RADIO
Week 1 of the NFL season is in the books and true to form, the league's top cornerbacks held their receivers in check for the most part. James Bradberry limited Courtland Sutton, Marcus Lattimore shut down Davante Adams, Jaire Alexander locked up Marquez Callaway and Jalen Ramsey more or less took Allen Robinson out of the game. The wide receiver matchup article from last week was a bust for the most part as all of the recommendations fell outside the top-10, with Brandin Cooks (WR23) finishing as the best performer. D.K. Metcalf WR29, D.J. Moore WR33, Justin Jefferson WR49, Terry McLaurin WR57, and Michael Pittman Jr. WR79 either suffered from shaky quarterback play or one of their teammates did the bulk of the damage in the receiving game, leaving those guys on the outside looking in. The main surprises from last week were Brandon Aiyuk who didn't see a single target because he shockingly played less than 50% of the 49ers offensive snaps and Russell Gage who failed to catch either of his two targets in a game where Atlanta struggled to move the ball. Now it's time to put Week 1 in the rearview mirror and take a look at Week 2.
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. After one week of play, it looks like the 49ers, Colts, Cowboys and Buccaneers have weaknesses in their secondaries and you should look to target those units with wide receiver matchups. Analyzing another angle, the Panthers, Saints, Broncos, Bengals and Patriots defenses gave up less than 75 yards on the ground last week, which means teams may look to pass on them given their ability to stop the run.
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. The matchup data used in this article is from PFF.
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Allen Robinson II, Chicago Bears
$7,200 FanDuel / $6,200 DraftKings - vs Chidobe Awuzie
The Bengals defense is much improved from 2020, surrendering just 3.0 yards-per-carry on the ground, but their pass defense is still a little leaky which means the Bears may look to pass the ball more than they run it in this contest. In Week 1 the Bengals surrendered 92 yards and two touchdowns to Adam Thielen and 71 yards and a near-score to Justin Jefferson. Allen Robinson is coming off a very disappointing showing against Jalen Ramsey and should bounce back against the Begnals as they do not have a cornerback the same caliber as Ramsey. Robinson is capable of beating Chidobe Awuzie and will also see Eli Apple on a significant number of his routes. When Robinson is covered by Apple he should have a tremendous amount of success.
Robert Woods, L.A. Rams
$6,500 FanDuel / $5,700 DraftKings - vs Rock Ya-Sin
Xavier Rhodes did not participate in practice again on Friday and has already been ruled out for Week 2 which means Robert Woods will draw coverage from Rock Ya-Sin on a majority of his routes and T.J. Carrie on others. The Colts gave up the ninth-most fantasy points to wide receivers in Week 1, including a collective 160 yards and three touchdowns to D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Kenny Moore is the Colts best cover-corner and should be on Cooper Kupp for much of the game which means Woods will have the ideal matchup in the Colts secondary.
Marquez Callaway, New Orleans Saints
$5,700 FanDuel / $4,200 DraftKings - vs Donte Jackson
Marquez Callaway underwhelmed in Week 1 but that was mainly due to the fact that the Saints only threw the ball 20 times in the entire game. Callaway also saw a lot of Jaire Alexander in coverage last week which did not play out in his favor, but he will have a much easier time against Donte Jackson and Jeremy Chinn in Week 2. The Panthers defense gave up a league-leading 2.6 yards-per-carry in Week 1 so the Saints will need to throw if they want to move the ball this week. Simply put, everything is pointing to a big week from Callaway.
Keenan Allen, L.A. Chargers
$7,400 FanDuel / $7,000 DraftKings - vs Jourdan Lewis
Keenan Allen led all Chargers receivers in targets (13) in Week 1 and was able to haul in nine catches for 100 yards. In Week 1 the Cowboys secondary was shredded by Tom Brady and pretty much whoever wasn't being guarded by Trevon Diggs was able to get open with ease. Last week Chris Godwin dominated the Cowboys defense out of the slot which bodes well for Allen who lines up in the slot for about 70% of the Chargers offensive snaps. The Cowboys gave up 379 yards through the air last week and with this game poised to shoot out with an over/under set at 55 points, Allen should have a big day.
Pivot: Mike Williams - $5,600 FanDuel / $6,100 DK – vs Anthony Brown
The Cowboys were smoked by Chris Godwin out of the slot in Week 1 and Antonio Brown was able to beat the Cowboys deep for a big score. Mike Williams should avoid Trevon Diggs in coverage when the Chargers are in three-wide sets, or roughly 50% of his routes, which means he should be able to get deep and have some success against the Cowboys secondary. If you want a piece of this Chargers passing game this week, Mike Williams is a less expensive but more boom-or-bust option than Keenan Allen.
Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals
$5,700 FanDuel / $4,700 DraftKings - vs Marqui Christian
In Week 1 Cooper Kupp absolutely destroyed the Bears defense out of the slot, snagging seven balls for 108 yards and a score. Tyler Boyd was quiet last week but that should change in Week 2 because Boyd clearly has the best matchup out of all the Bengals wide receivers. The Bears gave up the 10th-most fantasy points to wide receivers in Week 1, so this is setting up as a solid bounce-back spot for Boyd.
DeVonta Smith, Philadelphia Eagles
$5,600 FanDuel / $5,400 DraftKings - vs Deommodore Lenoir
The Eagles face off against the 49ers this week and are three-point underdogs in a game that may shootout with an over/under set at 50 points. The 49ers secondary is extremely banged up right now and will be rolling out several defensive backs that were just promoted to the active roster which bodes well for the Eagles receivers. The 49ers gave up the eighth-least fantasy points to wide receivers last week, but that stat is a little misleading because they played the Lions who arguably have the worst receiving corps in the league.
Jaylen Waddle, Miami Dolphins
$5,500 FanDuel / $4,500 DraftKings - vs Taron Johnson
This one is simple, Tre'Davious White is the Bills best cover-corner and he should be locked onto DeVante Parker for most of this contest. Jaylen Waddle lined up in the slot for 78% of the Dolphins offensive snaps in Week 1 which means he should see a healthy dose of Taron Johnson in coverage. Josh Allen has a history of carving up the Dolphins and the Bills are favored to win by three, so if Tua Tagovailoa needs to put the ball in the air a lot to keep pace, Waddle will likely be the No. 1 passing target given his matchup. The Bills are pretty good against the run as well, giving up just 3.6 yards-per-carry and they should have the services of Star Lotulelei back which should limit the Dolphins running game forcing them to lean even more on the pass.
CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys
$6,800 FanDuel / $6,400 DraftKings - vs Asante Samuel Jr.
Last week CeeDee Lamb lined up out of the slot for 44% of the snaps he played which would lead you to believe he will draw coverage from Chris Harris Jr. in Week 2. However, when Cedric Wilson started seeing snaps after Michael Gallup exited with an ankle injury, Wilson saw 82% of his snaps out of the slot. Lamb played 35% of his snaps lined up on the left side, which leads me to believe he will see coverage from Asante Samuel Jr. on most of his routes, meaning he should avoid Chris Harris Jr. for most of this contest. This game has the makings of a shootout with an over/under set at 55 points, so you're going to want a piece of the Dallas passing game.
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