Fantasy Football: 3 Wide Receiver-Cornerback Matchups to Target in Week 2

Matchups are everything in the NFL, especially at the receiver position.

For fantasy purposes, being able to identify which receivers have advantageous (or disadvantageous) matchups is a sharp way to get a leg up on your opponent.

Each week, we'll run through the best wide receiver-cornerback matchups for the upcoming week. It doesn't take a genius to tell you to start your true studs, but there will be weeks when some WR1s have better matchups and other weeks when typical WR2 or WR3s have matchups that bump them up in our weekly rankings.

Pro Football Focus' (PFF) Player Grades and their WR/CB Matchup chart are great starting points for identifying which specific matchups we want to target.

Projections and rankings come from our NFL projections. All statistics via NFL Next Gen Stats and Pro Football Focus unless otherwise stated. NFL odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.

Week 2 WR-CB Matchups

Brian Thomas vs. DJ Turner II

FanDuel Research Projection: 12.7 points (WR9)

• 69.6 Yards
• 5.2 Receptions (8.7 Targets)

Week 1 was a rough showing for the Jacksonville Jaguars' deep passing attack.

A season ago, Trevor Lawrence posted an 88.7 Pro Football Focus passing grade on throws of 20 or more yards while Brian Thomas Jr. earned a 96.3 receiving grade on targets of 10 or more yards.

But on Sunday, Lawrence logged a 26.7 passing grade on throws of 20 or more yards in Week 1. Plus, Thomas struggled with efficiency by catching only one of seven targets paired with a -51.5% catch rate over expectation (CROE) and -54.0 receiving yards over expectation (RecYOE) -- per NFL Next Gen Stats. Will this tandem bounce back against the Cincinnati Bengals?

The Bengals gave up 278 passing yards in Week 1, but the Cleveland Browns posted an average depth of target (aDOT) of 5.2 yards. Cincinnati returns virtually the same secondary as a season ago, which gave up the 2nd-most deep yards per target and 12th-most deep yards. I'm not putting a ton of value in the Bengals limiting the Browns deep shots to open 2025.

DJ Turner II will likely match up with Thomas. His 4.26-second 40-yard dash is more than good enough to keep up with Thomas' speed, but the Jaguars' standout receiver has a size advantage at 6'2", 209 pounds while Turner is 5'11", 185 pounds. Any matchups against Cam Taylor-Britt would be a welcomed sight as he posted a 36.3 coverage grade in Week 1.

Ultimately, I still believe in Thomas' workload. He led Jacksonville with an 85.7% snap share and 90.9% route rate while reaching a 38.7% air yards share and 45.5% downfield target share. His 11.6 aDOT was even on par with 2024's 11.4 mark.

Lawrence's deep ball should have positive regression, meaning Thomas could expose a secondary that struggled against deep shots in 2024.

Josh Palmer vs. Brandon Stephens

FanDuel Research Projection: 7.1 points (WR54)

• 43.0 Yards
• 3.0 Receptions (5.0 Targets)

The Buffalo Bills' passing attack ate in Week 1, totaling 389 yards and 8.6 yards per passing attempt against the Baltimore Ravens. Of course, Josh Allen spearheaded the attack with 0.34 expected points added per dropback (EPA/db). Exposure to this passing game sounds like a wise idea against the New York Jets, who gave up 34 points and 8.1 yards per passing attempt in Week 1.

Keon Coleman (87.2%), Khalil Shakir (69.2%), and Josh Palmer (61.5%) led Buffalo's wide receivers in snap share. Between the three, Palmer should draw the most favorable cornerback matchup against Brandon Stephens while Coleman lines up with Sauce Gardner and Shakir mostly lines up in the slot.

The Jets ran man coverage at the third-highest rate to open the 2025 season, and Stephens posted a 51.4 coverage grade. When in man coverage, Stephens' coverage grade was even worse (45.0), and his 57.5 man coverage grade from 2024 was underwhelming, too. He could become a weakness opposing offenses consistently pick on.

Palmer enjoyed a healthy workload in Week 1 with nine targets and a 20.0% target share (both tied with Shakir for the second-most). He carried a 28.6% air yards share and 30.0% downfield share compared to Shakir at 21.8% and 15.0%. Plus, Palmer's 22.2% red zone target share was even with Coleman and Shakir. This all led to a solid Bills debut with five catches for 61 receiving yards.

Ultimately, Buffalo should find success against this secondary. Stephens looks like the most vulnerable target, and Palmer's Week 1 workload was good enough to circle the veteran wideout as a potential player for season-long fantasy and DFS.

Kayshon Boutte vs. Jack Jones

FanDuel Research Projection: 7.3 points (WR52)

• 42.6 Yards
• 3.3 Receptions (5.5 Targets)

This week's WR-CB matchups feature several "sleeper" picks. The New England Patriots do not feature wideouts high up on the fantasy totem pole, but the Miami Dolphins' secondary is something I'll likely target all season.

Miami's corner room features Jack Jones (52.9 coverage grade in 2024) and Storm Duck (54.8 coverage grade in 2024). Ahead of the 2025 season, Pro Football Focus ranked the Dolphins with the league's fourth-worst secondary. This unit made Daniel Jones look like an MVP on Sunday, giving up 272 passing yards and 9.4 yards per passing attempt. Miami ceded the fourth-most EPA/db and second-highest pass success rate in Week 1.

Drake Maye's -0.07 EPA/db in the season-opener was nothing special, but I expect Maye to be a much better QB than Jones in 2025. If Jones could shred the Fins' secondary, why can't Maye?

With that said, I'm circling Kayshon Boutte in the receiving corps. He had a splash Week 1 performance with eight targets, six receptions, and 103 receiving yards. As his 17.2 yards per reception suggest, he was a big-play machine thanks to a 38.1% mark for air yards and downfield shares. This translated to an eye-popping 17.1 aDOT.

Miami already showed a tendency to give up the big play by allowing the seventh-most yards per downfield target in Week 1. Jones pitching for 9.4 yards per passing attempt says plenty, as well.

Whether its Jones or Duck, Boutte should have good one-on-one matchups. He led the Pats' receivers with an 80.9% snap share as Demario Douglas carried the next-best mark at 64.7%. While Stefon Diggs is on a limited workload as he recovers from a knee injury (45.6% snap rate in Week 1), look for Boutte to come up with another big performance.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.