ross	RWR	SEA	Shaquill Griffin	21	12.6%	62.9%	13.86	8.71	1.84	N	+
Sun	CLE	Rashard Higgins	LWR	TEN	Malcolm Butler	26	16.0%	59.0%	14.67	8.65	2.07	N	+
Sun	CLE	Jarvis Landry	SWR	TEN	Logan Ryan	26	10.6%	58.3%	13.25	7.73	1.61	N	+
Sun	CLE	Odell Beckham	RWR	TEN	Adoree' Jackson	26	19.2%	57.0%	13.05	7.44	1.61	Y	+
Sun	DAL	Michael Gallup	LWR	NYG	Deandre Baker	24	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	DAL	Randall Cobb	SWR	NYG	Julian Love	24	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	DAL	Amari Cooper	RWR	NYG	Janoris Jenkins	24	14.6%	63.5%	13.69	8.69	1.79	N	+
Mon	DEN	Courtland Sutton	LWR	OAK	Daryl Worley	14	16.1%	61.1%	13.32	8.14	2.26	N	+
Mon	DEN	DaeSean Hamilton	SWR	OAK	Lamarcus Joyner	14	4.4%	63.6%	15.50	9.86	2.17	N	+
Mon	DEN	Emmanuel Sanders	RWR	OAK	Gareon Conley	14	12.6%	50.0%	18.90	9.45	1.87	N	+
Sun	DET	Kenny Golladay	LWR	ARI	Chris Jones	13	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	DET	Danny Amendola	SWR	ARI	Byron Murphy	13	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	DET	Marvin Jones	RWR	ARI	Tramaine Brock	13	15.5%	46.2%	14.00	6.46	1.26	N	-
Thu	GB	Davante Adams	LWR	CHI	Prince Amukamara	12	13.7%	57.0%	13.51	7.70	1.64	N	+
Thu	GB	Geronimo Allison	SWR	CHI	Buster Skrine	12	16.4%	63.9%	13.00	8.31	1.86	N	+
Thu	GB	Marquez Valdes-Scantling	RWR	CHI	Kyle Fuller	12	16.1%	53.9%	12.00	6.47	1.36	N	-
Mon	HOU	DeAndre Hopkins	LWR	NO	Marshon Lattimore	25	13.3%	64.4%	16.60	10.68	1.88	Y	+
Mon	HOU	Keke Coutee	SWR	NO	Patrick Robinson	25	2.2%	100.0%	5.00	5.00	1.50	N	N
Mon	HOU	Will Fuller	RWR	NO	Eli Apple	25	19.7%	53.8%	14.18	7.62	1.47	N	N
Sun	IND	T.Y. Hilton	LWR	LAC	Casey Hayward	1	10.3%	52.5%	14.58	7.66	1.60	Y	N
Sun	IND	Parris Campbell	SWR	LAC	Desmond King	1	12.1%	66.7%	8.34	5.56	1.33	N	-
Sun	IND	Devin Funchess	RWR	LAC	Michael Davis	1	16.2%	59.6%	11.62	6.93	1.61	N	+
Sun	JAX	Chris Conley	LWR	KC	Bashaud Breeland	30	14.6%	48.0%	16.25	7.80	1.26	N	-
Sun	JAX	Dede Westbrook	SWR	KC	Kendall Fuller	30	14.0%	67.0%	12.25	8.22	1.76	N	+
Sun	JAX	D.J. Chark	RWR	KC	Charvarius Ward	30	24.6%	76.5%	13.15	10.06	1.77	N	+
Sun	KC	Tyreek Hill	LWR	JAX	Jalen Ramsey	2	17.3%	48.9%	14.62	7.15	1.33	Y	-
Sun	KC	Mecole Hardman	SWR	JAX	D.J. Hayden	2	13.8%	62.9%	7.77	4.89	1.12	N	-
Sun	KC	Sammy Watkins	RWR	JAX	A.J. Bouye	2	13.5%	60.3%	10.29	6.21	1.22	Y	-
Sun	LAC	Travis Benjamin	LWR	IND	Quincy Wilson	3	8.5%	52.2%	12.50	6.52	1.43	N	N
Sun	LAC	Keenan Allen	SWR	IND	Kenny Moore II	3	12.5%	61.4%	9.94	6.11	1.33	N	-
Sun	LAC	Mike Williams	RWR	IND	Pierre Desir	3	13.0%	55.2%	15.32	8.46	1.49	N	N
Sun	LAR	Brandin Cooks	LWR	CAR	Donte Jackson	15	11.8%	66.7%	14.63	9.75	2.04	N	+
Sun	LAR	Cooper Kupp	SWR	CAR	Rashaan Gaulden	15	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	LAR	Robert Woods	RWR	CAR	James Bradberry	15	18.2%	52.0%	14.42	7.49	1.62	N	+
Sun	MIA	Preston Williams	LWR	BAL	Jimmy Smith	8	16.3%	55.2%	12.63	6.97	1.46	N	N
Sun	MIA	Albert Wilson	SWR	BAL	Brandon Carr	8	14.2%	52.7%	13.95	7.35	1.34	N	-
Sun	MIA	DeVante Parker	RWR	BAL	Marlon Humphrey	8	16.4%	41.9%	12.61	5.28	1.27	N	-
Sun	MIN	Stefon Diggs	LWR	ATL	Isaiah Oliver	20	17.3%	58.6%	11.35	6.66	1.87	N	+
Sun	MIN	Chad Beebe	SWR	ATL	Damontae Kazee	20	3.6%	60.0%	15.58	9.35	2.74	N	+
Sun	MIN	Adam Thielen	RWR	ATL	Desmond Trufant	20	14.5%	57.5%	10.64	6.11	1.39	N	-
Sun	NE	Josh Gordon	LWR	PIT	Steven Nelson	17	16.5%	46.4%	14.73	6.84	1.42	N	N
Sun	NE	Julian Edelman	SWR	PIT	Mike Hilton	17	16.3%	62.1%	11.17	6.93	1.52	N	N
Sun	NE	Demaryius Thomas	RWR	PIT	Joe Haden	17	15.0%	54.8%	9.91	5.43	1.30	N	-
Mon	NO	Michael Thomas	LWR	HOU	Bradley Roby	31	14.6%	64.1%	16.10	10.32	2.13	N	+
Mon	NO	TreQuan Smith	SWR	HOU	Aaron Colvin	31	10.6%	63.6%	9.86	6.27	1.81	N	+
Mon	NO	Ted Ginn	RWR	HOU	Johnathan Joseph	31	17.9%	53.6%	12.53	6.71	1.35	N	-
Sun	NYG	Cody Latimer	LWR	DAL	Byron Jones	7	12.1%	51.4%	13.25	6.81	1.28	N	-
Sun	NYG	Russell Shepard	SWR	DAL	Anthony Brown	7	10.6%	60.5%	14.08	8.51	2.01	N	+
Sun	NYG	Sterling Shepard	RWR	DAL	Chidobe Awuzie	7	16.4%	59.0%	13.33	7.87	1.67	N	+
Sun	NYJ	Robby Anderson	LWR	BUF	Tre'Davious White	4	13.1%	50.0%	11.70	5.85	1.27	N	-
Sun	NYJ	Jamison Crowder	SWR	BUF	Taron Johnson	4	9.8%	45.8%	6.55	3.00	1.01	N	-
Sun	NYJ	Quincy Enunwa	RWR	BUF	Levi Wallace	4	10.0%	45.0%	10.11	4.55	1.21	N	-
Mon	OAK	Antonio Brown	LWR	DEN	Kareem Jackson	18	10.4%	52.5%	12.16	6.39	1.27	N	-
Mon	OAK	Hunter Renfrow	SWR	DEN	Chris Harris	18	15.1%	62.5%	11.08	6.92	1.60	N	N
Mon	OAK	Tyrell Williams	RWR	DEN	Bryce Callahan	18	8.6%	67.6%	10.16	6.86	1.36	N	-
Sun	PHI	Alshon Jeffery	LWR	WAS	Quinton Dunbar	16	19.7%	68.2%	11.07	7.55	2.12	N	+
Sun	PHI	Nelson Agholor	SWR	WAS	Jimmy Moreland	16	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	PHI	DeSean Jackson	RWR	WAS	Josh Norman	16	12.1%	60.0%	11.93	7.16	1.66	N	+
Sun	PIT	Donte Moncrief	LWR	NE	Stephon Gilmore	23	14.9%	41.8%	11.63	4.86	1.23	Y	-
Sun	PIT	James Washington	SWR	NE	Jason McCourty	23	14.0%	54.8%	14.60	8.00	1.59	Y	N
Sun	PIT	JuJu Smith-Schuster	RWR	NE	J.C. Jackson	23	16.5%	48.8%	11.81	5.77	1.07	Y	-
Sun	SF	Marquise Goodwin	LWR	TB	Vernon Hargreaves	27	16.2%	66.7%	10.00	6.67	1.33	N	+
Sun	SF	Dante Pettis	SWR	TB	M.J. Stewart	27	17.6%	77.4%	12.75	9.87	2.34	N	+
Sun	SF	Deebo Samuel	RWR	TB	Carlton Davis	27	12.3%	53.2%	14.80	7.87	1.83	N	+
Sun	SEA	DK Metcalf	LWR	CIN	William Jackson	10	11.3%	50.0%	13.18	6.59	1.80	N	+
Sun	SEA	Tyler Lockett	SWR	CIN	B.W. Webb	10	11.4%	50.0%	15.03	7.52	1.35	N	-
Sun	SEA	Jaron Brown	RWR	CIN	Dre Kirkpatrick	10	14.7%	44.6%	14.86	6.63	1.29	N	-
Sun	TB	Mike Evans	LWR	SF	Ahkello Witherspoon	9	18.2%	51.4%	13.61	7.00	1.81	N	+
Sun	TB	Chris Godwin	SWR	SF	K'Waun Williams	9	10.5%	75.0%	10.04	7.53	2.00	N	+
Sun	TB	Breshad Perriman	RWR	SF	Richard Sherman	9	9.4%	53.3%	13.88	7.40	1.54	N	N
Sun	TEN	Tajae Sharpe	LWR	CLE	Greedy Williams	6	-	-	-	-	-	N	+
Sun	TEN	Adam Humphries	SWR	CLE	T.J. Carrie	6	13.8%	54.1%	12.18	6.58	1.20	N	-
Sun	TEN	Corey Davis	RWR	CLE	Denzel Ward	6	16.0%	47.4%	12.62	5.99	1.38	Y	-
Sun	WAS	Terry McLaurin	LWR	PHI	Ronald Darby	28	17.9%	52.3%	11.41	5.97	1.40	N	N
Sun	WAS	Trey Quinn	SWR	PHI	Avonte Maddox	28	9.3%	38.2%	11.77	4.50	1.01	N	-
Sun	WAS	Paul Richardson Jr.	RWR	PHI	Sidney Jones	28	5.6%	33.3%	10.00	3.33	0.67	N	-

Chris Godwin, TB ($6,900 FD/$6,200 DK) vs. K'Waun Williams, SF

He's probably going to be one of the highest owned receivers of the slate—a virtual cash game lock. The O/U is at 50 with Tampa's implied total sitting at 25.5. I don't anticipate the run game being too much of a factor here, so give me exposure to the passing game. You'll see Godwin in the slot, as Bruce Arians's Larry Fitzgerald. Williams spent 97% of his coverage routes in the slot, so he's going to get peppered with targets. He allowed a 75% catch rate and 2.0 fantasy points per target last season.

Mike Evans, TB ($7,900 FD/$7,900 DK) vs. Akhello Witherspoon, SF

Evans is going to be your tournament pivot. He's going to be moved around the field and should see Witherspoon, and even Richard Sherman. Witherspoon was responsible for seven touchdowns last season, allowing 1.8 fantasy points per target.

D.J. Moore, CAR ($6,200 FD/$5,500 DK) vs. Marcus Peters, LAR

This game could go overlooked. This one has an O/U at 50.5 with Carolina's total set at 23.75. The defensive line gets a lot of the press, and why wouldn't it when you have Aaron Donald? The Rams secondary has been a weak spot, especially Marcus Peters. His interceptions have been on the decline since his rookie year. Peters allowed 15 yards per catch while being responsible for six scores last season, resulting in 2.1 fantasy points per target.

Brandin Cooks, LAR ($7,000 FD/$6,500 DK) vs. Donte Jackson, CAR

Staying in the Carolina game, the Rams offense may also going overlooked this weekend. I don't think Jared Goff is going to get fat off his recent contract and he's going to be looking to atone for his play in the Super Bowl. Cooks is going to draw second-year corner, Donte Jackson, on most of his routes. Jackson held his own last year, recording four INTs, however, he did allow near 67% catch rate and 14.6 yards per catch. He was also responsible for four scores and gave up 2.04 fantasy points per target.

Rashard Higgins, CLE ($4,500 FD/$3,200 DK) vs. Malcolm Butler, TEN

If you are a "jam in top RBs" guy, you'll need a salary-saver and Higgins is one of them this week. While I expect Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry to get plenty of targets, Higgins won't need many to achieve value and he has one of the most favorable matchups of the week. Malcolm Butler was the opposing QB's target on 16% of their throws and was responsible for eight scores, resulting in 2.1 fantasy points per target allowed. Higgins saw 19 targets during the preseason, and received 51 in 2018 with a 76.5% catch rate. We'll see how Odell Beckham's usage cuts into Rashard's, but Baker Mayfield has no problem looking towards Higgins.

Kenny Golladay, DET ($6,900 FD/$6,300 DK) vs. Chris Jones, ARI

The Lions will face a short-handed Cardinals secondary this week and Detroit's implied total has hit 25. Golladay is a receiver who moves around, so he's going to see some time on two inexperienced corners—UDFA, Chris Jones, who played just 91 snaps last season and Byron Murphy. Golladay led the team in targets with 118 and now 144 targets have opened up with Theo Riddick and Golden Tate no longer in the Motor City. Some of those targets should get spread around to other guys, but Golladay should pace the offense in targets this week.

Alshon Jeffery, PHI ($6,700 FD/$5,900 DK) vs. Quinton Dunbar, PHI

This isn't the most glamorous game on the slate, but the Eagles have a 27.5 implied team total here. Nelson Agholor might have had more targets last season, but Jeffery was second in targets/snap rate behind Zach Ertz and averaged just over seven targets per game. Jeffery will move around, so he should see time on Josh Norman, but he should spend most of his routes on Dunbar's side of the field. Dunbar was an opposing QB's target nearly 20% of the time and allowed a 68.2% reception rate. He was also responsible for five scores and gave up 2.1 fantasy points per target.

Update 9/5/2019: Jeffery popped up on the injury report with a biceps issue. I don't like Thursday pop-ups. We'll have to see how the rest of the week goes, but Sega Entertainment is on the radar for this week. J.J. Arcega-Whiteside ($4800 FD/$3400 DK) was a preseason darling where he did all of his damage against Baltimore.

Update 9/26/2019: Alshon Jeffery not on final injury report. Good news and he can be fired into lineups this week. JJAW should only be considered in larger GPP now.

John Brown, BUF ($5,500 FD/$4,300 DK) vs. Darryl Roberts, NYJ

Brown is a great low-owned play along with Josh Allen this week. Last season, Brown had six games of 100-plus air yards and just two games where he didn't have at least a 10-yard aDOT (average depth of target). Brown is a boom-or-bust receiver and should fit in with Allen's deep ball. Darryl Roberts allowed 25 of the 29 catchable targets thrown at him last year to be caught and allowed three scores. Roberts gave up 9.2 yards and nearly two fantasy points per target.