This article is part of our On Target series.
This column has addressed a lot of different pass catchers in the NFL in a lot of different ways. We've looked at Air Yards, market shares, and red-zone targets, and made some decisions to trade for (or trade away) some players in our seasonal leagues. However, something that we at RotoWire want to provide is analysis of WR/CB matchups to help determine start/sits and find under-the-radar options for DFS rosters. I am unsure if this will be the column format every single week but if you all find this helpful, there is a good chance I'll continue it. Here are several WR/CB matchups worth considering this week.
Green Bay WR Rotation vs. Darius Slay
Every time Detriot is playing in a game with a high projected Vegas total, there is always a question of which wide receiver is going to have a brutal day against Darius Slay. Despite playing on what has normally been a bad defense, he's an elite, shutdown NFL corner. He is one of the 10 highest graded cornerbacks by our partners, Pro Football Focus, and Slay is capable of playing all three cornerback positions (left/right/slot). As of now, he is projected to be against whoever starts at WR2 for the Packers, either Geronimo Allison or Marquez Valdes-Scantling, but it makes more sense for this to be a shadow situation. You are not benching Davante Adams by any means, but the presence of Slay does take a standard deviation off his ceiling projection.
This column has addressed a lot of different pass catchers in the NFL in a lot of different ways. We've looked at Air Yards, market shares, and red-zone targets, and made some decisions to trade for (or trade away) some players in our seasonal leagues. However, something that we at RotoWire want to provide is analysis of WR/CB matchups to help determine start/sits and find under-the-radar options for DFS rosters. I am unsure if this will be the column format every single week but if you all find this helpful, there is a good chance I'll continue it. Here are several WR/CB matchups worth considering this week.
Green Bay WR Rotation vs. Darius Slay
Every time Detriot is playing in a game with a high projected Vegas total, there is always a question of which wide receiver is going to have a brutal day against Darius Slay. Despite playing on what has normally been a bad defense, he's an elite, shutdown NFL corner. He is one of the 10 highest graded cornerbacks by our partners, Pro Football Focus, and Slay is capable of playing all three cornerback positions (left/right/slot). As of now, he is projected to be against whoever starts at WR2 for the Packers, either Geronimo Allison or Marquez Valdes-Scantling, but it makes more sense for this to be a shadow situation. You are not benching Davante Adams by any means, but the presence of Slay does take a standard deviation off his ceiling projection.
Only one of the Seahawks corners has a positive grade from Pro Football Focus, and that's slot corner Justin Coleman. He has a grade of 77.1 (out of a 1-100 scale), while Flowers – who plays a vast majority of his snaps on the right side of the formation – has the second-lowest grade of any cornerback in the NFL. Cooper Kupp will be lined up against Coleman for all of his snaps and Robert Woods will see more of Shaquill Griffin. Both Woods and Cooks are great plays in this spot against a weaker, slower secondary than the Seahawks have had in years past, but with Cooks projected to see more of Flowers, he is one of my favorite starts of the week.
Howard has been amazing this year, developing into one of the best shutdown corners in the NFL. He will have his biggest test of the year against Green this week. Howard was assigned shadow coverage against Amari Cooper and held him to his worst game of the season. The Pro Football Focus grades do not like Howard as much as more contemporary, less analytical observations and in this game, I am going to disagree with the grades a bit. Howard has been tremendous and I am definitely lower on AJG than I would be in most weeks. This has me leaning towards Tyler Boyd and C.J. Uzomah in daily fantasy contests in Week 5.
DeAndre Hopkins vs. Byron Jones
Jones has been one of the few bright spots for Dallas Cowboys fans. He has been an amazing cornerback this season, allowing the lowest catch rate on targets thrown his way at 38 percent, tied with Kevin King and just ahead of Joe Haden. Jones is allowing only 0.08 fantasy points per route run against him and 0.43 yards per route run against. None of this is to say that after four games, he is the new best CB in the NFL but Hopkins is going to have tougher sledding this week than last against the Colts. Jones is faster and the same height as Hopkins and has proven this year he can hang with dominant WRs, as he did last week against Detroit. This has me leaning towards Keke Coutee and Will Fuller in daily formats.
Jamison Crowder vs. P.J. Williams
Through four games, Williams has received the lowest grade of any defensive back in the NFL. 79 percent of the throws that have gone his way in coverage have turned into receptions, and for every route run against him, he has allowed 2.37 yards. Williams has gotten crushed by Sterling Shepard, Calvin Ridley, and every WR that he has matched up against. Crowder has barely gotten it going this season, but if there was ever a week for him to be wide open in the slot, this is going to be it. If he and Alex Smith are not going to capitalize this week, it just may not happen for Crowder at all.
