By utilizing our play-by-play data, we're now able to identify where each NFL wide receiver and cornerback lines up on each play. By tracking matchups between the two positions, including potential shadow situations, we can offer the best projections, rankings and fantasy advice each week.
What follows are the receivers with the best and worst Week 2 matchups, as well as the corresponding fantasy impact.
To view the primary defenders that the top three wide receivers for each team will see in Week 2, be sure to check out
Advantageous matchups
Falcons' Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley vs. Eagles' Ronald Darby and Rasul Douglas
Week 1 is already in the books, but the NFL season can officially be considered underway now that I've picked on the Eagles' cornerbacks for the first time. A long-standing problem area on an otherwise terrific roster, the Eagles' perimeter corners were exploited again in Week 1. Washington rookie Terry McLaurin feasted on Douglas en route to a four-catch, 117-yard, one-score debut. The team's other receivers weren't quite as dominant but still managed nine catches for 93 yards on 13 targets.
Saying Jones has had a lot of success against this Eagles' secondary in recent years is a massive understatement. Consider these lines in his past five meetings against Philadelphia:
2012: 5 targets, 5 receptions, 123 yards, 1 TD
2015: 12-9-141-2
2016: 16-10-135-0
2017: 15-9-101-0
2018: 19-10-169-0
Averages: 13.4 targets, 8.6 receptions, 133.8 yards, 0.6 TD
On the bright side, he hasn't scored a touchdown against the Eagles since 2015. Jones and Ridley -- who both found the end zone in garbage time in Minnesota last week -- will see a ton of Darby, Douglas and Sidney Jones on the perimeter this week. Both should be upgraded.
Browns' Odell Beckham Jr. vs. Jets' Trumaine Johnson and Darryl Roberts
The Browns may have disappointed in Week 1, but Beckham had a decent fantasy day with seven catches for 71 yards on 12 targets. He'll be set up for another good outing in Week 2 with the Jets' shaky cornerback group on the slate. Johnson was targeted on a massive 28% of his coverage snaps against Buffalo in Week 1, and Roberts (26%) wasn't far behind. New York allowed the 11th-most fantasy points to perimeter receivers in Week 1, which is where Beckham aligned on 79% of his routes against Tennessee.
Beckham and Johnson faced off once back in 2014, with OBJ making four catches for 53 yards and one touchdown on six targets (12 routes) when aligned across from Johnson. Jarvis Landry can also be upgraded against slot CB Brian Poole.
Steelers' JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington and Donte Moncrief vs. Seahawks' Ugo Amadi, Tre Flowers and Shaquill Griffin
What happens when a stoppable force meets a movable object? We may find out this week with a Steelers offense that struggled in New England on Sunday set to host a Seahawks secondary that was sliced up at home by Andy Dalton and the Bengals.
After dabbling on the perimeter in the preseason, Smith-Schuster was in the slot on 70% of his Week 1 routes. That role will lead to most of his work coming against fourth-round rookie Amadi, who played 19 snaps in his NFL debut. Meanwhile, Moncrief and Washington will aim for bounceback games against perimeter corners Flowers and Griffin, who contributed to Seattle's second-most fantasy points allowed to outside receivers in Week 1. Flowers was targeted 13 times and allowed 10 catches for 170 yards (all three were league highs) and one touchdown.
Expect a bounceback week from the Steelers' passing game.
Raiders' Tyrell Williams vs. Chiefs' Charvarius Ward and Bashaud Breeland
Williams had a terrific debut as Oakland's No. 1 receiver, catching six of his seven targets for 105 yards and one touchdown against Denver. This week, he'll face a Chiefs secondary that was sliced and diced by Chris Conley (7-6-97-1) and DJ Chark (4-4-146-1) on Sunday. Both Conley and Chark primarily aligned on the perimeter, which is where Williams set up shop on 68% of his Week 1 routes. Upgrade Williams and consider Ryan Grant a sleeper in leagues that start more than three wide receivers.
Other notable upgrades:
Upgrade Bills' John Brown vs. Giants' Deandre Baker
Upgrade Rams' Cooper Kupp vs. Saints' P.J. Williams
Upgrade Jaguars' Dede Westbrook vs. Texans' Xavier Crawford
Upgrade Cowboys' Randall Cobb vs. Redskins' Jimmy Moreland (if Fabian Moreau remains out)
Tough matchups
Buccaneers' Mike Evans vs. Panthers' James Bradberry (shadow)
Bradberry has shadowed Evans during each of the past five games between these teams. In the first meeting back in Week 17 of the 2016 season, Evans had a good day, posting a 10-5-65-1 line. In the two 2017 showdowns, Evans didn't find the end zone but managed solid lines of 10-5-60 and 8-6-107. Last season, however, Bradberry had his number, limiting the star receiver to lines of 10-1-16 and 6-4-48. That 2018 production works out to a total of 16 targets, five receptions, 64 yards and zero touchdowns on 73 routes.
Bradberry's inconsistency can't be ignored, but his recent success against Evans suggests we should downgrade Evans and consider excluding him from our DFS lineups this week.
On the other hand, this matchup opens the door for a big Chris Godwin week. Godwin (67% slot in Week 1) will face off with Panthers slot corner Javien Elliott, who was often picked on when he manned the slot in Tampa Bay. Cooper Kupp posted a 10-7-46 line working from the slot against Carolina in Week 1.
Jets' Robby Anderson vs. Browns' Denzel Ward (shadow)
Granted he committed three penalties along the way, but Ward shadowed Corey Davis in Week 1, and Tennessee's top wideout went without a catch on 19 routes and three targets. The 2018 first-round pick shadowed often, when healthy, last season and is a good bet to follow Anderson around the field in Week 2.
Ward didn't shadow in the 2018 meeting between these squads but was on Anderson on 10 of his 26 routes. Anderson put up three catches for 39 yards on six targets in the game, managing a 3-2-34 line against Ward. Anderson should be downgraded slightly against the emerging corner.
Dolphins' DeVante Parker vs. Patriots' Stephon Gilmore (shadow)
Parker has been active for three of the four meetings between these teams since Gilmore signed with New England prior to the 2017 season. Gilmore shadowed him in all three of those games, with Parker totaling (yes, totaling) 13 targets, six receptions, 60 yards and zero touchdowns on 101 routes in those games. Parker did not clear 40 yards in any of the three games. Gilmore is a near lock to cover Parker in this one, so he should be far away from fantasy lineups.
Broncos' Courtland Sutton and Emmanuel Sanders vs. Bears' Kyle Fuller and Prince Amukamara
Both Sutton (8-7-120-0) and Sanders (7-5-86-1) impressed in Oakland in Week 1, but the duo will have their hands full with a much tougher challenge on tap this weekend. Fuller and Amukamara form one of the league's top perimeter corner tandems, which was on display in Week 1 when they limited Green Bay's perimeter receivers (led by Davante Adams) to 18 fantasy points (eighth fewest). Sutton (87% perimeter) and Sanders (82%) will see Fuller (100%) and Amukamara (100%) on nearly all of their Week 2 routes and should be downgraded.
Other notable downgrades:
Downgrade Lions' Danny Amendola vs. Chargers' Desmond King
The Titans' Adoree' Jackson has shadowed T.Y. Hilton during two of four meetings between the teams over the past two seasons. It's possible that's the game plan again in Week 2, but Hilton's 15-11-216-2 line on 62 career routes when aligned across from Jackson suggests we shouldn't be too concerned.
Lions shutdown corner Darius Slay generally shadows the opposing No. 1 wide receiver, but sometimes his usage is tough to predict if the opposing top wideout primarily aligns in the slot. That's the case this week with Keenan Allen (55% slot in Week 1) on the docket. Expect the two to face off at times this week, with Slay on Mike Williams on the perimeter when Allen is inside. Both should be downgraded slightly against an underrated CB trio in Detroit.
Other shadow situations
Packers' Davante Adams vs. Vikings' Xavier Rhodes (shadow)
Rhodes has shadowed Adams during three of the past four meetings between these teams, with the only exception being a game Adams missed in 2017. The results? A 9-5-54-1 line for Adams in the 2017 meeting followed by 12-8-64-1 and 8-5-69-1 performances in a pair of 2018 showdowns.
Adams has obviously had a ton of success against Minnesota in recent seasons, so it's hard to make a case that he needs to be downgraded. That said, Rhodes is still one of the league's better corners and works in an offense that has allowed the second-, ninth- and third-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers over the past three seasons. Play Adams at your own risk in Week 2 DFS lineups.
Texans' DeAndre Hopkins vs. Jaguars' Jalen Ramsey (shadow)
The Texans and Jaguars have faced off six times since Ramsey was drafted in 2016, and the standout corner has shadowed Hopkins in five of those games (the two aligned against each other on 17 pass plays in the other meeting). The coverage hasn't slowed Hopkins much, as he averaged 11.3 targets, 6.5 receptions, 77.8 yards and 0.5 touchdowns in the six games, with most of that damage coming when aligned across from Ramsey.
Hopkins averaged 17.0 fantasy points in the six games, so while Ramsey is one of the best in the business, we have enough of a sample here that we can't justify downgrading Hopkins. Will Fuller V, by the way, will have his hands full against A.J. Bouye.