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Week 11 WR/CB Matchups You Need To Know (Fantasy Football)

Week 11 WR/CB Matchups You Need To Know (Fantasy Football)

Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard the phrase “always start your studs.” That became a thing when fantasy owners started catching on to their usual top performers disappointing in matchups with one or two cornerbacks. If you played fantasy five years ago, you wanted no part of Darrelle Revis when he was covering your receiver. While teams have started to change and adapt to this, moving their wide receiver around the formation, there are still advantages to knowing which players have the best and worst cornerback matchups.

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So here we are, entering Week 11 and we pretty much know the matchups that you should try to avoid. While you can’t bench some of these players in season-long leagues, think twice before putting them in your DFS lineup. They also may not completely bust, but you need to raise/lower expectations depending on the matchup.

Matchups to Exploit

Mike Evans vs. Xavien Howard
Coming off his one-game suspension, Evans will return to one of the best matchups he could ask for. If you watched Howard allow two touchdowns last Monday night, you understand why. The communication between him and new safety T.J. McDonald isn’t quite up to par, and knowing that Ryan Fitzpatrick is someone who’ll target his top guy relentlessly, Evans should post a massive game.

Jeremy Maclin vs. Damarious Randall
The Packers have not only cut cornerbacks, but lost some to injuries, forcing Randall into the slot. It’s a completely different position than on the perimeter, as you don’t have the sideline as an extra defender. Maclin is one of the better slot receivers and a veteran who had some time healing up his shoulder during their bye last week. Since going into the slot, Randall has allowed seven catches for 116 yards and a touchdown on just 13 targets.

Jamison Crowder vs. Kenny Vaccaro
Another matchup where we have a player who has converted to a slot cornerback. Vaccaro started the year playing safety for the Saints, but was forced into the slot due to an injury to Sterling Moore. While he hasn’t done a horrible job, he also hasn’t seen much volume. With Marshon Lattimore taking on Josh Doctson, Crowder should see plenty of work against the inexperienced Vaccaro. After all, Crowder does have 24 targets in his last two games.

Doug Baldwin vs. Brian Poole
With the injury to Desmond Trufant last year, Poole was forced into action. He played well to close out the year, but hasn’t played great in 2017. On 51 targets in coverage, he’s allowed 42 receptions for 407 yards, though he hasn’t allowed a touchdown. That may change this week, as Baldwin is due for some positive regression and the Seahawks usual touchdown scorer (Jimmy Graham) is in a tough matchup against a team that hasn’t allowed a touchdown to a starting tight end. Baldwin has a 73.6 percent catch rate over the last three years, while Poole has allowed an 82.4 catch rate in coverage this year. Baldwin only needs six targets to hit value.

Dez Bryant vs. Jalen Mills
The Eagles are reportedly going to activate Ronald Darby for this game, but he’s been out since Week 1, so it’s unlikely he plays a full complement of snaps. Mills is the one the Eagles have trusted in coverage this year and while he’s played better as of late, the competition has been abysmal. Knowing the Cowboys will rack up attempts in this game, Bryant should see at least 10 targets against a secondary he beat for 113 yards and a touchdown last year. In the two games Mills has seen more than eight targets in coverage, he allowed 22 receptions for 193 yards and two touchdowns in the two games combined.

Matchups to Worry About

DeAndre Hopkins vs. Patrick Peterson
This is one of the best matchups we’ll see all weekend, though it stinks we aren’t getting Hopkins with Deshaun Watson. On the year, Peterson has allowed just 12 receptions for 177 yards and one touchdown in his coverage… on 32 targets. Knowing that Peterson will follow him around the field is worrisome, especially with Tom Savage under center. This is a matchup to worry about, even though Hopkins has seen 30 targets in the last two games.

Josh Doctson vs. Marshon Lattimore
From Richard Sherman to Xavier Rhodes to now Lattimore, Doctson has had a rough month against some of the game’s top cornerbacks. Lattimore has been a rookie of the year candidate, shutting down some of the game’s best wide receivers, including holding Mike Evans to a one-catch, 13-yard performance two weeks ago. If you have Doctson and have been waiting for a good matchup, this isn’t one.

Kelvin Benjamin vs. Casey Hayward
Amidst all the quarterback controversy in Buffalo this week, Benjamin may have seen the biggest value increase, as rookie quarterback Nathan Peterman is a pocket passer that is more willing to throw into tight coverage than Tyrod Taylor. He’ll have to if he wants to connect with Benjamin this week, as Hayward has been lights out again this year. He’s allowed just a 51 percent catch rate in coverage, though the 15.8 yards per reception is rather high. Benjamin isn’t one to take advantage of a deep ball, so he can’t even attack Hayward’s biggest weakness. He’s just a weak WR3 play this week.

A.J. Green vs. Aqib Talib
Yes, I know, the Broncos defense looks awful. But knowing that Talib will cover Green quite often and the fact that Andy Dalton is going to be pressured throughout the entire game is worrisome. Talib has shown some glimpses of slowing down, but has still allowed just 18 catches for 195 yards on 32 targets in coverage this year. Again, he’s allowed three touchdowns in coverage, something he didn’t allow to happen once last year, so you aren’t completely fading Green, but this isn’t a great matchup.

Sammy Watkins vs. Xavier Rhodes
Enough is enough. Can those who own Watkins scream for mercy? He’s seen just five targets in the last two games combined and has seen more than five targets once all season. Some will wonder whether or not Rhodes will shadow Robert Woods, but I don’t think he shadows at all in this game. If he sticks at his usual RCB spot, he’ll see Watkins on roughly 70 percent of his perimeter snaps. That’s an issue for Watkins, as Rhodes has allowed just 226 yards and no touchdowns in his coverage all year. Watkins has enormous talent, but if you aren’t getting the targets, you can’t produce.



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

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