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The wide receiver matchup article from the divisional round had some hits and misses. Gabriel Davis was the biggest standout from the article, hauling in eight catches for 201 yards and four touchdowns. While Davis certainly had a good matchup last week, nobody could have seen that massive game coming. Cooper Kupp had a 183-yard day, highlighted by a 70-yard touchdown and Ja'Marr Chase also blew up with 109 yards. Byron Pringle didn't do much, but he did come through with a score. While Davante Adams didn't have a monster game, he did have a respectable nine catch, 90-yard day against the 49ers.
Now that the field has whittled down to four teams, the defenses that are left standing are all solid units. For the most part, all of the teams that made it to championship weekend have respectable secondaries. Out of the four teams remaining, only the Rams are in the bottom-10 of fantasy points given up to wide receivers, which makes the 49ers receivers extremely viable options this week. Analyzing another angle, the 49ers and Rams defenses are the only remaining units that have given up 4.0 yards-per-carry or less which means there may be a lot more passing than running in the NFC championship game.
Here are the top WR vs CB matchups for the Conference Championship games. Use these to set playoff league 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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Cooper Kupp, L.A. Rams
$9,700 FanDuel / $8,800 DraftKings - vs K'Waun Williams
Cooper Kupp has been Matthew Stafford's guy all season long and there's no reason to think he won't get peppered with targets when it matters the most with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Just a few weeks ago against the 49ers, Kupp was targeted seven times and hauled in all of them for 118 yards and a score. In that game, the Rams offense wasn't exactly prolific, and Matthew Stafford threw for just 238 yards. In that Week 18 game, Odell Beckham Jr. and Van Jefferson combined for just 49 yards and Tyler Higbee was actually the most-targeted pass catcher in the Rams offense. Basically, Kupp is the only Rams receiver you can really feel good about trusting heading into this weekend, and he's worth the price.
Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs
$8,100 FanDuel / $7,000 DraftKings - vs Mike Hilton
Tyreek Hill has run 53% of his routes out of the slot this season and if the Chiefs want their most explosive play maker to have success this weekend against the Bengals, that's where they should line him up to keep him away from Chidobe Awuzie in coverage. Mike Hilton has been solid in the slot this year, but he's definitely beatable, surrendering a team-high 73% catch-rate and 1.09 yards-per-route covered. Hill didn't do much against the Bengals in Week 17, but he had just come back from COVID about eight days prior to the game, so that could have factored in the poor performance. Byron Pringle and the rest of the Chiefs receivers were really limited by the Bengals secondary in that contest, so look for Hill to be the guy. The Bengals gave up the third-most explosive plays in the passing game this year (65), so they're definitely susceptible to the big play which bodes well for Hill.
Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers
$8,400 FanDuel / $7,200 DraftKings - vs Jalen Ramsey
Deebo Samuel has a formidable matchup against Jalen Ramsey this week, but he's been matched up against Ramsey before and was still able to take care of business. In Week 18 against the Rams, Samuel scored on the ground, gaining 45 yards on eight carries while adding four catches for 95 yards. This one is simple. Last week when the 49ers had their backs against the wall against the Packers, they had Samuel return kicks, they gave him the ball on the ground, and basically put the team on his back trying to get the win. This game is going to be tight, and the 49ers will live and die with their best player, which is Deebo Samuel.
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Jauan Jennings, San Francisco 49ers
$4,900 FanDuel / $3,200 DraftKings - vs David Long Jr.
I am all in on all of the 49ers wide receivers this week and will be using all of them across my DFS lineups. On the low-end, Jauan Jennings has some appeal because of his low cost, he will avoid coverage from Jalen Ramsey and he should be Jimmy Garoppolo's safety net in the middle of the field if Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are blanketed. Albeit a limited sample, Jennings does have some positive history against the Rams, hauling in six catches for 94 yards and two touchdowns against them in Week 18. I also like Aiyuk this week, but Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings will be the 49ers receivers in most of my lineups.
Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
$8,000 FanDuel / $6,700 DraftKings - vs Mike Hughes
Ja'Marr Chase has already established himself as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL and last week against the Titans he had a 109-yard game. Just a few weeks ago, in Week 17, Chase went off for 266 yards and three touchdowns against the Chiefs. Chase has a tremendous matchup advantage over Mike Hughes, but the Chiefs have shadowed the opposition's No. 1 receiver with Charvarius Ward at times this year. Given the fact that Chase absolutely torched the Chiefs earlier this season, I would expect Ward to shadow Chase from the start in this one, but even that won't stop him. A trip to the Super Bowl is on the line, so Chase will get his.
Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals
$5,800 FanDuel / $4,200 DraftKings - vs L'Jarius Sneed
Last week, Gabriel Davis absolutely went off against the Chiefs out of the slot, ending up with 201 yards and four touchdowns. Back in Week 17, Tyler Boyd only had four catches for 36 yards against the Chiefs, but he did come through with a score. Boyd was also targeted more than Tee Higgins in that contest. It's entirely possible that Boyd would have had a bigger game a few weeks ago had Ja'Marr Chase not gone off for 266 yards and three touchdowns, because Boyd was definitely getting open. If the Chiefs start bothering Joe Burrow with the pass rush this weekend, Boyd may see a lot of shorter passes as Burrow looks to get the ball out of his hands and avoid taking sacks.
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