Fantasy Football: 3 Wide Receiver-Cornerback Matchups to Target in Week 9

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 9 WR-CB Matchups

Jaxon Smith-Njigba vs. Marshon Lattimore

FanDuel Research Projection: 17.0 points (WR1)

• 104.4 Yards
• 6.7 Receptions (10.1 Targets)

Backing Jaxon Smith-Njigba this year has been a no-brainer as he leads the NFL with 819 receiving yards, and that's with one fewer game than his top competitors Ja'Marr Chase (720 yards) and George Pickens (685 yards). This has translated to monster fantasy numbers with JSN posting 18.6 fantasy points per game (WR1).

Week 9 brings a favorable matchup against the Washington Commanders, who have the seventh-worst schedule-adjusted defense and fifth-worst adjusted pass D. Washington permits 8.4 yards per passing attempt (the most) and the ninth-most fantasy points per game against wide receivers.

Considering Smith-Njigba's lofty 117.0 receiving yards per game, his 38.3% target share and 49.0% air yards share are in line with his expected high volume. His big-time usage should pay off against cornerback Marshon Lattimore -- who Pro Football Focus gives a 51.6 coverage grade.

The Commanders also feature man coverage at the ninth-highest rate, and JSN touts a 91.7 receiving grade against man (third-best). This favors Sam Darnold, as well, as Darnold has the eighth-highest passer rating against man coverage.

While Smith-Njigba will bring lofty props, this is a great matchup across the board. I wouldn't hesitate to back one of the best WRs in the NFL.

Ladd McConkey vs. Samuel Womack III

FanDuel Research Projection: 12.4 points (WR12)

• 69.4 Yards
• 5.4 Receptions (7.9 Targets)

The Tennessee Titans' pass defense has been bad enough, ranking as the fourth-worst adjusted unit while giving up 7.8 yards per passing attempt (fifth-most). Nickel Roger McCreary was traded to the Los Angeles Rams this week. He was perhaps the brightest spot in the cornerback room, touting a 65.6 coverage grade.

This move comes at the perfect time for Ladd McConkey -- who will face the Titans in Week 9. McConkey should be able to take advantage of a new starter at nickel, which could be Samuel Womack III. He has one snap on the season.

PlayerProfiler has McConkey with the second-most slot snaps among wideouts. As seen in our most recent fantasy football stock up/stock down article, Ladd seems to be the Bolts' WR1 once again. Since Week 6, he's totaling 11.3 targets per game while leading the team with a 28.9% target share and 35.9% air yards share. His 37.8% downfield target share from over the past three games could lead to big-time numbers with Tennessee permitting the fourth-most yards per downfield target.

This is a positive scoring environment with L.A. holding a 26.5-point team total. McConkey also sports a 21.7% red zone target share since Week 6.

Between his increased volume and facing the Titans' new starting corner in the slot, the Chargers' WR1 carries one of the best matchups of Week 9.

Xavier Worthy vs. Christian Benford

FanDuel Research Projection: 9.4 points (WR31)

• 45.9 Yards
• 4.2 Receptions (6.8 Targets)

For Sunday's highly anticipated clash between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills, over 52.5 (-105) is my favorite game line. Both offenses are in the top three of adjusted rankings. In a potential positive scoring environment, targeting one of these passing games should yield good results.

Between the two, the Bills' cornerback room looks suspect. In fact, starting perimeter corners Tre'Davious White (56.3 coverage grade) and Christian Benford (45.6 coverage grade) have alarming coverage grades. Nickel Taron Johnson (60.7 coverage grade) is Buffalo's strongest piece, which should mean tougher matchups for Rashee Rice.

With more snaps on the perimeter, Xavier Worthy should benefit from more favorable matchups. Even if we see snaps with both top wideouts on the perimeter, Worthy should get the best matchup against Benford.

Of course, there's some volume concern around Worthy as Rice has posted 9.5 targets per game in his two outings. Worthy is tied with Travis Kelce for the second-most targets (5.5 per game) and second-highest target share (16.7%) since Rice's return.

Thanks to his speed, Worthy still leads Kansas City with a 25.0% downfield target share since Week 7. The Bills slightly leaning into zone coverage (15th-highest rate) plays into Worthy's strengths, too; PFF gives Worthy a 75.0 receiving grade against zone, compared to 68.2 when facing man coverage.

While Rice will take the headlines, Worthy is carrying sneaky good matchups in this one. He could pop some big plays on Sunday, leading to potential value across fantasy football and player props.

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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.