As we seem to get more and more injuries by the game, finding the edge you need to win every week in fantasy football becomes harder. Maybe you, as a fantasy manager, are struggling without Puka Nacua, Cooper Kupp, A.J. Brown or others, and need to find a way to stream some players or find a fantasy start sit edge.
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Well, you are in luck. This article is designed especially for you to find advantageous wide receiver matchups, swerve challenging matchups where possible and maximize the fantasy points in starting lineups.
Therefore, it’s time to hone in on six fantasy football WR/CB matchups you need to know for Week 3.
WR/CB Matchups: Week 3
Advantageous Wide Receiver Matchups
Calvin Ridley (WR – TEN) vs. Jaire Alexander (CB – GB)
This is a risk putting Calvin Ridley in this column for the third straight week. I have gotten his performance and matchup wrong in both Week 1 and Week 2. However, I am convinced this week, if Will Levis is competent, Ridley will have a good week.
According to Fantasy Points data, Ridley is running routes on 84.7% of snaps, being targeted on a very respectable 21.9% of those routes. He is achieving 0.38 fantasy points per route run.
This week, he will match up against Jaire Alexander for quite a bit of the game against the Green Bay Packers. Alexander is allowing 0.32 fantasy points per route run past him this season. He is a great corner but has had a slow start statistically to 2024. Ridley is on a bit of a hot streak after last week. Expect him to maintain it this week with a strong top-24 showing against the Packers.
Ladd McConkey (WR – LAC) vs. Beanie Bishop (CB – PIT)
This will look strange to some folks as the Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the best defenses in the NFL so far in 2024. However, Ladd McConkey has a strong, advantageous matchup this week. The peripheral numbers on McConkey are better than most people think. According to Fantasy Points, McConkey, while only running routes on 70% of snaps, is averaging an impressive 0.56 fantasy points per route run. That ranks eighth among all wide receivers so far this season.
McConkey is also being targeted on 31.4% of his routes. With these numbers, we can expect his route numbers to increase. Especially as he continues to keep winning duels across the field.
This week McConkey is up against Beanie Bishop. It has been a baptism of fire for the undrafted free agent (UDFA) rookie so far. He is allowing 0.40 fantasy points per route run against him. Only Jaycee Horn (0.42 fantasy points per route run against him) is allowing more. Given that McConkey has the best matchup of the three wide receivers for the Los Angeles Chargers, expect him to see a higher workload this week and become a top-30 wide receiver option this week potentially.
Amari Cooper (WR – CLE) vs. Cor’Dale Flott (CB – NYG)
It has been a little bit of a challenge for fantasy managers to determine what to do with Amari Cooper so far this season. However, he is another receiver whose peripheral numbers are better than his box score production. Cooper is running routes on 82% of snaps. He is seeing targets on 24.1% of those routes and has an impressive 0.40 fantasy points per route run.
He is going to be up against Cor’Dale Flott this week. Flott is allowing 0.32 fantasy points per route run against him so far this season. The New York Giants are struggling on offense right now. This should mean more possession for the Cleveland Browns. If the Browns can dominate the time of possession in this game, there should be plenty of chances for Cooper to be efficient. However, he could have a low ceiling if the Browns hold a significant lead in this game in the late third/fourth quarter.
Other Notable Advantageous Matchups
- Davante Adams (WR – LV) vs. Jaycee Horn (CB – CAR)
- Brandon Aiyuk (WR – SF) vs. Tre’Davious White (CB – LAR)
- Zay Flowers (WR – BAL) vs. Caelen Carson (CB – DAL)
- Terry McLaurin (WR – WAS) vs. Cam Taylor-Britt (CB – CIN)
- Ja’Marr Chase (WR – CIN) vs. Benjamin St-Juste (CB – WAS)
Challenging Wide Receiver Matchups
Michael Pittman Jr. (WR – IND) vs. Jaylon Johnson (CB – CHI)
Michael Pittman has not had the season many fantasy managers would have hoped for when they drafted him this summer. However, his peripheral numbers are good. He is running routes on 87.8% of snaps, is seeing targets on a whopping 28.5% of routes and is managing 0.44 fantasy points per route run.
However, he is up against Jaylon Johnson, who has been incredible through the first two weeks of the season. Johnson is only being targeted on 9% of the routes run against him and is only allowing 0.08 fantasy points per route run against him. While Pittman will certainly be targeted more, and Johnson will have to do more defensive shadowing than he has so far this season, it still isn’t the perfect spot for Pittman to get right.
Jayden Reed (WR – GB) vs. Roger McCreary (CB – TEN)
Jayden Reed had an impressive Week 1 and a more-than-respectable Week 2. However, it is fair to say this will be his toughest test of the season. He will also need to continue to be highly efficient to impact the box score. Reed is only running routes on 60.3% of snaps. He also still has to overcome the Malik Willis issue as it is unlikely, at the time of writing, that Jordan Love will start this week.
Roger McCreary has been silently putting together a solid campaign. He is only seeing targets on 13.5% of routes run against him and is only allowing 0.17 fantasy points per route run against him. He has proven to be difficult to beat in the slot for a while now. So the Packers will need to get creative in how to use Reed to win. Expect more out of the run game this week to elevate his ranking. Because points against McCreary are hard to come by.
Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR – DET) vs. Garrett Williams (CB – ARI)
Amon-Ra St. Brown had a bounce-back game in Week 2 despite the Detroit Lions falling to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a close game. However, despite being one of the elite receivers in the league, St. Brown was struggling with hits in the loss to Tampa Bay. Also, with the breakout of Jameson Williams finally here, the reliance on St. Brown isn’t as necessary as it was in the last two seasons.
St. Brown is also up against Garrett Williams this week. Williams is only allowing targets on 11.9% of routes run against him. He is also only allowing 0.19 fantasy points per route run against him. Both of these numbers put him inside the top 15 corners in the league this season.
None of this means St. Brown is a sit candidate this week. However, fantasy managers should monitor the health of St. Brown and pay attention to this matchup. Finishing inside the top 10 of the position this week might be a challenge based on these factors.
Other Notable Challenging Matchups
- Jaylen Waddle (WR – MIA) vs. Tre Brown (CB – SEA)
- Tyreek Hill (WR – MIA) vs. Riq Woolen (CB – SEA)
- Brandin Cooks (WR – DAL) vs. Brandon Stephens (CB – BAL)
- Quentin Johnston (WR – LAC) vs. Joey Porter (CB – PIT)
- Brian Thomas Jr. (WR – JAX) vs. Rasul Douglas (CB – BUF)
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Adam Murfet is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Murf, check out his archive and follow him @5yardrush.