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Through the first three weeks of the season, the league's top cornerbacks, like Jalen Ramsey, Jaire Alexander and Trevon Diggs, have held receivers in check for the most part. On the other end of things, cornerbacks like Eli Apple, Benjamin St-Juste and Vernon Hargreaves have emerged as guys opposing quarterbacks will likely target on a weekly basis because they struggle in coverage. The wide receiver matchup article from last week yielded decent results with Justin Jefferson (WR-5), D.K. Metcalf (WR-7), Cooper Kupp (WR-2) and Emmanuel Sanders (WR-4) all coming up huge. Sanders was a low-end play who turned a great matchup into his best game of the season and if you used him in your lineup, you likely had success. On the negative side of things, Sterling Shepard, and A.J. Brown were slated for big days but both went down with hamstring injuries while Darnell Mooney was absolutely brutal as Justin Fields struggled mightily in his first career start. Just before the Giants game on Sunday a report came out the Giants were going to limit Kenny Golladay's playing time (68% of the snaps) which caused me to pivot to Darius Slayton, but he went down with his own injury.
Nothing is more important than matchup analysis when it comes to fantasy football. Playing your team's best players on a regular basis is important, but picking apart the top matchups on a week-to-week basis can win you a championship, or even better, some cold hard cash in DFS. After three weeks of play, the Lions, Vikings, Chiefs, Colts, Bears and Buccaneers have weaknesses in their secondaries that we can exploit with wide receiver matchups. Analyzing another angle, the Panthers, Saints, Buccaneers, Browns and Bills defenses have given up less than 3.5 yards-per-carry, which means teams may look to pass on them given their ability to stop the run.
Here are the top WR vs CB matchups for Week 4. Use these to set season-long lineups, as well as gain a competitive edge in the DFS games. The matchup data used in this article is from PFF.
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Terry McLaurin, Washington Football Team
$7,100 FanDuel / $6,900 DraftKings - vs Fabian Moreau
The Falcons defense has been getting absolutely torched by opposing wide receivers so far this season with the exception of Week 3, which was a bit of an anomaly because Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton both got hurt leaving the Giants short-handed. Terry McLaurin was slowed by a nasty matchup against Tre'Davious White in Week 3 and will look to bounce back against a Falcons secondary that's given up 15-or-more fantasy points to DeVonta Smith, Jalen Reagor, Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. McLaurin's involvement in the Washington offense hasn't dipped since Ryan Fitzpatrick went down and he should be the focal point of the Washington offense this week with Antonio Gibson a little banged up heading into the game.
D.K. Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks
$7,700 FanDuel / $7,200 DraftKings - vs Josh Norman
Tyler Lockett cooled off last week and got a little banged up in the process, but he was able to get a limited practice in this week which is good for his Week 4 outlook. D.K. Metcalf came up huge last week in a great matchup against Patrick Peterson and he should enjoy similar success this week against Josh Norman who was recently signed by the 49ers and will likely be playing through a chest injury. With Lockett likely limited and the 49ers rolling a patchwork secondary out there, Metcalf is a very appealing option in Week 4. The 49ers defense can be beat through the air and is coming off a Week 3 game where they surrendered 14.9 fantasy points to Marquez Valdes-Scantling and 31.2 fantasy points to Davante Adams.
Robby Anderson, Carolina Panthers
$5,700 FanDuel / $5,100 DraftKings - vs Jourdan Lewis
Trevon Diggs has been great for the Cowboys so far in 2021 and could shadow D.J. Moore in this matchup. Even if Diggs doesn't shadow Moore, he will likely cover Moore on more than 50% of the routes he runs. Robby Anderson should avoid Diggs for most of the day and see coverage from Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown on a majority of his routes. Diggs is definitely the guy you want to avoid in the Cowboys secondary which has otherwise given up 90-or-more receiving yards to Antonio Brown, Chris Godwin, Mike Williams and Keenan Allen through three games this season.
Stefon Diggs, Buffalo Bills
$8,000 FanDuel / $7,600 DraftKings - vs Vernon Hargreaves III
In Week 3 the Texans defense was torched by D.J. Moore for eight catches and 126 yards. While the Texans defense has given up just the ninth-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers so far this season, that stat is a little skewed because Jarvis Landry was injured in Week 2 and the Browns also played without Odell Beckham Jr. in that game. The Texans have proven to be vulnerable covering wide receivers on the perimeter as both Marvin Jones Jr. and DJ Chark Jr. each scored and eclipsed 17 fantasy points in Week 1, so Stefan Diggs could have a big week.
Jalen Reagor, Philadelphia Eagles
$5,500 FanDuel / $4,700 DraftKings - vs DeAndre Baker
The Chiefs have given up the eighth-most fantasy points to wide receivers so far this season, including big games from Jarvis Landry, Marquise Brown, Mike Williams and Keenan Allen. The Chiefs are surely going to hang points on the Eagles given they are seven-point favorites in a contest with an over/under set at 54.5, which means the Eagles will likely be throwing. This is speculation on my part, but Jalen Hurts has had trouble throwing the ball down the field over the last two games, which means the Eagles may look to get the ball into Jalen Reagor's hands and let him work after the catch. Reagor figures to see a lot of DeAndre Baker in coverage this week who gives up 2.95 yards-per-route covered, which is fifth-worst in the league.
Odell Beckham Jr., Cleveland Browns
$6,600 FanDuel / $5,800 DraftKings - vs Patrick Peterson
The Vikings have given up the fourth-most fantasy points to wide receivers so far this season. Receivers on the perimeter have had success finding the endzone against the struggling Vikings secondary, especially receivers lining up against Patrick Peterson. Peterson simply isn't the same athlete he once was and receivers are just running by him. The Vikings defense is also bad against the run, surrendering 4.8 yards-per-carry. This is concerning because it means Beckham may not see a lot of volume if the Browns run a lot, but the Vikings should do their own share of scoring in a contest with an over/under set at 51.5 points, which means the Browns will likely need to keep pressing for 60 minutes. The Browns simply don't have a lot of viable passing targets and Beckham is there best option, so he should come through.
Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers
$6,900 FanDuel / $6,500 DraftKings - vs Tre Flowers
Deebo Samuel missed both games against the Seahawks in 2020, but he torched them for 102 and 112 yards with zero scores in two games against them in 2019. Opposing quarterbacks have completed 70.7% of their passes against the Seahawks defense this year at a clip of 7.9 yards-per-attempt, which ranks them in the bottom-half of the league. Look for the 49ers to call some high-percentage throws to Samuel so he can do some damage after the catch. George Kittle's status for Week 4 is also up in the air which means the 49ers may lean on Samuel even more in the passing game.
Pivot: Brandon Aiyuk - $5,700 FanDuel / $5,000 DK – vs D.J. Reed Jr.
In one game against the Seahawks in 2020, Brandon Aiyuk had eight catches for 91 yards and one touchdown. Aiyuk is equally viable as Samuel in Week 4 because the Seahawks defense can easily give up big fantasy performances to two wide receivers on the same team. Just last week both Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen eclipsed 15 fantasy points against them. In addition to Kittle being banged up, the 49ers are also struggling a little at the running back position which means they may lean even more on the receivers this week.
Nelson Agholor, New England Patriots
$5,400 FanDuel / $4,500 DraftKings - vs Dee Delaney
The Buccaneers have given up a league-high nine passing touchdowns and 16 pass plays of 20-or-more yards which ties them for most in the league. Nelson Agholor isn't on the main DFS slate this week because the Patriots play Sunday night, but he may be worth a play in a DFS tournament or in your season-long leagues if you have some trouble at wide receiver. The Patriots will likely be playing from behind and Agholor may get some chunk plays against a leaky Buccaneers secondary given he's the most explosive receiver on the Patriots roster.
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