Wide Receiver / Cornerback Matchups To Target in Week 9

In Week 8, the only unfamiliar faces to crack the top 15 at the wide receiver position were Chris Conley and Hunter Renfrow. Conley's big day came because Dede Westbrook was in and out of the game as he struggled with a shoulder injury, resulting in more targets heading Conley's way. Renfrow was fantasy-relevant because he broke loose for a 65-yard touchdown on an otherwise quiet day.

Mike Evans avoided Logan Ryan in coverage for most of his matchup against the Titans and proceeded to scorch their secondary, finishing as the No. 1 wide receiver on the week. Kenny Golladay rebounded against the Giants, as expected, and D.J. Chark took full advantage of his matchup and now stands as the Jaguars' most-targeted wide receiver. John Brown didn't come through because of the windy conditions in Buffalo last week, but he did narrowly miss a touchdown on a deep ball that was altered by the wind.  However, if you played the pivot, Tyrell Williams, you were pleased with that decision. Corey Davis was a huge disappointment last week, failing to take advantage of a good matchup. Davis was held in check for the most part but there were a few instances where Ryan Tannehill missed him badly. Davis will be extremely hard to trust moving forward, regardless of the matchup. Here is a complete statistical recap of the Week 8 recommendations:

• Kenny Golladay - 8 targets, 6 catches, 123 yards, 2 TDs
• Tyler Lockett - 6 targets, 6 catches, 100 yards
• John Brown - 8 targets, 5 catches, 54 yards
• Pivot: Tyrell Williams - 6 targets, 3 catches, 91 yards, 1 TD
• Corey Davis - 6 targets, 2 catches, 9 yards
• Courtland Sutton - 6 targets, 3 catches, 72 yards
• D.J. Chark - 12 targets, 6 catches, 79 yards, 1 TD

Now, let's move onto the current week and find the best matchups to exploit for DFS tournaments and cash games. I really like D.J. Chark again this week. Chark should see a lot of Gareon Conley in coverage. This game has an over/under set at 46.5 and the Texans are good against the run, so the Jaguars are likely to throw a lot in this one to keep pace with the Texans. If Dede Westbrook doesn't play, I am going to give strong consideration to Chris Conley in deeper leagues because he will see an increase in targets. Unfortunately, this matchup is not on the DFS main slate. On the high-end, both Mike Evans ($8,100 Fanduel / $7,200 DraftKings) and Chris Godwin ($8,200 Fanduel / $7,300 DraftKings) have great matchups against Seattle in a game that has an over/under set at 52 points. On the other side of that same game, the Buccaneers are very good against the run and vulnerable against the pass, so both Tyler Lockett ($7,500 Fanduel / $7,500 DraftKings) and DK Metcalf ($6,700 Fanduel / $5,700 DraftKings) are extremely viable this week.

Week 9 WR/CB Matchups to Exploit

Tyreek Hill ($7,700 FanDuel / $7,400 DraftKings) vs Xavier Rhodes

The Vikings Defense is only giving up 89.4 yards-per-game on the ground compared to 224.5 yards-per-game through the air. The Vikings secondary hasn't been terrible against the pass this year, giving up just 6.8 yards-per-pass, but they have surrendered three 300-yard pass games on the season. Defending Tyreek Hill presents a unique challenge for any defense and he will prove to be a challenge for Xavier Rhodes who is a bigger, more physical cornerback who sometimes has trouble with faster receivers.

Allen Robinson ($7,200 FanDuel / $6,800 DraftKings) vs Jalen Mills

The Eagles are giving up 256.1 yards-per-game through the air and 7.6 yards-per-play. The Eagles give up two passing touchdowns per game and Robinson leads the Bears in red-zone targets by a wide margin with 14. Targeting the Eagles secondary has been a consistently good choice in 2019, and with the Eagles favored in this one, Mitch Trubisky will likely be feeding the ball to Robinson for all four quarters.

John Brown ($6,200 FanDuel / $6,100 DraftKings) vs Josh Norman

The Redskins Defense is giving up 240.6 pass yards-per-game and has been burned for 14 pass touchdowns on the season. The Redskins have also proven to be vulnerable against the big play, surrendering 28 pass plays of 20+ yards. John Brown leads the Bills in red-zone targets (12) which is double that of Cole Beasley (6) so if the Bills score through the air this week, it's likely through Brown. Brown should see a lot of Josh Norman, who has been banged up for the last few weeks. Norman has never been a speedster, even when he's healthy he has 4.61 wheels, which is good news for Brown who is an absolute burner.

Robby Anderson ($6,200 FanDuel / $5,500 DraftKings) vs Ken Webster

The Dolphins Defense has been exposed by teams taking deep shots, giving up 31 pass plays of 20+ yards this season which is seventh-worst in the league. The Dolphins were exposed by Diontae Johnson who caught a deep ball in Week 8 and will be very susceptible to a deep ball from Robby Anderson this week. Anderson has been targeted an average of 15.08 yards downfield on the season.

Pivot: Devante Parker ($5,800 FanDuel / $4,400 DraftKings) vs Nate Hairston

The Jets are favored in this one which means Miami should need to throw the ball a lot. The projected total in this one is 42.5 points which is on the low side. Both defenses are performing poorly of late which leads me to believe this one could be a shootout. If you think the Jets will lead for a majority of the game and won't need to throw the ball a lot, then Parker is a decent pivot off of Robby Anderson.

D.J. Moore ($5,400 FanDuel / $4,800 DraftKings) vs Malcolm Butler

Logan Ryan is the Titans cornerback you want to avoid when considering fantasy football matchups against the Titans Defense. The Titans are extremely difficult to run on, surrendering just 3.9 yards-per-carry, which means the Panthers will need to throw in order to move the ball.

Pivot: Curtis Samuel ($5,600 FanDuel / $4,300 DraftKings) vs LeShaun Sims

D.J. Moore has 55 targets on the season, compared to 52 targets for Curtis Samuel. Samuel has four end-zone targets, compared to zero for Moore, and also has more red-zone targets (13) than Moore (10). Samuel only has a 50% catch-rate compared to 69.1% for Moore, and Samuel has an average-depth-of-target of 15.54 yards which is much higher than Moore who is targeted just 10.80 yards downfield. The bottom line is that the Panthers will need to throw the ball in this game and neither Moore nor Samuel should see much of Logan Ryan in coverage, making both of them viable. Moore is the safer play while Samuel is a guy that could really go off and hit some big plays.

Kenny Golladay ($7,600 FanDuel / $7,700 DraftKings) vs Daryl Worley

Sometimes it's hard to predict whether Kenny Golladay or Marvin Jones will emerge with the better performance on a week-to-week basis, especially since they are both targeted heavily in the red zone. Golladay has 20 red-zone targets on the season while Jones has 18. In Week 8, I recommended Kenny Golladay as a must-start because he had a tremendous height advantage over the Giants cornerbacks. In Week 9, Marvin Jones will see Trayvon Mullen who is starting in place of the departed Gareon Conley. Mullen isn't a lockdown cornerback by any means, but he doesn't forfeit any size or speed to Jones. Golladay, on the other hand, has a size and speed advantage over Worley. The bottom line is none of the Raiders defensive backs are particularly good, and the Raiders give up 8.6 yards-per-pass and a total of 19 pass touchdowns on the season. Golladay has nine end zone targets compared to just five for Jones, and with Kerryon Johnson on the shelf, Golladay is a good bet to come through for a second week in a row.