Wide Receiver Matchups to Target in Week 5

October 10, 2021

Mike Riggall's favorite WR vs. CB matchups to exploit for Week 5 of 2021 DFS contests on DraftKings and FanDuel. These wide receivers should be tournament and cash game targets based on matchups.

The wide receiver matchup article from last week was decent with Deebo Samuel (WR-3), Terry McLaurin (WR-5), D.K. Metcalf (WR-22) and Stefon Diggs (WR-20) leading the way with decent performances. On the negative side Jalen Reagor was targeted just once, Odell Beckham Jr. was only able to haul in two of his seven targets for 27 yards, Brandon Aiyuk was only targeted three times and was actually out-targeted by Mohamed Sanu who had five. Robby Anderson was targeted 11 times ,which was expected, but he could only turn those 11 targets into five catches for 46 yards which simply won't get it done.

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. Through the first four 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. While there are lock-down corners there are also guys who can be exploited, some of which will be discussed later. After four weeks of play, the Buccaneers, Titans, Cowboys, Bears, Washington, Cardinals and Falcons have weaknesses in their secondaries that we can exploit with wide receiver matchups. Analyzing another angle, the Buccaneers, Saints, 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 5. 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.

Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers

$8,200 FanDuel / $8,200 DraftKings - vs Chidobe Awuzie

The Bengals have given up the 17th-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers, which isn't a ton but their secondary isn't exactly a lock-down unit either. Chidobe Awuzie should be back in the lineup for the Bengals in Week 5 which will help, but Awuzie isn't exactly a guy that can lock up an opposing wide receiver, especially not Davante Adams. James Robinson was able to do some damage against the Bengals in the running game last week, but that was coming off a short-week after playing 89 snaps against the Steelers in Week 3 which left the Bengals defense fatigued. On the season the Bengals are giving up just 3.7 yards-per-carry which makes them one of the top rush defenses in the league, so Aaron Rodgers should need to throw plenty in this contest to keep pace with the high-powered Bengals offense. This contest has an over/under set at 50.5 points so there might be some fireworks in this one. Adams is the most-targeted wide receivers in the league behind only Cooper Kupp who has played one more game than him and there's no reason to think that Rodgers won't continue to feed him the ball in this contest.

Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers

$7,700 FanDuel / $7,100 DraftKings - vs Robert Alford

Through the first four weeks of the NFL season Deebo Samuel leads the NFL in receiving yards-per-game and is the fourth-most targeted receiver in the league. The Cardinals have given up the eighth-most fantasy points to wide receivers so far this season and are struggling to stop opposing passing games. Trey Lance looked to feed Deebo Samuel the ball when he entered the game in Week 4 and there's no reason to think that won't continue this week. When Samuel isn't lined up across from Robert Alford, he will see coverage from Byron Murphy or Marco Wilson who are both injured themselves. If Murphy and Wilson can't go this week the Cardinals may be in some serious trouble. The Cardinals have only given up seven explosive plays on the season but if they're short-handed in the secondary they may have some problems in that department.

CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys

$6,900 FanDuel / $6,200 DraftKings - vs Adoree Jackson

The Giants defense has been struggling so far this season and James Bradberry is not the lock-down guy he was in 2020. CeeDee Lamb figures to see a lot of Adoree Jackson and James Bradberry in coverage this weekend and neither are capable of slowing down Lamb. Bradberry has been giving up a 76% catch-rate and 1.41 yards-per-route covered and when Lamb lines up in the slot he may see Jabrill Peppers in coverage who has also struggled. The over/under in this contest is set at 52.5 points and given the Cowboys own struggles on defense this might be a high scoring affair.

Marvin Jones Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars

$6,600 FanDuel / $5,700 DraftKings - vs Janoris Jenkins

Janoris Jenkins has given up a 70% catch-rate and 1.77 yards-per-route covered this year which is not very good. As a team the Titans have given up the seventh-most explosive plays in the passing game (17) which bodes well for Marvin Jones who is now the Jaguars primary deep threat with D.J. Chark out for the season with a broken ankle. Jones leads the Jaguars in passing targets so far this year with 31, ahead of Laviska Shenault (28), D.J. Chark (22), James Robinson (17) and Dan Arnold (13) and he, along with Shenault, should see some of the targets vacated by Chark. The Jaguars are underdogs in this game which means they will likely be throwing much of the day against a defense that's given up 8.4 yards-per-pass attempt which is seventh-worst in the NFL.

Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals

$6,300 FanDuel / $5,300 DraftKings - vs Chandon Sullivan

The Packers have given up the 10th-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers so far this season and this week they will be a little depleted in the secondary without Jaire Alexander. This game should be a shootout and with Joe Mixon banged up the Bengals will be relying on Joe Burrow to put the ball in the air more than ever. Everything is lining up for the Bengals wide receivers to have a big day. Tee Higgins is still a little dinged up and if he's limited at all then Boyd, who already leads the team in targets with 30, will surely see more. Chandon Sullivan should be filling in for Alexander and he has given up an 88% catch-rate along with 1.74 yards-per-route covered which means Boyd should be able to exploit that matchup. This game also has the third-highest over/under of the week set at 50.5 points which bodes well for scoring.

DeVante Parker, Miami Dolphins

UPDATE: DeVante Parker has officially been ruled out.

$5,700 FanDuel / $5,400 DraftKings - vs Richard Sherman

Richard Sherman gave up 2.28 yards-per-route covered last week, which is not very good but it was his first game with the Buccaneers this season. Parker should see coverage from Sherman for much of the day, but he splits his snaps playing about 45% on the right and left sides which means he should also see coverage from Jamel Dean who is coming back from a knee injury. Parker will likely need to score in order to come through in this matchup, but he's clearly the No. 1 target in the Dolphins passing game with Will Fuller out for at least the next three weeks. The Buccaneers are giving up just 2.7 yards-per-carry and less than 50 yards rushing-per-game so the Dolphins will be throwing. Parker has seen at least seven targets in every game he's played so far this year, but he is on the injury report with a hamstring issue so we might need to pivot if he doesn't play.

Pivot: Jakobi Meyers, New England Patriots - $5,900 FanDuel / $5,600 DraftKings - vs Tavierre Thomas

The Texans have given up 15-or-more fantasy points to Marvin Jones, D.J. Chark, D.J. Moore and Stefon Diggs so far this season. Jakobi Meyers has been a little underwhelming so far this season because he hasn't found the endzone, but he's clearly the Patriots No. 1 receiver. So far on the season Meyers leads the team with 41 targets which is ahead of Nelson Agholor (23), Jonnu Smith (21) and Kendrick Bourne (19). Meyers is clearly getting decent volume in the passing game, seeing 26 targets over the last two weeks, and given his low price in DFS, he could come through at three times his cost if he's able to score his first touchdown of the season.

Kadarius Toney, N.Y. Giants

$5,300 FanDuel / $4,000 DraftKings - vs Jourdan Lewis

Sterling Shepard will miss his second consecutive game in Week 5 as he continues to work his way back from a hamstring injury which means Kadarius Toney will start in his place. Last week Toney played 77.8% of the Giants offensive snaps, was targeted nine times and snagged six passes for 78 yards. This week the Giants find themselves up against a Cowboys defense that's given up 100-yard games to Chris Godwin and Keenan Allen out of the slot. Jourdan Lewis and Anthony Brown have been liabilities in coverage so far this season, especially Brown who has given up 1.82 yards-per-route covered which means Toney is likely to have a big game. The Giants are also seven-point underdogs and the over/under is set at 52.5 points so this game could be a shootout.

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