RADIO
In Week 1 we nailed some of the wide receiver matchups to target, but we got some wrong too. Heading into Week 2, it's always a good idea to go back through the decision making process you used the week prior to see where you went wrong. San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Dante Pettis came up incredibly small in Week 1, only playing two snaps. Pettis was dealing with a calf injury but he was practicing in full leading up to the game and listed as a starter on the 49ers depth chart which was encouraging news. We cannot get burned by Pettis again and he cannot be trusted in your DFS or season-long lineups until he starts playing more.
Brandin Cooks came up small in Week 1 with just two catches for 39 yards but Jared Goff narrowly missed him on a 44-yard touchdown which would have salvaged his day. Tyler Boyd and Chris Godwin both registered 14.3 PPR-points in their season openers which is decent production, so we can consider those plays to be solid decisions. DeSean Jackson absolutely blew up against his old team with eight catches, 154 yards and two touchdowns. If you had Jackson in your Week 1 lineup, you probably won. Jamison Crowder was targeted 17 times in his debut for the NY Jets and ended up with 24.3 PPR-points. Even Crowder’s recommended pivot, John Brown, exploded in his first game with the Buffalo Bills, snagging seven balls for 123 yards and one touchdown.
Week 1 always throws a few surprises at us. Some players that broke out last week may sustain their success throughout the season, but others may see drastic peaks and valleys in their week-to-week production. Now, we will take what we learned in Week 1, along with historical data, and try to figure out which wide receivers' matchups to target in in Week 2.
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WR/CB Matchups to Target in Week 2
Cooper Kupp (FanDuel $6,800 / DraftKings $6,000) vs PJ Williams
Last year against the New Orleans Saints, Kupp had five catches for 89 yards and one touchdown. In Week 1, the Saints slot cornerback PJ Williams was routinely targeted and burned by Houston Texans wide receivers Kenny Stills and Will Fuller. In 2018, Cooper Kupp had five catches, 89 yards and one touchdown when he lined up against Williams and when you couple that with Williams shaky Week 1 performance, the Saints cornerback should continue to hemorrhage yards in Week 2. FanDuel Sportsbook is calling for 51 ½ points in this game, so there should be plenty of fantasy-points scored.
Michael Gallup (FanDuel $6,200 / DraftKings $5,600) vs Quinton Dunbar
In Week 1 Washington Redskins cornerback Quinton Dunbar was absolutely torched by DeSean Jackson for over 150 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson simply ran by Dunbar. In Week 2, Dunbar will be tasked with covering Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup. The second-year receiver had a day of his own last week, reeling in seven passes for 158 yards and it’s extremely likely he repeats that effort against the Redskins in Week 2. In two games against the Redskins in 2018, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott totaled 562 passing yards and threw three touchdowns, so there should be decent passing volume in this game that has a 46 ½ point total according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
Marvin Jones (FanDuel $5,700 / DraftKings $4,900) vs Michael Davis
LA Chargers cornerback Casey Hayward Jr. will shadow Kenny Golladay in Week 2 and one of the best slot cornerbacks in the game, Desmond King II, will line up across from slot receiver Danny Amendola. This leaves Marvin Jones Jr. with the best matchup for the Lions in Week 2, as Jones will likely be matched up on Michael Davis. Hayward and King are hard to beat, and the Lions will need to pass the ball to somebody, so this game is setting up well to be Marvin Jones’ day to shine based on the individual matchups. In Week 1 Jones came up kind of small with four catches and 56 yards receiving off just four targets, but he was on the field for 81.93% of the Lions offensive snaps which is encouraging.
Pivot: Emmanuel Sanders ($5,600 / $4,700) vs Buster Skrine. The Chicago Bears Defense is pretty good, but they do have a weak link, and that weak link is their slot cornerback Buster Skrine.
John Brown (FanDuel $6,300 / DraftKings $5,200) vs Janoris Jenkins
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper was able to get behind Janoris Jenkins in Week 1 for 106 receiving yards and one touchdown. The Giants Defense appears to be lacking a pass rush thus far in 2019 and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen could do some serious damage against the Giants secondary if he has sufficient time to throw the ball. The second-year signal caller has a huge arm and he has a wide receiver in John Brown who he can’t overthrow which is a recipe for success. Brown moved around the formation for Buffalo in Week 1 and Jenkins doesn’t shadow, so there’s a chance that Brown finds himself matched up on the other, less proven, Giants cornerbacks which would be great for fantasy production. FanDuel Sportsbook only has this game at a 43 ½ total, but Brown should be productive because he’s the guy in the Buffalo passing game.
Sammy Watkins (FanDuel $7,400 / DraftKings $7,200) vs Lamarcus Joyner
Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill will miss the next few weeks which elevates Sammy Watkins to number-one receiver duties. The jury has been out on Sammy Watkins over the years because he's often injured and although he's had big games in the past, those big games came on a very inconsistent basis. However, during the Chiefs Week 1 broadcast, it was mentioned quite often that Watkins changed his off-season training regimen in an effort to stay healthy, which leads me to believe this may be a new-and-improved Sammy Watkins that we are witnessing. Chiefs @ Raiders is FanDuel Sportsbook highest total of the week at 52 1/2, so get Watkins in your lineups because points will be scored.
Julio Jones (FanDuel $8,300 / $7,300 DraftKings) vs Ronald Darby
If you play in a Sunday or Monday-night slate, you should make an effort to build your DFS lineups around Julio Jones because he will see a lot of Ronald Darby in coverage. Terry McLaurin absolutely smoked Ronald Darby in Week 1 for 125 yards and one touchdown, and the rookie out of Ohio State could have produced even more if Case Keenum didn’t overthrow him on a long pass. The last time I checked, Julio Jones is a better football player than Terry McLaurin, so it’s likely that Julio smokes Darby just as McLaurin did, if not worse. In five career games against the Eagles, Jones averages 7.2 catches, 119.4 yards and scored twice which bodes extremely well for his Week 2 outlook.
