Wide Receiver Matchups to Target in Week 12

Mike Riggall's favorite WR vs. CB matchups to exploit for Week 12 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 11 had some hits and misses. CeeDee Lamb (WR-74) was involved early in Week 11 but he suffered a concussion in the second quarter which ended his day while Emmanuel Sanders (WR-61) had three catches for 26 yards in a bad weather game where the Bills struggled badly on offense. Elijah Moore (WR-3) had a big week against the Dolphins and Brandon Aiyuk (WR-11) continued to bounce back from his slow start. Ja'Marr Chase (WR-27) didn't have the greatest game, but he did score so he came through, Jaylen Waddle (WR-13) saw his usual volume and Tyreek Hill (WR-18) had nine grabs for 77 yards. Devin Duvernay (WR-48) had a great matchup, but he was only able to haul in four passes for 37 yards from Tyler Huntley because Lamar Jackson was a last-minute scratch due to illness. Now it's time to put Week 11 behind us and look forward to Week 12.

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 Bashaud Breeland, Brandon Facyson, and Marco Wilson.

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, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Seahawks, 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 12. 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.

Deebo Samuel, San Francisco 49ers

$8,000 FanDuel / $7,900 DraftKings - vs Bashaud Breeland

Deebo Samuel has a great matchup in Week 12 against a Vikings defense that's given up the third-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season. Samuel has the second-most receiving yards in the NFL and he's also been heavily involved in the 49ers running game which has really boosted his production. In Week 12 Samuel should see coverage from Bashaud Breeland, who has given up a 69% catch-rate and 1.81 yards-per-route covered, one of the worst marks in the league. Since Week 8, the Vikings have given up 15-or-more fantasy points to Marquise Brown, Davante Adams, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Keenan Allen, Cedrick Wilson, Amari Cooper, and CeeDee Lamb.

Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

$7,600 FanDuel / $7,000 DraftKings - vs Kenny Moore

The Colts' rush defense has been pretty good this year which means the Buccaneers are more likely to score points through the air than on the ground this week. Chris Godwin has scored a touchdown in three of his last four games and gone over 100 yards receiving in two of those. The Colts have given up a league-leading 25 passing touchdowns so Godwin has a good shot at scoring. Godwin should see coverage from Kenny Moore on most of his routes this week. Moore has been targeted on 20% of the routes he covers which is the highest mark on the Colts. Moore also surrenders a 72% catch-rate and 1.39 yards-per-route covered which makes this a great matchup for Godwin.

Diontae Johnson, Pittsburgh Steelers

$7,100 FanDuel / $6,600 DraftKings - vs Eli Apple

The Steelers are 4.5-point underdogs in their Week 12 contest against the Bengals, so Pittsburgh should be throwing plenty. The Bengals have been alright against wide receivers this season, giving up just the ninth-fewest fantasy points to the position, but they have been burned by some clear No. 1 receivers such as Marquise Brown and Davante Adams. Diontae Johnson has a decent history against the Bengals, going for 59 and a score and 116 and a score in two games against them in 2020.

D.J. Moore, Carolina Panthers

$6,700 FanDuel / $6,200 DraftKings - vs Xavien Howard

The Panthers' wide receivers were struggling for a while with Sam Darnold at quarterback, but now that Cam Newton is back distributing the football, things have gotten a little better. The Dolphins give up the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers on the year and just gave up a massive game to Elijah Moore. The Panthers move D.J. Moore around so he should see coverage from Xavien Howard, Justin Coleman, and Byron Jones this week. Regardless of who Moore gets matched up on this weekend, he should win. The Dolphins have also given up 20 passing touchdowns and 48 explosive plays in the passing game (which leads the league) so Moore has a great chance to hit on a big play.

Michael Pittman Jr., Indianapolis Colts

$6,600 FanDuel / $5,600 DraftKings - vs Sean Murphy-Bunting

Vita Vea should be back in the lineup for the Buccaneers this weekend which would be bad news for Jonathan Taylor and the Colts running game. Taylor has been on fire lately, but the Buccaneers give up just 3.8 yards-per-carry. The Buccaneers are also likely to score a ton in this one as 3-point favorites in a game that has the highest over/under on the week (53.5 points) which means the Colts should need to throw a lot to keep pace. Michael Pittman Jr. should see coverage from Sean Murphy-Bunting this weekend, who has given up 2.26 yards-per-route covered, one of the worst marks in the league, and a 69% catch-rate.

Brandin Cooks, Houston Texans

$6,500 FanDuel / $5,800 DraftKings - vs Isaiah Dunn

Going back to Week 7, the Jets have given up double-digit fantasy points to two wide receivers within the same game in four of their last five games. The Jets have also given up the third-most explosive plays in the passing game this year (46) which means Brandin Cooks has a good shot at connecting on a long play. Isaiah Dunn should be on Cooks for most of Week 12 and while Dunn only gives up a 57% catch-rate, he also gives up 2.72 yards-per-route covered which is one of the worst marks in the league.

Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals

$6,200 FanDuel / $5,400 DraftKings - vs James Pierre

James Pierre has given up the most yards-per-route covered and fantasy points-per-route in the Steelers secondary. Tee Higgins didn't play against the Steelers earlier in the year, but in one of his matchups against Pittsburgh in 2020, he had seven catches for 115 yards and a score, so he does have some positive history against them. T.J. Watt did not play against the Bengals earlier in the year which hurt the Steelers ability to stop the run. Watt should be active for the Steelers this week which means the Bengals will likely need to lean on their passing game if Joe Mixon struggles on the ground.

Elijah Moore, New York Jets

$5,900 FanDuel / $5,600 DraftKings - vs Desmond King

This is pretty simple, Elijah Moore is the most explosive playmaker the Jets have on offense and they're feeding him the ball. Moore should see Desmond King in coverage when he's on the field, who has given up a 75% catch-rate. King is the guy to pick on in the Texans secondary as he's been targeted on 19% of the routes he's in coverage this season. The Jets are 2.5-point favorites in this contest but that doesn't mean they won't need to throw the ball a ton because Michael Carter will miss the game. Moore has clearly established himself as a fixture in the Jets offense, scoring four touchdowns over his last three games and seeing at least six targets in each of his last five games.

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