Wide Receiver Matchups to Target in Week 16: CeeDee Lamb, Jaylen Waddle, Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Christian Kirk

December 25, 2021

Mike Riggall's favorite WR vs. CB matchups to exploit for Week 16 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 Week 15 turned out to be pretty good. CeeDee Lamb (WR32) was the biggest disappointment, dropping a few passes while gaining just 50 yards on six catches, while Diontae Johnson (WR36) also came up small. Jaylen Waddle was ruled out, so the pivot was to DeVante Parker (WR13) who had 68 yards and scored. Brandin Cooks (WR3) and Russell Gage WR7) had big weeks, while Stefon Diggs (WR17) scored even though he was matched up on Stephon Gilmore and his pivot, Gabriel Davis (WR4) scored twice. Chris Godwin was on his way to a nice night before leaving the game with a torn ACL which unfortunately ends his 2021 season and Jakobi Meyers (WR29) came up small as the entire Patriots offense struggled. Now it's time to put Week 15 behind us and look forward to Week 16.

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. So far the league's top cornerbacks, like Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, Casey Hayward, Jaire Alexander, and Trevon Diggs, have held receivers in check for the most part. While there are lockdown corners, there are also guys who can be exploited, such as Desmond King, Bashaud Breeland, Brandon Facyson, Josh Norman, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and pretty much any cornerback playing for the Baltimore Ravens.

Up to this point in the season, the Titans, Bears, Colts, Saints, Dolphins, Vikings, and Washington defenses have glaring weaknesses in their secondaries that we can exploit with wide receiver matchups. Analyzing another angle, the Saints, Ravens, Titans, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Seahawks, Eagles and Rams defenses have given up 4.0 yards-per-carry or less 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 16. 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.

Cooper Kupp, L.A. Rams

$9,800 FanDuel / $9,100 DraftKings - vs Mackenzie Alexander

The Vikings have given up the most fantasy points to wide receivers this season and have surrendered 15-or-more fantasy points to Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool, James Washington, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Deebo Samuel, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Davante Adams, Keenan Allen and Marquise Brown going back to Week 9. The over/under in this contest is set at 48.5 points which is the second-highest total on the week, so there should be some points scored in this one. Cooper Kupp is having a historic season and he should light up the Vikings secondary in this game.

CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys

$7,100 FanDuel / $7,400 DraftKings - vs Danny Johnson

CeeDee Lamb was in a great spot out of the slot against Aaron Robinson and the Giants last week but unfortunately, he dropped a few passes and came up kind of small. In Week 14 against Washington, Lamb and Prescott had trouble connecting but he still had 61 yards on seven catches. In Week 13, Hunter Renfrow went for 103 yards against Washington out of the slot and Tyler Lockett had 96 yards against them in Week 12. Lamb has had a rough couple of weeks but the matchup against Washington is good and if Prescott can connect on a deep ball to Lamb, he could come through on just one play.

Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins

$6,900 FanDuel / $6,400 DraftKings - vs Chauncey Gardner-Johnson

The Saints are very tough against the run and the Dolphins will surely throw the ball a ton while battling for their playoff lives. The Saints have given up 48 explosive plays in the passing game this season and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is the guy you want to target in their secondary. Jaylen Waddle is Tua Tagovailoa's favorite receiver in the passing game and he should see double-digit targets in this game.

Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals

$7,100 FanDuel / $7,100 DraftKings - vs Kevon Seymour

The Ravens have given up a league-leading 61 explosive pass plays this season and that's good news for Ja'Marr Chase who has only had one decent game for fantasy purposes since the Bengals faced the Ravens in Week 7. The Ravens have also given up 24 passing touchdowns and a healthy 7.9 yards-per-pass which is good news for the entire Bengals passing game. Kevon Seymour is filling a void in the Ravens secondary and he's given up a team-high 1.71 yards-per-route covered and a 75% catch-rate.

Pivot: Tee Higgins $6,500 FanDuel / $6,200 DraftKings - vs Anthony Averett

Back in Week 7, Tee Higgins was targeted 15 times by Joe Burrow but was only able to haul in seven of those for 62 yards. The Bengals identified a mismatch for Higgins in the Ravens secondary back then, and their defensive backfield has actually gotten worse since that time. There's more than enough room for both Chase and Higgins to go off this week and if you want to save some money in your DFS lineups, Higgins is the guy.

Christian Kirk, Arizona Cardinals

$7,200 FanDuel / $5,400 DraftKings - vs Xavier Rhodes

The Colts defense is very good against the run but they're struggling to defend the pass. In Week 15, without DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk led all Cardinals receivers in targets with 12, ahead of A.J. Green (8), Antoine Wesley (8), Rondale Moore (3) and Andy Isabella (1). Kirk appears to be Kyler Murray's go-to guy with Hopkins out of the lineup, and he has a speed advantage over Xavier Rhodes, so this could be a decent spot for him. The Colts don't give up a lot of explosive plays in the passing game, but they have given up a league-high 28 passing touchdowns.

Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts

$6,400 FanDuel / $5,000 DraftKings - vs Byron Murphy

Michael Pittman Jr. should see Byron Murphy and Marco Wilson in coverage on most of his routes in Week 16, neither of which is a prohibitive matchup. Pittman has a five-inch height advantage over Murphy which is significant, and he should be able to get it done. The Cardinals haven't given up many explosive plays in the passing game this year, but they have surrendered steady production to wide receivers. The Colts are actually one-point underdogs against the Cardinals and this game has the highest over/under of the week set at 49 points, so this one could be high scoring.

Rashod Bateman, Baltimore Ravens

$5,600 FanDuel / $4,500 DraftKings - vs Trae Waynes

The Bengals have been decent against the run all year aside from a few outlier games, and the Ravens have struggled to run the ball all year with their running backs. Back in Week 7, Rashod Bateman had 80 yards against the Bengals and since then, the Ravens have struggled throwing the deep ball to Marquise Brown regardless of who has been in at quarterback. Bateman should see Trae Waynes in coverage in Week 16 who has struggled since returning from injury. Waynes gives up a team-high 1.51 yards-per-route covered, and he's also given up a 67% catch-rate, so Bateman could see a lot of volume in the passing game given that the Bengals are three-point favorites.

Gabriel Davis, Buffalo Bills

UPDATE: Gabriel Davis has been placed on the COVID-19 list and will not play in Week 16.

$5,300 FanDuel / $4,700 DraftKings - vs Jalen Mills

Similar to Week 15, Stefon Diggs should see coverage from New England's best cover-cornerback, J.C. Jackson which will leave Gabriel Davis with the best matchup of the day against Jalen Mills. The Bills will also be without Cole Beasley which will open up targets. The Bills haven't committed to running the ball all season, and if they're going to win they will do so through the air. Davis should be in line for double-digit targets and possibly the best game of his career given the stakes and Diggs' matchup. Josh Allen has had an up-and-down track record against the Patriots in his career, but in Week 16 in 2020, Allen had 320 yards and four touchdowns, so the Bills passing game does have a chance against this defense.

Pivot: Isaiah McKenzie $4,600 FanDuel / $3,000 DraftKings - vs Myles Bryant

Cole Beasley is also out for Week 16, which means Isaiah McKenzie will likely get snaps out of the slot and see coverage from Myles Bryant who surrenders an 85% catch-rate. Over the years the Bills have found creative ways to get McKenzie the ball when he's in the lineup, so this may be his week given the high stakes of the game. In Week 17 of the 2020 season, Beasley was out and McKenzie played 90.6% of the Bills offensive snaps, had six catches off of nine targets for 65 yards and two scores against the Dolphins.

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