RADIO
Week 1 of the NFL season is in the books and some major curveballs were definitely thrown our way. On the positive side, D.K. Metcalf, Allen Lazard and John Brown, all of which were mentioned in this article last week, had big games. While Chris Godwin didn't have a massive game for the Buccaneers, he also didn't hurt you if he was in your lineup. On the negative side, the most consistent wide receiver in fantasy football over the last few years, Michael Thomas, was an absolute dud in Week 1 before getting hurt, and if you played him at his high salary, it likely crushed your lineup. D.J. Moore and DeSean Jackson also underwhelmed while Christian Kirk and Chris Conley were almost non-existent. In the case of Chris Conley, Keelan Cole surprisingly played ahead of him which brought his snap share down tremendously. Out of the nine receivers referenced in last week's wide receiver matchups article, only four of them came through, so we need to do better in Week 2.
Nothing is more important than matchup analysis when it comes to fantasy football. Through one week of action, the Dolphins, Patriots, Saints, Chargers and Buccaneers Defenses are looking fairly stingy against the pass. The Washington defense performed well against the Eagles in Week 1, but I want to see more out of them before we declare them a problematic matchup because the Eagles were missing Lane Johnson at right tackle, and they're a different team without him in the lineup. On the weaker side, the Packers, Falcons, Cowboys, Colts, Panthers and Vikings all gave up north of 8.0 yards-per-attempt in Week 1 which means these are defenses we may want to exploit moving forward.
Now, here are the top WR vs CB matchups for Week 2. Use these to set season-long lineups, as well as gain a competitive edge in the DFS games.
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Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
$7,400 FanDuel/$6,400 DraftKings - vs Donte Jackson
Mike Evans has a seven-inch height advantage over Donte Jackson who is better suited to cover quicker wide receivers, not as much the big guys. In 2019 Evans had 13 catches for 157 yards against the Panthers, but one of those contests was a Thursday night game that was rather sloppy. The Panthers Defense lost James Bradberry from its secondary who has given Evans some problems over the years, so look for Tom Brady to target Evans early and often in Week 2, especially with Chris Godwin iffy to play due to the concussion he suffered in Week 1.
Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears
$7,000 Fanduel/$6,400 DraftKings - vs Corey Ballentine
Allen Robinson should see a lot of Corey Ballentine in coverage in Week 2. Ballentine struggles in coverage and gives up 1.56 yards-per-route covered and an 80% catch-rate. The Giants Defense struggled against the Steelers on Monday night and the quick turnaround likely won't help their cause. Trubisky's accuracy is a little bit of a concern, but Robinson should lead the Bears in targets as he's their only wide receiver that played over 50% of the offensive snaps in Week 1.
Pivot: Anthony Miller, Chicago Bears - $5,700 FanDuel/$5,200 DraftKings - vs Darnay Holmes
Anthony Miller has an even better matchup than Allen Robinson this week out of the slot. Miller will see Darnay Holmes in coverage who surrenders 1.86 yards-per-route covered and an 83% catch-rate. The concern with Miller is that the Bears used multiple tight ends a lot in Week 1, which led to Miller playing just 42% of the Bears snaps. Miller is a matchup-based option in deeper leagues and a decent DFS tournament option.
Terry McLaurin, Washington Football Team
$6,500 FanDuel/$5,900 DraftKings - vs Dre Kirkpatrick
Terry McLaurin gets moved around the formation a lot by Washington but he should see Dre Kirkpatrick when Washington is in 11-personnel and Byron Murphy when Washington only has two receivers on the field. While Murphy is an ascending player giving up just a 40% catch-rate, Kirkpatrick surrenders a 75% catch-rate and 1.53 yards-per-route covered which is not good. Kirkpatrick has also been notorious for giving up the big play over the last few seasons while playing for Cincinnati, which is positive for McLaurin's outlook.
Marquise Brown, Baltimore Ravens
$6,200 FanDuel/$6,200 DraftKings - vs Bradley Roby
Last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, Bradley Roby appeared to shadow Tyreek Hill for much of the game, holding him in check for the most part. While Roby kept Hill in check, Lamar Jackson's running ability will present a different element to the game that the Texans Defense didn't need to account for last week against the Chiefs. The Texans will likely need to bring extra defenders into the box to slow the Ravens running game, which will likely leave Brown singled up on Roby without any help, making him extremely dangerous. While Roby did a good job last week, he does give up 0.43 fantasy points-per-route which is one of the worst marks in the league and an 83% catch-rate which is not great. The over/under in this game is 50 points, so expect a shootout.
Pivot: Diontae Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers - $5,800 FanDuel/$4,500 DraftKings - vs Michael Ojemudia
Marquise Brown doesn't always get a ton of volume in the Ravens offense and if that concerns you, then you may want to pivot over to Diontae Johnson. Rookie cornerback Michael Ojemudia was forced into action after A.J. Bouye went down in Week 1 and he performed fairly well in coverage. Ojemudia held A.J. Brown in check for the most part in Week 1, but you could argue that Brown failed to make some plays he should have made, and it was later disclosed that Brown was playing with a bone bruise on his knee which bothered him. Diontae Johnson saw 10 targets in Week 1 and the Steelers may look to exploit this rookie cornerback in coverage, especially since the Broncos Defense is solid against the run.
Michael Gallup, Dallas Cowboys
$6,000 FanDuel/$5,600 DraftKings - vs Isaiah Oliver
Last week D.K. Metcalf lined up against Isaiah Oliver for much of the day and ended up with four catches, 95 yards and one touchdown. Metcalf's long catch of the day was 38 yards which means Oliver can be burned in coverage. Oliver surrenders a staggering 2.05 yards-per-route covered and a 75% catch-rate. The Falcons secondary is vulnerable on the outside which makes me lean towards Gallup in Week 2, especially since Dak Prescott was looking for Gallup deep in Week 1, even when he was covered by Jalen Ramsey. This game has the highest over/under on the week at 53.5 points, so there will likely be some fireworks in this one.
Parris Campbell, Indianapolis Colts
$4,600 FanDuel/$4,500 DraftKings - vs Mike Hughes
Parris Campbell was one of the must-adds on waiver wires this week after he led all Colts receivers with six catches and 71 yards in Week 1. Looking ahead to Week 2, it's logical to expect big things out of Campbell because he was clearly Philip Rivers' favorite wide receiver playing out of the slot. If you look at what the Packers did against the Vikings in Week 1, Davante Adams absolutely torched the Vikings secondary, much of which came out of the slot. If Week 1 was any indication of the future, Rivers should continue to look Campbell's way similar to the way he looked for Keenan Allen in the slot when he still played for the Chargers. Campbell's Week 2 outlook looks especially good because he has some serious speed which should give Mike Hughes some trouble.
Pivot:Danny Amendola, Detroit Lions - $5,200 FanDuel/$4,800 DraftKings - vs Chandon Sullivan
Kenny Golladay is out again this week which means Danny Amendola will see more snaps and targets out of the slot. Last week Amendola was targeted seven times and was able to haul in five of them for 81 yards. The Packers are favored by six points over the Lions and the game has an over/under set at 49 points which means the Lions will likely need to throw the ball a lot.
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