The fantasy playoffs are among us at last. And, with the playoffs comes an increase in competition. There are no easy games in the fantasy playoffs for fantasy managers. The margin for defeat could be minimal. It could come down to a roll of a ball, a dropped catch, or even not understanding the weather and matchup properly.

I have broken down the 6 Fantasy Football WR/CB Matchups for Week 15 as they could be crucial to advancing in your playoffs this week.

So, without further ado, here are the three advantageous matchups, and here are the three more challenging matchups.

• More Waiver Wire Picks
• Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
• Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
• Fantasy Football Trade Tools

Week 15 WR/CB Matchups

Advantageous Wide Receiver Matchups

Drake London (WR – ATL) vs. Donte Jackson (CB – CAR)

London is coming off his best performance of the season in Week 14, where he put up 24.2 fantasy points against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This week, London is squaring off against Jackson and the Carolina Panthers.

While London has been inconsistent this season, due to injury, poor quarterback play, and some questionable coaching decisions, he is a mismatch for Jackson. There is always the risk that the Atlanta Falcons revert to running the ball significantly more this week, due to the game script. However, one thing that worked well for them was playing a lot less 11 personnel, instead reverting to more 12 personnel. This meant Pitts was more involved, meaning London got more one-on-one coverage.

If the Falcons can use a lot more 12 personnel and utilize their weapons, London will have a solid WR2 week. However, I caveat that Arthur Smith is not someone who has utilized weapons well this season. Personally, I feel comfortable enough to start him this week in my lineups. However, I can understand the hesitation.

Cooper Kupp (WR – LAR) vs. Jartavius Martin (CB – WAS)

Kupp finally returned to some form in Week 14, finishing as the WR4 with 25.5 fantasy points. And, for the first time in a while, he looked healthy and back to the Kupp of old. This week he takes on Martin and the Washington Commanders.

The Commanders are coming into Week 15 as allowing the 3rd most fantasy points to wide receivers so far this season. The Commanders are allowing 35.8 fantasy points per game to wide receivers so far this season. Only the Philadelphia Eagles and the Los Angeles Chargers are allowing more fantasy points per game to wide receivers than the Commanders.

Martin himself, while having made some plays, has also allowed some significant plays. According to FantasyPoints Data, Martin is currently tied for third in fantasy points per route run allowed against him among all cornerbacks. Martin is allowing 0.40 fantasy points per route run against him, with only Jaycee Horn of the Carolina Panthers and Montaric Brown of the Jacksonville Jaguars, whom I will mention more in a moment.

Expect Kupp to return another WR1 week and hopefully lead patient fantasy managers to a victory when it matters, in the fantasy playoffs.

Odell Beckham Jr. (WR – BAL) vs. Montaric Brown (CB – JAC)

Beckham Jr. is on a roll in fantasy football. He has had four 10+ point fantasy returns in his last five games, including the 17.7 fantasy points he returned for fantasy managers in Week 14. That game is the best fantasy points haul for Beckham Jr. this season as he is starting to look like he did in his prime several years ago.

This week Beckham Jr. is up against Brown and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars are allowing 31.2 fantasy points per game to wide receivers so far this season. This is the seventh most allowed by NFL teams so far this season.

And Brown has not exactly painted himself in glory in this area either. His 0.42 fantasy points allowed per route run against him are the second-most of all cornerbacks. The Ravens have a genuine 1-2 punch for the first time in several years. And, with no Mark Andrews, Todd Monkin and John Harbaugh are likely to ride Beckham Jr. and Zay Flowers all the way to the playoffs and potentially the 1 seed.

Therefore, Beckham Jr. is a great low WR2/high WR3 option this week for fantasy managers and can be started in the flex if they are looking for significant upside. If Beckham Jr can find the endzone, he could likely vault into the top 20 of the position this week.

Challenging Wide Receiver Matchups

Justin Jefferson (WR – MIN) vs. DJ Turner II (CB – CIN)

Jefferson has suffered a turbulent season so far in 2023. He landed on IR, and then, after taking his time to recover, returned in Week 14, only to suffer a chest injury and leave the game. Jefferson has been cleared to play in Week 15. However, there is still a ton of turmoil. Jefferson has not completed a game for almost two months and is playing with his third different quarterback of the season, who has not played an entire game so far this season himself.

The Minnesota Vikings are coming off a horrible 3-0 win against the Las Vegas Raiders last Sunday. And, to top it all off, Jefferson, without much of a connection with his quarterback, is up against Turner and the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 15.

While the Bengals are a middle-of-the-pack team in terms of fantasy points allowed to wide receivers, allowing the 15th most with 28.1 fantasy points per game, Turner has been one of the elite cornerbacks so far this season.

Turner is allowing just 0.16 fantasy points per route run against him, which is the sixth least among all cornerbacks so far this season. With all the chaos around Minnesota and Jefferson and the caliber of his opponents this week, it is hard to know where to rank Jefferson. He has the talent to torch Turner and the Bengals. However, how healthy is Jefferson? And how good will Nick Mullens be? If you are a cautious fantasy player, sitting Jefferson might be the prudent move. However, can you really justify sitting the 1.01 in fantasy football when he is available to play? Probably not. But he is a risky spot start this week.

Jaylen Waddle (WR – MIA) vs. D.J. Reed (CB – NYJ)

Waddle has not returned his ADP for fantasy managers so far this season. The WR28 on the season has had a tough time playing second fiddle to Tyreek Hill so far this season, as the Miami Dolphins have made the running game explode this season. Waddle has only returned one 11+ point fantasy week in his last five games.

And it does not get easier for Waddle this week either, as he takes on Reed and the New York Jets. The Jets are only allowing 17 fantasy points per game to wide receivers, which is by far the lowest in the NFL so far this season. The next best is the Cleveland Browns, who are allowing 22.5 fantasy points per game to wide receivers.

Reed is also having an exceptional season, allowing just 0.16 fantasy points per route run against him, which is tied for sixth among all cornerbacks.

And Tua Tagovailoa also struggles against teams who are top-16 against quarterbacks. Tua only put up 8.82 fantasy points against the Jets in Week 12. In the eight games he has played against teams who are in the top 16 against quarterbacks in terms of fantasy points allowed, Tua is averaging just 14.34 fantasy points.

And, with the majority of those points likely to go to Hill, I am not sure I can trust Waddle in the fantasy playoffs. Fantasy managers should start him with caution.

DeAndre Hopkins (WR – TEN) vs. Steven Nelson (CB – HOU)

Hopkins is currently the WR16 in fantasy football and has returned points total of 13.9 or more in three of his last four games. Last week he overcame an extremely difficult matchup to return 21.9 fantasy points. However, 12 of those 21.9 fantasy points came in the final four and half minutes of the game when the Miami Dolphins simply capitulated. It was a crazy sequence of events that we are unlikely to see again this season.

This week he is up against Nelson and the Houston Texans. There is a lot of uncertainty this week with the Texans, with quarterback C.J. Stroud still not practicing as he is in the concussion protocol, and lead wide receiver Nico Collins is also struggling to make it for this game as, at the time of writing, he has yet to practice.

This could lead to the Titans running the ball significantly more. With reduced opportunities, Hopkins might struggle to hit the mid-range WR2 projection he currently had. Fantasy managers should still start Hopkins if they lack better alternatives. However, it is hard to see the ceiling on Hopkins this week, while there is more than a good chance he returns WR3 numbers this week as a result of the reduced opportunities.

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio

Adam Murfet is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Murf, check out his archive and follow him @Murf_NFL.