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Matchups to Attack
Tyler Boyd vs Lamarcus Joyner
Tyler Boyd has seen plenty of ups and downs throughout the 2019 season. Through 9 games, he owns 57 receptions for 598 yards and 1 touchdown on 91 targets. He has also scored double-digit fantasy points in each of his last two games. Boyd has only seen 661 air yards with a 7.3 aDOT, though. His low aDOT and lack of efficiency is a bit surprising. Boyd has only seen four red zone targets for the Cincinnati Bengals. He has struggled with two receptions for eight yards on those targets.
Boyd has played 68% of his snaps as Cincinnati’s slot receiver this season. He gets a matchup against Lamarcus Joyer, who has played 100% of his snaps as the Oakland Raiders slot corner. He has only been targeted on 14% of his routes covered, while allowing a 63% catch rate. Joyer has also struggle in 2019, allowing 0.30 fantasy points and 1.27 yards per route covered. He has graded out as Pro Football Focus’ (PFF) fourth worst cornerback in the NFL. Boyd has the potential to take advantage of this particular matchup.
Mohamed Sanu vs Ronald Darby
Mohamed Sanu is in an interesting spot. He only played 54% of the offensive snaps in his first game with the New England Patriots. He turned 5 targets into 2 receptions and 23 yards. In his second game, he played 100% of the offensive snaps. He also found tremendous success, posting 10 receptions for 81 yards and 1 touchdown on 14 targets. He’ll likely see a large role in the New England offense once again as he continues to get acclimated to his new team.
Sanu has played 78% of his snaps as a slot receiver this season, but he’s expected to shift to the left outside receiver for the Patriots this week. He’s expected to get a matchup against Ronald Darby, who has only played 38% of his snaps as the right outside cornerback. It’s a bit of an odd matchup, but Sanu will boast the advantage. Darby has allowed a 65% catch rate, while being targeted on 27% of his routes covered. He is also giving up 0.50 fantasy points and 1.96 yards per route covered in 2019. Darby has played somewhat of limited snaps, but he still ranks as a bottom-six cornerback in the NFL, per PFF. Sanu generally doesn’t come with elite upside, but given the matchup and his new offense, he makes an outstanding option for his price tag.
Curtis Samuel vs Blidi Wreh-Wilson
Curtis Samuel has flashed as a receiver this season, but he has been far from consistent. Through 9 games, he has posted 34 receptions for 442 yards and 5 touchdowns on 68 targets. He comes with elite upside, though, as he ranks fifth in the NFL in air yards (1,044), while boasting a 15.4 aDOT. Samuel leads the Carolina Panthers with eight red zone targets. He has turned those into 5 receptions for 46 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Samuel has played the majority of his snaps (48%) as Carolina’s right outside receiver. He’ll face off against Blidi Wreh-Wilson, who has played 52% of his snaps as the Atlanta Falcons left outside cornerback. Wreh-Wilson has allowed a 75% catch rate, while being targeted on 19% of his routes covered in 2019. He has struggled against speed receivers, giving up 2.21 yards per route covered. He has also given up 0.36 fantasy points per route covered this season. Wreh-Wilson has graded out as the seventh worst cornerback in the NFL, according to PFF. Samuel certainly comes with risk, but he makes an elite option for a relatively low price tag on this slate.
Matchups to Avoid
Robby Anderson vs Quinton Dunbar
Robby Anderson was a preseason breakout candidate, but that has been far from the case this season. He has only posted 24 receptions for 353 yards and 1 touchdown on 50 targets through 9 games. He has scored single-digit fantasy points in seven of his nine games, as well. Anderson has seen 707 air yards in 2019, while posting a 14.1 aDOT. He has only seen one red zone target this season, failing to capitalize on that target.
Anderson has played 47% of his snaps as the New York Jets left outside receiver. He gets a matchup against Quinton Dunbar, who has played 83% of his snaps as the Washington Redskins right outside cornerback. He has been targeted on 17% of his routes covered, allowing a 63% catch rate. Dunbar has allowed his opponents to record 0.25 fantasy points and 1.39 yards per route covered this season. He has graded out as PFF’s best cornerback in the NFL in 2019. Anderson continues to struggle with targets and production, and that is unlikely to change against one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL.
DeAndre Hopkins vs Marcus Peters
DeAndre Hopkins has been enjoying an outstanding season. He owns 68 receptions for 665 yards and 4 touchdowns on 92 targets. He has also seen double-digit targets in each of his last four games. Hopkins ranks eighth in the NFL in air yards (929), although he only owns a 10.1 aDOT. More importantly, he has seen a team-high 9 red zone targets, posting 6 receptions for 30 yards and 4 touchdowns in the red zone.
Hopkins has seen the majority of his snaps (41%) as the Houston Texans left outside receiver this season. He’ll get a matchup against Marcus Peters, who has played 50% of his snaps as the right outside cornerback in 2019. He has allowed a 61% catch rate, while being targeted on 17% of his routes covered. Peters has also held his opponents to 0.29 fantasy points and 1.28 yards per route covered this season. Most importantly, Peters has graded out as a top-three cornerback in the NFL, per PFF. While Peters won’t be able to completely shut down Hopkins, the latter is a bit too expensive for this particular matchup.
Larry Fitzgerald vs K’Waun Williams
Larry Fitzgerald continues to see mixed results in 2019. He has posted 50 receptions for 556 yards and 2 touchdowns through 10 games. He has flashed upside at times, but he has also scored single-digit fantasy points in 4 of his 10 games. Fitzgerald has only seen 587 air yards with an 8.3 aDOT. He has also turned a team-high 9 red zone targets into 4 receptions for 3 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Fitzgerald plays almost exclusively in the slot, as he has seen 90% of his snaps as the Arizona Cardinals slot receiver this season. He gets a matchup against K’Waun Williams, who has played 98% of his snaps as the San Francisco 49ers slot corner. He has only been targeted on 11% of his route covered, while allowing a 68% catch rate. Williams has held his opponents to only 0.17 fantasy points and 0.89 yards per route covered in 2019. He has graded out as a top-seven cornerback in the NFL, according to PFF. Fitzgerald posted 4 receptions for 38 yards in his matchup against San Francisco two weeks ago, and he could struggle once again this weekend.
Follow Justin Bales on Twitter (@BalesSJustin)
