Maybe you never thought about it until after the receiver you selected in the first or second round of your fantasy draft scored five points, but the cornerbacks they match up with are often the most important factor when trying to accurately project their outcome in any particular week. Think about it, a quarterback faces an entire defense, running backs face an entire front-seven, and in Leonard Fournette‘s case, front-eight, and tight ends are matched up with any combination of linebackers, cornerbacks, or even safeties.

So, if you have the chance to narrow down and figure out who a wide receiver will see in coverage 50, 75, or even 100 percent of the time, it should pique your interest. This article focuses on the top five wide receiver/cornerback matchups to target, whether it be in season-long or DFS, as well as the five matchups to avoid, if possible. It should be noted that just because a player is listed in the avoid column, it doesn’t mean he automatically goes to your bench, because there are just a few cornerbacks who shadow all the time. I’ll always note that with the players below if it’s not a true shadow situation.

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Matchups to Exploit

DeAndre Hopkins vs. Adoree Jackson/Brice McCain
Whenever your favorite wide receiver is playing against the Titans, you want to insert them into the lineup. The combination of Jackson and McClain as the perimeter cornerbacks are one of the worst duos in the league, and a week after Deshaun Watson had to find other targets, he gets to go back to Hopkins here. Through just three weeks, the Titans cornerbacks have already allowed over 500 yards to wide receivers, including a league-leading five touchdowns. Hopkins leads all wide receivers in targets (37) through three weeks.

A.J. Green vs. Jamar Taylor/Jason McCourty
Just a week after he said that he needs to be targeted, Green saw a season-high 13 targets in which he turned into 10 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown under new offensive coordinator Bill Lazor. This week, Green will match up with Taylor and the Browns secondary that has already allowed two 150-plus yard wide receivers (Antonio Brown and T.Y. Hilton). If you’re worried about them double-teaming Green and letting others beat them, don’t you think they would’ve done that with Brown and Hilton? It’s not as simple as it seems when your pass-rush is among the worst in football.

Michael Thomas vs. Xavien Howard/Byron Maxwell
The Dolphins were called out by their coach last week after what was a pitiful performance. When you don’t have talent on your team, it’s tough to win. The Dolphins have a solid front four and some pieces on offense, but the secondary has been lacking for a few years. Howard and Maxwell are below-average starting cornerbacks who will attempt to cover Thomas, who has matched up with Xavier Rhodes, Stephon Gilmore, and James Bradberry through the first three weeks, yet has still somehow managed to be a top-15 wide receiver. The Saints offense should put on a show in London.

Julio Jones vs. E.J. Gaines
For as much attention as the Bills defense has gotten under Sean McDermott’s hot start, we need to throw some ice on the hype train. They have played against the Jets, Panthers, and Broncos offenses thus far, a far-cry from the Falcons point-making machine. Gaines is the one who will see the majority of Jones in coverage, and he is someone who really struggled with the Rams last year, allowing a 75 percent catch rate in coverage and nine touchdowns on just 72 targets. It wouldn’t shock me if Jones was a little frustrated behind closed doors about his role that has him seeing just five more targets than Mohamed Sanu through three weeks.

Larry Fitzgerald vs. K’Waun Williams
It’s no secret who Carson Palmer‘s favorite target is the passing game, as Fitzgerald has double what the next closest wide receiver (Jaron Brown) does. With John Brown out and J.J. Nelson somewhat limited, Fitzgerald has been asked to play some perimeter this year, though he’s primarily in the slot. The trio of 49ers cornerbacks have allowed just over two points per target in PPR leagues to opposing wide receivers. Williams, a former undrafted free agent, is the one who will see the majority of Fitzgerald.

Matchups to Avoid (if possible)

Marvin Jones vs. Xavier Rhodes
Get used to seeing Rhodes’ name in this article. He’s among the best cornerbacks in the game, though he doesn’t travel into the slot. Because of that, Golden Tate will avoid his coverage a majority of the time. Going through the NFL’s NextGenStats, you’d see that Jones has really struggled at creating separation this year, as there has been just a 1.2-yard gap between him and the defender at the point of target, the lowest among all pass-catchers. Considering that and his date with Rhodes, it’s fair to say you can probably find a better start this week.

Mike Evans vs. Janoris Jenkins
Just one week after getting Xavier Rhodes in coverage, Evans will have to deal with Jenkins, who is among the best shadow cornerbacks in the league. The Giants chose not to use him in coverage with Alshon Jeffery last week, but Evans won’t be so lucky. My assumption is that Jenkins wasn’t 100 percent, so they didn’t want to put him on an island. On 14 targets in coverage this year, he’s allowed just 81 yards. It was somewhat of a similar story last year as well. Jameis Winston has shown the willingness to throw the ball up to Evans if he’s in single coverage no matter who’s covering him, so Evans still needs to be in lineups.

Michael Crabtree vs. Aqib Talib
It’s become a thing where Crabtree is the one expected to be favored in the red zone, but that’s not going to be the case in Week 4 when he matches up with Aqib Talib for about 40 percent of his snaps and Chris Harris Jr. for another 30 percent of them. Talib did allow a touchdown in coverage to Dez Bryant back in Week 2, but that was the first he’d allowed since back in 2015. It’s not to say they won’t purposely move Crabtree over to the left side of the formation to avoid Talib, but with the way they’ve used him in the past suggests Crabtree’s production will suffer this week.

Alshon Jeffery vs. Casey Hayward
Those who own Jeffery likely heard the news of Chargers top cornerback Jason Verrett going to the I.R. and thought that this would be a matchup to target. Well, think again. The same thing happened last year with Verrett and Hayward was the one asked to step in and shadow opposing No. 1 wide receivers. On 93 targets in coverage last year, he allowed just one touchdown. Jeffery is still getting targeted quite a bit, but dial back expectations for him despite the loss of Verrett.

Pierre Garcon vs. Patrick Peterson
The entire offseason, I said that Garcon was going to be the easiest player to project on a week-to-week basis, simply because we knew where the targets were going in this 49ers offense. This week, though, they’ll see a dip when he’s covered by Patrick Peterson. The funny part about this is that the Cardinals as a team has allowed the second-most fantasy points per target to opposing wide receivers, but it’s been a lot of secondary options scoring points while Peterson takes away the opposing No. 1. He’s allowed just 22 yards in his coverage this year. Seriously, that’s it. Garcon does move around the formation, but Peterson will be with him almost every step of the way. I’d rather play a high-risk/high-reward option this week.

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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.