WR CB Week 1 Matchups
WR/CB Week 1 Matchups are here! This will be a weekly article designed to help you make better decisions when setting your lineups.
Key:
Coverage Rating: From PlayerProfiler.com, A comprehensive cornerback efficiency metric incorporating target rate, pass break-ups, catch rate allowed, and fantasy points allowed per snap. The lower values are favorable for the WR, which is why they are in green while the higher values are listed in red/orange.
Opp vs WR: Where the WR’s opposing team ranks in fantasy points allowed per game to the wide receiver position.
Matchup Rating: A Metric that combines the Coverage Rating of the projected primary cornerback assigned to cover the selected wide receiver and the opponent’s team ranking vs WRs in fantasy points per game.
Shadow: A ‘Yes’ designation means the cornerback is expected to be in shadow coverage on the selected WR.
Note: Considering it is Week 1 and we have no data from the 2019 season yet, all data is from the 2018 campaign.
Click Here To Open Chart In Excel
Key WR/CB Week 1 Matchups To Watch:
Keenan Allen, Chargers vs Colts
Keenan Allen will once again enter the season as Phillip Rivers’ top target. Allen ran 45.8-percent of his routes from the slot in 2018 and projects to do about the same this season. In his Week 1 matchup with the Colts, Allen will primarily face off against cornerback Kenny Moore. Moore covered the slot on 53.7-percent of his snaps in 2018, allowing just one touchdown in 15 games and a 73.3 (No.7) passer rating when targeted. Despite the difficult matchup, volume will play into Allen’s favor. He averaged over nine targets per game in 2018 with a 29.2-percent target share. In a game that projects to be high-scoring, I can easily see Allen finding the end zone considering his 28.6-percent red zone target share over the last two seasons.
T.Y. Hilton, Colts @ Chargers
T.Y. Hilton faces off against one of the best pass defenses in the league this week. The Chargers were ninth against the pass in 2018 and cornerback Casey Hayward presents one of the toughest matchups in the league. Quarterbacks don’t like throwing in his direction, as evidenced by his 17.8-percent target rate which was fourth-best in the NFL. Hilton averaged 8.5 targets per game last season and nearly reached 1,300 yards despite dealing with nagging injuries for much of the season. He is a threat to score on any play. However, he will be forced to move forward without star quarterback Andrew Luck, capping his upside. This will be a difficult week to rely on Hilton in fantasy lineups.
Stefon Diggs, Vikings vs Falcons
Are you ready for a shootout? Two of the NFL’s most prolific offenses come together for this Week 1 matchup. Stefon Diggs will be one of the primary beneficiaries of this high-scoring affair. The Falcons allowed the sixth-most passing yards and fourth-most receiving touchdowns in 2018. While some of that can be attributed to an injury-depleted unit, Atlanta remains one of the weaker defenses in the league. Diggs held a 26-percent target share on an offense that was sixth in pass attempts. There remains little competition for targets outside of Adam Thielen, so Diggs will continue to see a large number of Kirk Cousins passes come his way. Thielen will draw a lot of top cornerback Desmond Trufant’s attention, leaving Isaiah Oliver as Diggs’ primary matchup.
Adam Thielen, Vikings vs Falcons
One of the NFL’s worst pass defenses comes to Minnesota this week to take on Adam Thielen and the explosive Vikings offense. The Falcons allowed the sixth-most passing yards and fourth-most receiving touchdowns in 2018. The Vikings were top-10 in pass attempts, creating a perfect scenario for a dominant performance from Kirk Cousins’ primary pass-catcher. Thielen averaged nearly 10 targets per game and was top-five in receptions, air yards, and red zone receptions. .
Brandin Cooks, Rams @ Panthers
For the first time since 2016, Brandin Cooks enters Week 1non the same team he finished with the previous season. In his first year with the Rams, Cooks caught 80 balls for 1,204 yards and six touchdowns. He was ninth in air yards and yards per target while averaging 15.1 yards per reception. Cooper Kupp returns to the lineup after missing the final eight games with a torn ACL. Cooks averaged nearly two more receptions and 40 additional yards with Kupp in the lineup. While the Panthers were middle of the pack in passing yards allowed, they gave up the fifth-most receiving touchdowns. They allowed the seventh-most fantasy points per game to the wide receiver position. The Rams will look to take advantage with Cooks’ elite speed and ability to win deep. Cooks will likely draw the attention of cornerback Donte Jackson on the majority of his routes. Jackson allowed a 120.2 passer rating in 2018 with a 71.4-percent catch rate. He allowed eight touchdowns. Only Robert Alford gave up more.
Julian Edelman, Patriots vs Steelers
The Patriots will unveil championship banner number six prior to Week 1’s battle with the Steelers. Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman torched the Steelers for 90 yards on seven receptions and 16 fantasy points in their Week 15 matchup last season. Tom Brady has averaged 37.7 pass attempts against the Steelers going back to the 2016 season. Over that same span, Edelman averaged 8 receptions. In 12 games in 2018, Edelman finished outside the top-30 WRs just once while averaging 17.3 fantasy points per game. He is the most consistent WR in fantasy and as long as he is tethered to Brady, that will continue.
Robert Woods, Rams @ Panthers
Robert Woods finished 2018 11th among WRs in both receptions and receiving yards. He was 16th in fantasy points per game. Cooper Kupp returns to the lineup after missing the final eight games with a torn ACL. This means Woods will head back outside after running 51-percent of his routes from the slot in Kupp’s absence. This week, Woods and the Rams kickoff the 2019 season with a trip to Carolina. While the Panthers were middle of the pack in passing yards allowed, they gave up the fifth-most receiving touchdowns and the seventh-most fantasy points per game to wide receivers.Cornerback James Bradberry will be the primary matchup for Woods. Bradberry ranked 77th in burn rate, a metric that tracks the percentage of targets allowed in which the defensive back’s assigned receiver gained more than five yards of downfield separation.
Chris Godwin, Buccaneers vs 49ers
No wide receiver is in position to benefit more from vacated targets in 2018 than Chris Godwin. DeSean Jackson was traded back to Philly, and Adam Humphries signed a free agent deal with the Titans. Godwin has scored at least 12 PPR points in four of six games without Jackson on the field over the past two seasons. That includes his overall WR1 performance in Week 17 last year. The 49ers gave up the second-most passing touchdowns and were bottom-10 in fantasy points per game allowed to wide receivers. Godwin caught all four of his targets for 42 yards in last season’s Week 12 matchup.
Kenny Golladay, Lions @ Cardinals
As expected, Kenny Golladay had a breakout 2018 campaign. He finished with 70 receptions on 119 targets for 1,063 yards and five touchdowns. The 2019 season kicks off with a challenging matchup for BabyTron. The Cardinals allowed the fourth-fewest passing yards and seventh-fewest passing touchdowns last season. In their Week 15 matchup, Arizona’s star cornerback Patrick Peterson held Golladay to just two receptions for five yards on four targets. The good news for Golladay, though, is that Peterson will not be on the field for this one as he is serving a six-game suspension. With free agent-signee Robert Alford on injured reserve, it will be a combination of Byron Murphy, Tramaine Brock, and Chris Jones charged with covering the third-year wideout. Golladay will surely take advantage of the opportunity to feast in this one.
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