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 Friday this piece lists the best wide receiver-cornerback matchups for the upcoming week. It doesn't take a genius to tell you to start , 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.

numberFire's player matchups chart helps to identify advantageous matchups for specific positions. Then, 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, which are powered by numberFire. 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 5 Wide Receiver-Cornerback Matchups

DK Metcalf (SEA) vs. Deonte Banks (NYG)

numberFire Projection: 12.6 points (WR9)

• 73 Yards
• 5 Receptions (8.4 Targets)

FanDuel Props:

• O/U 65.5 Yards
• O/U 4.5 Receptions
• +140 Any Time Touchdown Scorer

D.K. Metcalf has been on a tear the last three weeks, and he has the right matchup to remain productive this week against the New York Giants.

Over his last three games, Metcalf is averaging 7 receptions and 112.3 yards. He's rocking a 24.8% target share and 44.1% air yard share over that span, parlaying a 25% red zone target share into 2 touchdowns.

With New York's 18th-ranked schedule-adjusted pass defense up next, I'm expecting another busy afternoon for Metcalf.

DK should see plenty of cornerback Deonte Banks in this one, and that's good news for Metcalf's production output. Banks has PFF's fifth-lowest coverage grade among qualified corners, and he's allowed the fourth-highest passer rating when targeted (134.5 via PFF). That's happened a lot, too. He's been targeted once every 5.3 coverage snaps -- a bottom-15 mark among corners.

Perhaps the biggest barrier to Metcalf having a monster day is game script. Seattle is Week 5's second-biggest favorite, and an already lackluster Giants offense could look even uglier on Sunday with Malik Nabers sidelined. But the Seahawks have gone to the air regardless of game environment. They lead the league in pass rate over expectation (+6.8% PROE) and have cleared a 10% PROE in two of their last three games.

Their affinity for the air attack should give DK ample opportunities to go over his receiving yards prop, currently set at 65.5 on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Metcalf has cleared 100 receiving yards in three straight weeks while the Giants have allowed the opposing team's top wideout to clear 80 yards in back-to-back games.

Amari Cooper (CLE) vs. Benjamin St-Juste (WAS)

numberFire Projection: 10.9 points (WR18)

• 61.4 Yards
• 4.5 Receptions (7.9 Targets)

FanDuel Props:

• O/U 52.5 Yards
• O/U 4.5 Receptions
• +175 Anytime Touchdown Scorer

We've picked on the Washington Commanders' Benjamin St-Juste several times already this season and will continue to do so this week in a matchup with Amari Cooper and the Cleveland Browns.

St-Juste's PFF coverage grade is down from last season, and he's surrendering a 126.2 passer rating when targeted -- a bottom-10 mark among qualified corners per PFF. He's similarly in the bottom 10 in coverage snaps per target and coverage snaps per reception allowed.

In other words, teams are having a ton of success when targeting St-Juste, and they're doing so at one of the highest rates in football.

That bodes well for Cooper as he looks to build off some strong utilization. For the season, Cooper has a 25.9% target share, and he's run a route on a team-high 86.8% of dropbacks.

He leads the Browns by a healthy margin in air yard share (44.5%) and aDOT (12.2), and he's tied for the team lead in red zone target share (30%).

Consequently, Cooper should feast when matched up against St-Juste, but there isn't anyone in this Washington secondary we should be afraid of. The Commanders are dead-last in schedule-adjusted pass defense on the season, and they've surrendered the second-highest target rate to wide receivers.

Washington has also given up the most touchdowns (10) and the sixth-most end zone targets to the position (8). Such poor scoring marks certainly puts Amari Cooper anytime touchdown in play at +175 odds on FanDuel.

Brian Thomas Jr. (JAC) vs. Indianapolis Colts

numberFire Projection: 9.1 points (WR30)

• 51.7 Yards
• 4 Receptions (6.5 Targets)

FanDuel Props:

• O/U 53.5 Yards
• O/U 3.5 Receptions

The Indianapolis Colts have been a team we've targeted for this piece nearly every week this season, and that'll continue via Brian Thomas Jr. in Week 5.

Thomas has really flashed early in his rookie campaign. He's the WR15 entering this week and is coming off his best fantasy output (18.9 points) of the season.

The rookie first-round pick is second on the Jacksonville Jaguars in target share (21.3%) and air yard share (27%), and he easily leads them in yards per route run (2.50). And with a 12.6-yard aDOT and 3.3 downfield targets (10+ yards) per game, he's getting the kind of looks that are fruitful in fantasy.

It's also encouraging that the Jags are up to sixth in pass rate over expectation (+3.5%) the last two weeks. That's an upward trend we love to see ahead of Sunday's showdown with the Colts.

Indy's zone-heavy secondary is down at 25th in schedule-adjusted pass defense this season, and it's a scheme Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence has shredded for a 78% completion percentage since DC Gus Bradley took over in 2022.

The Colts are bottom-10 in fantasy points allowed to outside receivers, per Razzball. Their outside corners were unable to slow down Pittsburgh's George Pickens last week, and they let up 112 yards to fellow rookie Rome Odunze the week prior. Regardless of alignment, Indy is bottom-10 in fantasy points per target, aDOT, and catch rate over expectation allowed to receivers, per Next Gen Stats.

As a result, we can look for Thomas to have yet another strong game. Props-wise, this is a spot I'd be looking for the over on his 53.5-yard receiving prop.

He's cleared this in two of four games thus far, and the Colts have allowed the eighth-most yards to opposing receivers.

Josh Downs (IND) vs. Jarrian Jones (JAC)

numberFire Projection: 8.3 points (WR44)

• 45.6 Yards
• 4 Receptions (6.5 Targets)

There are plenty of intriguing receiver matchups in this Colts-Jags game, and I'm certainly into Indy slot man Josh Downs.

Downs has quickly become a focal point since debuting in Week 3. He's tied for the team lead in target share (30.4%) and leads them with 11 receptions over the last two games.

The former third-round pick flashed as a rookie last season, and his early involvement is encouraging ahead of such a juicy matchup with Jacksonville.

Entering Week 5, the Jags have allowed the fifth-most fantasy points to wide receivers and feature the No. 30 schedule-adjusted pass defense. While they've permitted the third-lowest aDOT to opposing receivers, Downs does most of his damage close to the line of scrimmage. Through two games, his aDOT is a measly 4.4 yards.

Schematically, the Jaguars have deployed man coverage at a top-five rate league-wide. That'll put Downs up with slot corner Jarrian Jones, and it's a matchup he can take advantage of. Jones has allowed the sixth-most yards per snap among qualified slot corners, and he's permitted a 102.1 passer rating when targeted in the slot.

Downs, meanwhile, has been sharp against man coverage the last two seasons, albeit in a small sample of snaps. He was third on the Colts with a 71.2 PFF receiving grade against man last season, and leads them with an 80.7 receiving grade an 3.20 yards per route run against man in 2024.

Downs and the Colts don't have props up on FanDuel at the time of this publication, likely due to uncertainty around Anthony Richardson's status. But Downs hit a 27.8% target share with Richardson in Week 3 and a 32.1% target share with Flacco in Week 4, so his slot involvement should remain steady regardless of who's under center.

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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.