RADIO
The wide receiver matchup article from last week was a little underwhelming as most of the recommendations underperformed in great spots. On a positive note, Tyreek Hill (WR-12), Brandin Cooks (WR-19) and Ja'Marr Chase (WR-25) each had decent performances. On the downside, D.J. Moore (WR-38) had a whopping 13 targets but only snagged five of them for 73 yards while Jakobi Meyers (WR-35) had a touchdown called back. Amon-Ra St. Brown (WR-49) didn't come through but he did have seven targets, while Terry McLaurin (WR-63) and Michael Pittman Jr. (WR-64) simply had down weeks. Now it's time to put Week 6 behind us and look forward to Week 7.
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 lock-down corners there are also guys who can be exploited, some of which will be discussed later. Up to this point in the season the Chiefs, Buccaneers, Colts, Cowboys, Dolphins, Falcons and Washington defenses have glaring weaknesses in their secondaries that we can exploit with wide receiver matchups. Analyzing another angle, the Buccaneers, Saints, Browns, Bengals and Patriots defenses have given up less than 4.0 yards-per-carry, 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 7. 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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Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers
$9,000 FanDuel / $8,900 DraftKings - vs Benjamin St-Juste
Davante Adams is WR-4 on the season, leads the NFL in receiving yards (668) and catches (46), and is the second-most targeted receiver in the league with 66, just two behind Cooper Kupp's 68. Washington has given up the second-most fantasy points to wide receivers so far this season, including 20-plus fantasy points to Tyreek Hill, Marquez Callaway, Coley Beasley and Mike Williams. Davante Adams has nearly triple as many targets as Aaron Jones (23), who is second on the team. This passing game goes through Adams and he's primed for a big game against a brutal Washington secondary after he had a quiet Week 6.
Pivot: Tyreek Hill - $8,500 FanDuel / $8,600 DraftKings - vs Elijah Molden
The Titans secondary is very banged up right now and they're coming off a game where they gave up nine catches, 89 yards and a score to Stefon Diggs. Tennessee just put 34 points on a stingy Buffalo defense which means they shouldn't have a problem hanging points on a Chiefs defense that's struggling as of late. This should translate into a pass-heavy game for Patrick Mahomes. The Titans surrender the most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers, so Tyreek Hill should have a massive day, especially since the Titans secondary is dealing with injuries. While Davante Adams is in a great spot against Washington, it's worth noting that Washington is also bad against the run, so if you think that the Packers may get into a run-heavy game plan because Washington won't compete, Tyreek Hill is a good high-end pivot from Adams.
Calvin Ridley, Atlanta Falcons
$7,300 FanDuel / $6,600 DraftKings - vs Noah Igbinoghene
The Dolphins have injury problems in their secondary right now and have given up the third-most fantasy points to wide receivers. Marvin Jones just went for 100 yards and a touchdown against the Dolphins in Week 6 and in Week 5 both Antonio Brown and Mike Evans went over 100 yards and each scored two touchdowns. There's several teams on bye this week so this game actually has one of the higher over/unders on the week (47.5 points) which means we may see a lot of scoring between these two teams that both struggle on defense.
Marquise Brown, Baltimore Ravens
$7,300 FanDuel / $5,800 DraftKings - vs Eli Apple
The Bengals defense gives up just 6.5 yards-per-pass attempt which is one of the better marks in the league, but at the same time, they've been somewhat vulnerable to the explosive play, giving up 20 of them. Trae Waynes will be out again for the Bengals which means Eli Apple will likely get picked on once again. Apple is a decent cover-corner but he has problems with faster guys. Chidobe Awuzie has been the best cornerback in the Bengals secondary this year and he figures to be on Rashod Bateman for much of this contest which should make Brown the guy.
Brandin Cooks, Houston Texans
$6,500 FanDuel / $6,000 DraftKings - vs Marco Wilson
Marco Wilson gives up a healthy 1.75 yards-per-route covered and an 80%-catch rate to go along with it. The Texans are 17.5-point underdogs against the Cardinals so they will be throwing a ton in this contest. The Cardinals rush defense is very bad and they give up 5.2 yards-per-carry which is second-worst in the NFL, but the problem is that teams don't run a ton against them because the Cardinals are normally playing with a lead. As a result, the Cardinals give up a lot of passing touchdowns and volume to receivers, but not necessarily the explosive plays. Given the projected game-flow in this contest, Cooks, who is coming off 13 targets last week, should see a lot of passes thrown his way and if he scores he will have a great day.
Darnell Mooney, Chicago Bears
$5,900 FanDuel / $4,600 FanDuel - vs Pierre Desir
The Buccaneers have given up the seventh-most fantasy points to wide receivers this season and they will be without recently-signed Richard Sherman in Week 7. Darnell Mooney has emerged as Justin Fields' favorite target in the passing game with 39, surpassing Allen Robinson (36). Mooney has an depth-of-target of just 10.26 yards, but when Fields does take a shot to Mooney he has a good shot at connecting with him because the Buccaneers have given up 28 explosive plays in the passing game which is third-most in the NFL.
Corey Davis, N.Y. Jets
$5,900 FanDuel / $5,200 DraftKings - vs Jalen Mills
Corey Davis leads all Jets players in targets this year with 36, ahead of Braxton Berrios (23), Elijah Moore (20), Jamison Crowder (20) and Michael Carter (15). J.C. Jackson is the cornerback in the Patriots secondary you want to avoid and it looks like Davis should do that for most of this contest. The Jets are seven-point underdogs in this contest and while this game may be low scoring which an over/under set at just 42.5 points, Davis should see plenty of targets.
DeVante Parker, Miami Dolphins
$5,600 FanDuel / $5,000 DraftKings - vs Fabian Moreau
The Falcons haven't been able to slow anybody down through the air except Zach Wilson and the Jets, but they're having a rough season. The Falcons have given up 15-or-more fantasy points to DeVonta Smith, Jalen Reagor, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Terry McLaurin so far this year and they likely would have given up similar production to a Giants wide receiver had they not all gotten injured during the game. Jaylen Waddle is clearly Tua Tagovailoa's favorite target in the passing game but perimeter receivers have really been getting it done against Atlanta. Waddle sees a lot of volume, but DeVante Parker is targeted an average of 14.53 yards down the field compared to Waddle who has an average depth-of-target of just 5.54 yards which leads me to believe Parker will have a nice game. However, Parker is questionable so you may need to pivot if he's ruled out.
Pivot: Robby Anderson $5,500 FanDuel / $4,800 DraftKings - vs Jabrill Peppers
Robby Anderson has not been getting it done lately but he has seen 29 targets over his last three games. Anderson is in a great spot against the Giants this week who gives up the 12th-most fantasy points to wide receivers. Anderson will also have a great individual matchup against Jabrill Peppers who surrenders an 86% catch-rate and 1.9 yards-per-route covered.
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