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Mark Wemken's favorite WR vs. CB matchups to exploit for Week 11 of DFS contests on DraftKings and FanDuel. These wide receivers should be tournament and cash game targets based on matchups.
We're more than halfway through the NFL season, with several teams already having their bye weeks behind them. Nevertheless, injuries have begun to rack up. Picking on the backups that precede starting defensive backs is a common strategy among DFS players, simply because it's a solid process. Fortunately, we have plenty of data to break down those matchups and pick the best ones to target for the coming week.
Nothing is more important than matchup analyzation when it comes to fantasy football. Playing your teams’ 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. Matchups for the wide receiver position aren’t always as black and white as they can be for other positions. Receivers need to be broken down even deeper by analyzing the potential cornerback matchup they’re going to draw. This is especially true in potential shadow coverage cases such as any time an X receiver plays against Patrick Peterson and the Arizona Cardinals. Some analytical data used here such as fantasy points allowed per route covered, and percentage of routes run on the left side, right side, and in the slot is courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
Now, here are the top WR vs CB matchups for Week 11. Use these to set season-long lineups, as well as gain a competitive edge in the Daily Fantasy realm.
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WR/CB Matchups to Target
TB WR Mike Evans Versus NYG CB Janoris Jenkins
Mike Evans has been undeniably more productive with Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm than he has with Jameis Winston this season. Evans averages nearly five more fantasy points per contest with Fitzpatrick under center, and all of his touchdowns have come off Fitzpatrick's hand. In a game that quietly has the third-highest implied total on the slate, I'm locking Evans into my cash lineups and walking away from my computer.
Evans will run more than half his routes against Janoris Jenkins, who's experienced a substantial fall from grace this season. Jenkins has allowed 40 catches for 538 yards and six touchdowns this year; all of which rank bottom-10 in the league among starting CBs. This is an easily exploitable matchup to get Evans back on track. Evans still owns a 31-percent air-yards portion on the season, as well as a 22-percent piece of the target market. There's plenty of opportunities for Evans to smash this week, and he's just too cheap at $7,300.
CAR WR D.J. Moore Versus DET CB Nevin Lawson
Nevin Lawson was absolutely victimized by the Chicago Bears last week, racking up five receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown under his coverage. Quarterback Mitchell Trubisky had a passer rating of 145.8 when throwing at him, and I expect Cam Newton and his Panthers to exploit the same mismatch with their first-round draft pick D.J. Moore.
Moore has the highest target share among all CAR WRs over the last three weeks, and he sits behind Devin Funchess in air-yards percentage by just four percent. This is the perfect opportunity for the Panthers to let their investment build some momentum heading into the final stretch of the season.
Moore makes for a much better tournament play than he does cash, but at $4,200 it's hard to go wrong with him.
PHI WR Golden Tate Versus NO CB P.J. Williams
I'm still struggling to gauge Golden Tate's ownership this weekend. Rumor has it he's forming a tighter grip on the offense in Philadelphia, which should lead to a larger snap-share in Week 11. PHI @ NO possesses the second-highest implied total on the slate, meaning a massive portion of the DFS community will be targeting this game. I'm expecting Nelson Agholor to move outside and draw Eli Apple, leaving the glorious P.J. Williams matchup to Tate.
Tate was priced between $6,000 and $6,900 every week of this year up until his PHI debut last Sunday night. He's only $5,500 this week despite having another week of practice with the offense and partaking in an implied shootout.
DAL WR Amari Cooper Versus ATL CB Robert Alford
The change of scenery has treated Amari Cooper well. We may never understand why the Oakland Raiders would allow contests to take place where Cooper didn't see a minimum of five targets, regardless of mismatch. Dallas clearly won't let that happen. Since the trade, Cooper has amassed a 26-percent target share, as well as a 43-percent chunk of his offenses air-yards. The latter ranks 10th among all WRs since the trade took place.
Dallas has been using Cooper evenly on both sides of the field. In theory, Dallas could scheme Cooper to Dak Prescott's left, and let him run free against Robert Alford, who plays RCB exclusively. Alford has surrendered 1.95 yards and 0.42 fantasy points per route in coverage; both rank in the bottom-12 among starting CBs.
Dallas has the chance to create a massive mismatch all game long depending on how Cooper is used. The fact they've made it a priority to get him the football is a step in the right direction.
