RADIO
The wide receiver matchup article from Wildcard Weekend had some hits and misses. Cooper Kupp had a solid game, going five for 61 yards and a touchdown, while Deebo Samuel had just three catches for 38 yards but came through with 10 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown. Zay Jones had a nice game with five grabs for 61 yards and a score, but Tee Higgins was a massive disappointment in that same game, making just one catch for four yards as Brandon Facyson appeared to follow Ja'Marr Chase and not Higgins for most of the game. Amari Cooper went six for 64 and a score, Byron Pringle had a big game with five catches, 37 yards and two scores and Christian Kirk snagged six balls for 51 yards on 11 targets. On the low-end, Jauan Jennings had three catches for just 29 scoreless-yards, Quez Watkins was targeted seven times but had just two catches for 35 yards and Cole Beasley was only targeted once as it appears Isaiah McKenzie and Gabriel Davis have passed him on the Bills depth chart. Now it's time to put Wildcard Weekend behind us and focus on the Divisional Round.
Now that the field has whittled down to eight teams, there aren't any defenses in the playoffs that are really considered to be terrible units. For the most part, all of the playoff teams have at least respectable secondaries. Out of the eight teams that are still standing, the Titans and Rams are in the bottom-10 of fantasy points against wide receivers. Based on the matchup, all of the Bengals wide receivers are solid plays this week and I want to say the same thing about the Buccaneers, but outside of Mike Evans, it's unclear which wide receivers will get the most playing time. On the other end of things, the Bills rank in the top-five in fantasy points against wide receivers which makes all of the Chiefs wide receivers shaky plays this week. Earlier this season, the Bills really slowed down the Chiefs aerial attack and held all of their receivers under 80 yards.
Analyzing another angle, the Titans, 49ers and Rams defenses are the only remaining units that 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 Super Wildcard Weekend. Use these to set playoff league 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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Cooper Kupp, L.A. Rams
$9,500 FanDuel / $8,600 DraftKings - vs Antoine Winfield Jr.
Cooper Kupp has been Matthew Stafford's guy all season long and there's no reason to think he won't get peppered with targets when it matters the most. Kupp will see Antoine Winfield Jr. in coverage this weekend who only gives up .40 yards-per-route covered, but he also surrenders a 71% catch-rate which is pretty high. The Buccaneers secondary has been playing pretty well lately, and none of their cornerbacks are real liabilities, but Winfield surrenders the highest catch-rate on the team. Kupp is a great route runner, and he can do some serious damage once he gets the ball in his hands, making him a solid play this week.
Jauan Jennings, San Francisco 49ers
$5,000 FanDuel / $3,400 DraftKings - vs Chandon Sullivan
Back in Week 3 the Packers were able to limit Deebo Samuel in the 49ers passing game and, on the ground, albeit he only had two carries. In that contest, George Kittle was the most productive player in the 49ers passing game and Mohamed Sanu was actually targeted six times out of the slot. Jauan Jennings has since taken over as the 49ers third wide receiver and he may see an increase in targets this week if the 49ers are playing from behind and the Packers are able to slow down Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk.
Ja'Marrr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals
$8,200 FanDuel / $7,500 DraftKings - vs Jackrabbit Jenkins
Ja'Marr Chase has already established himself as one of the best wide receivers in the NFL and last week against the Raiders, Joe Burrow fed his No. 1 wideout 15 times. Chase is a big play waiting to happen and he could very well break a big one this week against the Titans who have surrendered the sixth-most explosive pass plays this season (60). The Bengals have a formidable test against Derrick Henry and the Titans rushing attack this week, and if they're going to get Tennessee out of their comfort zone and force them to throw the ball, they're going to need to put points up through the air. Look for Chase to be a big part of that.
Tyler Boyd, Cincinnati Bengals
$5,800 FanDuel / $4,800 DraftKings - vs Elijah Molden
The Titans defense surrenders just 3.9 yards-per-carry which makes them the fourth-best rushing defense in the NFL. If the Bengals are going to have success against the Titans this week, it's going to be through Joe Burrow, not Joe Mixon. Tyler Boyd has the best matchup out of all the Bengals wide receivers this week against Elijah Molden in the slot. Molden is the weakest cornerback in the Titans secondary, giving up a 69% catch-rate and a team-high 1.19 yards-per-route covered. This will likely be a high-volume passing game for the Bengals this weekend which means Boyd has a good shot to come through, especially given his matchup.
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Byron Pringle, Kansas City Chiefs
$5,700 FanDuel / $4,200 DraftKings - vs Levi Wallace
Last week, Kendrick Bourne was able to get open against Levi Wallace a few times who was letting Bourne work underneath, looking to take away any big plays. None of these matchups for any of the Chiefs wide receivers are really good because the Bills secondary has been playing very well, but it looks like Byron Pringle may be the guy if the Bills look to limit Tyreek Hill. Last week Kendrick Bourne did score twice against the Bills, but Bourne beat safeties on those scores, not Wallace. Pringle has been Mahomes' guy in the passing game when teams take away Hill, so he should be involved.
Gabriel Davis, Buffalo Bills
$4,800 FanDuel / $4,600 DraftKings - vs L'Jarius Sneed
Emmanuel Sanders returned to the Bills lineup for the playoffs and against the Patriots last week, he played just 46% of the Bills offensive snaps. Both Cole Beasley and Isaiah McKenzie each played under 40% of the snaps while Gabriel Davis played on 71%. Stefon Diggs will likely see coverage from Charvarius Ward on most of his routes, leaving Gabriel Davis against L'Jarius Sneed in the slot. Sneed is the weak link in the Chiefs secondary, surrendering a 75% catch-rate and 1.4 yards-per-route covered, so Davis has a good shot at having a big game.
Davante Adams, Green Bay Packers
$8,700 FanDuel / $8,500 DraftKings - vs Emmanuel Moseley
Davante Adams is a stud, and Aaron Rodgers will throw plenty of football his way this week. Adams shouldn't see coverage exclusively from Emmanuel Moseley this week, but even if he does, that's not a prohibitive matchup. In Week 3 of this season, Adams had 12 catches for 132 yards and a touchdown against the 49ers. The Packers move Adams around a lot, and he will be a mismatch on pretty much everybody in the 49ers secondary.
Chester Rogers, Tennessee Titans
$4,700 FanDuel / $3,200 DraftKings - vs Mike Hilton
The Titans will have Derrick Henry back this week and they will likely feed him the ball 30 times. However, if you think that the Bengals will put points up on the Titans and force them to throw the ball, Chester Rogers has a decent matchup against Mike Hilton in the slot. Keep in mind though that the Titans are typically a low volume passing offense, so Rogers should only be considered as a low-end option in tournaments.
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