The NFL season is finally here, and I’m thrilled to share the completely free WR/CB game chart for the third year in a row.
Over the past two seasons, I’ve tweaked my process to make the graph more user-friendly and predictive, but NFL teams are moving receivers more than ever in today’s game. It is difficult to determine which CB each WR will face. The chart is designed to give a 1-on-1 matchup for each player, but the reality is that most NFL WRs will see a mix of all the DBs they face each week. The chart is best used to understand how teams defend outside receivers versus inside receivers if teams are shadowing, and how much emphasis they place on slowing down the opposing WR1.
Week 1 is always particularly interesting due to player moves and coaching changes. The PPGA (points per game against) column is blank, and the only metric to help describe games is my rating of each CB. This rating is derived from a study of film, player profiles and advanced statistics.
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WR vs CB chart details
The CB match chart below is an overview of each team’s cornerback group as it relates to fantasy point allocation. There are inherent flaws in compiling cornerback game data. The first is the fact that quantifying a 1-on-1 game in an NFL game is unfair due to zonal coverages, mental errors, certain passing concepts, and a million other things. Awarding fantasy points to a cornerback isn’t a perfect science.
The purpose of this chart is to give a more general idea of how defenses handle opposing WR groups rather than identifying exactly where, when, and how each encounter happened. Another factor to consider is that players are listed based on where they line up most of the time. Most receivers don’t line up to one side every click, so they won’t match the same CB every click.
The “Rtng” column is the rating of each cornerback based on the study and analysis of the film. The lower a player is rated, the easier the match for the WR, so low ratings are green and high ratings are red. The “PPGA” is the number of fantasy points per game that the player has given up on average this year (in week 1 it is empty). Keep in mind that the team scheme is a huge factor in the points awarded to specific players. A name in blue means that the corner could possibly hide the WR1. A name in red means the player is dealing with an injury.
Cornerbacks Rankings and Matches Table – Week 1
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Matches WR/CB to target
Fantasy managers are excited about Jalen Hurts and the Eagles, and Week 1 features a smashing game for AJ Brown and DeVonta Smith. Jeff Okudah was a high draft pick, but he had a tough and injury-plagued first two seasons. The Lions have been a team to target for the past two years.
Terry McLaurin is locked in as the Commanders WR1 with new QB Carson Wentz. He gets a matchup with Tyson Campbell, who struggled mightily during his rookie year.
Tyreek Hill gets an easy game against Patriots RCB Jalen Mills in Week 1. Jaylen Waddle should also see plenty of shots at LWR, so he gets an upgrade as well.
Cincinnati’s three WRs have easy matchups against a relatively poor Steelers CB trio. Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are likely to rotate peak weeks unless one of them is injured. Hopefully the Bengals’ success rate increases this year.
Courtland Sutton is expected to be Russell Wilson’s primary LWR in Denver. In Week 1, he will see Mike Jackson, a former 5th rounder who was cut by the Cowboys last year. Jackson has the length that Pete Carroll loves in his corners, but his profile makes him a huge question mark. The Seahawks will start another 5th round against Jackson in UTSA rookie Tariq Woolen. Woolen beat out Artie Burns and Coby Bryant for the starting job, but he was also unproven. KJ Hamler has a bump and keep in mind that Jerry Jeudy should see plenty of outside shots as well.
It will be very interesting to see how the Chiefs deploy their WRs this season. Whoever sees the Cardinals’ LCB Marco Wilson the most will have an advantageous game. It could be Skyy Moore, Mecole Hardman or even JuJu Smith-Schuster depending on personnel and training.
George Pickens was a star in camp for the Steelers and earned a starting spot against Diontae Johnson. Pickens will see the very scorching Eli Apple in his first game for Pittsburgh.
Drake London is another rookie with an easy game on paper. I’m not sure who will get the most shots at RWR for the Falcons, but if London compares to the Saints’ second-year CB Paulson Adebo, he could make a great debut.
Another rookie could take part in a cake match at Treylon Burks. Anyone facing Giants RCB Aaron Robinson could have a huge day. I listed Robert Woods for most of the RWR shots, which means he would see the awesome Adoree Jackson more. It will be interesting to see the deployment of the Burks, Woods and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine roster.
WR slots with more matchups include Jarvis Landry vs. Falcons, Russell Gage vs. Cowboys, Keenan Allen vs. Raiders, and Byron Pringle vs. 49ers. Jakobi Meyers, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Allen Lazard (if healthy), and Christian Kirk also have a bump.
WR/CB Matchups to Downgrade
The Falcons already had one of the best young CBs in the league in AJ Terrell, but also added veteran Casey Hayward, who has been solid at limiting opposing WRs throughout his career. It’s not an easy match for Michael Thomas or Chris Olave.
Diontae Johnson should see most of his snaps at LWR, and Bengals RCB Chidobie Awuzie is Cincy’s top cover guy. It’s not ideal for Johnson.
DK Metcalf actually produced well with Geno Smith last year, but that was obviously a very small sample. I wouldn’t feel super confident in him against Patrick Surtain II, who had a brilliant rookie year.
Justin Jefferson is obviously a staple every week, but he should see a heavy dose of Jaire Alexander, who is arguably the best corner of coverage in the entire NFL. Davante Adams also gets a demotion against the Chargers’ talented CB group, but he’s still a great game that should see plenty of targets.
Brandin Cooks plays all around the lineup, but the Colts have two very formidable CBs in Stephon Gilmore and Kenny Moore in the slot. Not a good match for cooks.
Two young WRs with a chance of escape will face the league’s two best rookie CBs in Week 1. Michael Pittman Jr. will have his hands full with Derek Stingley Jr., while Rashod Bateman will face the RCB sauce of the Jets. Gardner. I expect these two rookies to be very tough matchups throughout the year.
Xavien Howard, Denzel Ward and Darius Slay are three of the toughest matchups for RWR. If you’re for any reason considering playing Robbie Anderson, Kendrick Bourne, or Josh Reynolds, consider looking elsewhere.
The best slots corners will face off against unstartable WRs this week, but the table will update easy and hard slot matches as the year progresses. The Bills have been great at limiting fantasy points from opposing slots, but that won’t matter in Week 1. Cooper Kupp is playing all around the formation and can’t be stopped.
Thanks for reading and good luck this week.
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