Fantasy Football: 5 Receiver-Cornerback Matchups to Exploit in Week 11

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 I list the best wide receiver-cornerback matchups for the upcoming week. It doesn't take a genius to tell you to start Tyreek Hill, 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.

But how do we know what to look for?

First, the numberFire (nF) Player Matchups chart helps to identify advantageous matchups for specific positions.

Then, we dive deeper into the specific cornerbacks. 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.

For receivers, the three key statistics we'll be citing are Target Share, average depth of target (aDOT), and Net Expected Points (NEP). For cornerbacks, we're mainly looking at the percentage of targets caught (REC%), Forced Incompletions per Target (FI%), and the opposing quarterbacks' NFL Passer Rating against them.

Projections and rankings via numberFire. All statistics via NFL Next Gen Stats and Pro Football Focus unless otherwise stated.

Week 11 Receiver-Cornerback Matchups

DeAndre Hopkins (TEN)-Jacksonville Jaguars

numberFire Projection: 13.6 points (WR17)

• 65.2 Yards
• 5.2 Receptions (8.7 Targets)

FanDuel Props:

• O/U 57.5 Yards
• O/U 4.5 Receptions
• +250 Any Time Touchdown Scorer

Since Will Levis took over as the Tennessee Titans starting quarterback, they've averaged 35.7 pass attempts per game with a -2% pass rate over expectation (PROE), per RBSDM. Before Levis, they averaged just 28.8 pass attempts at a -3% PROE.

That's helped DeAndre Hopkins' targets rise to 8.3 per game (24.5% share). He's run a route on 84.6% of dropbacks and seen a staggering 145.2 air yards per game over that span.

This week, the Titans take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jacksonville has numberFire's 10th-ranked pass defense, but they've let up a below-average 46.8% passing success rate and surrendered the 12th-most adjusted fantasy points per target (1.44) to opposing wide recievers.

What really has me excited about Hopkins this week is that the Jags play zone at the third-highest rate in the NFL, per NextGenStats.

Hopkins is PFF's 22nd-highest-graded receiver (78.7) against zone. He's posted a 16.9 average depth of target (aDOT; 5th in the NFL), 2.5 yards per route run (19th), and 15.6 yards per reception (12th).

D-Hop should continue to see a heavy dose of targets and could capitalize against Jacksonville's zone-heavy scheme.

Terry McLaurin (WSH)-Nick McCloud (NYG)

numberFire Projection: 13.3 points (WR20)

• 63.6 Yards
• 4.8 Receptions (7.9 Targets)

FanDuel Props:

• O/U 59.5 Yards
• O/U 4.5 Receptions
• +185 Any Time Touchdown Scorer

Terry McLaurin is coming off his worst fantasy outing since Week 1, but I'm expecting him to bounce back in a big way against the New York Giants.

For one, McLaurin is one of the most consistent target hogs in the NFL. He leads the team with a 20.9% target share -- a strong mark given that the Washington Commanders rank third in pass rate over expectation (8.9%).

He finished as the WR20 when these teams met in Week 7, scoring 12.0 half-PPR points via a 6-reception, 90-yard outing.

Averaging nearly eight targets per game, McLaurin has an incredible floor/ceiling combination against a Giants defense that's allowed the 13th-most adjusted fantasy points per target (1.43). Per-target numbers may not do them justice, however, as New York has allowed the highest target rate (24.6%) and the most yards per route run (2.20) to opposing wideouts.

Yet, despite being numberFire's 10th-worst pass defense, the Giants play man coverage at the highest rate in the NFL. McLaurin has averaged 16.8 yards per reception against man this season -- a number that could climb after he's done with this secondary.

Primary left cornerback Adoree' Jackson is out with a concussion. That will pit some combination of Nick McCloud (62.9 PFF coverage grade), Deonte Banks (39.2), and Tre Hawkins III (51.6) against Scary Terry.

Banks has been one of PFF's five worst-graded coverage corners in the league this season. The rookie has let up 38 receptions (13th-most) and 513 yards (8th-most) off of 66 targets (5th-most).

Hawkins, meanwhile, has allowed an absurd 21.4 yards per reception -- the second-highest mark in football.

There isn't much experience (or talent) in this New York secondary. McLaurin is clearly Washington's alpha receiver and should feast in a game with blowout potential.

DeVonta Smith (PHI)-Jaylen Watson (KC)

numberFire Projection: 12.2 points (WR27)

• 56.5 Yards
• 4.8 Receptions (7.3 Targets)

FanDuel Props:

• O/U 57.5 Yards
• O/U 4.5 Receptions
• +230 Any Time Touchdown Scorer

DeVonta Smith has been pretty up and down this season. That says less about the uber-talented receiver and more about the number of mouths to feed in this Philadelphia Eagles offense.

That said, Jalen Hurts' target tree lost a branch in their last game when Dallas Goedert went down. With Goedert out for the foreseeable future, DeVonta Smith could ascend to WR1 status just as he did last year.

Goedert missed five games last season. Over that span, Smith was the WR10 in fantasy. He commanded a 27.3% target share and saw 107.1 air yards per game in those five weeks.

This season, his first matchup without Goedert is difficult on paper. The Kansas City Chiefs feature numberFire's third-ranked pass defense, and they've allowed the second-fewest adjusted fantasy points per target (1.11) to wide receivers.

However, KC has let up the seventh-highest target rate (21.2%) and the seventh-highest aDOT (11.3) to the position, so it's not like all hope is lost.

Per NextGenStats, Kansas City plays man coverage at the sixth-highest rate in the league. With L'Jarius Sneed locked in on A.J. Brown, Smith should see a majority of snaps against Jaylen Watson (51.6 PFF coverage grade) and Trent McDuffie (76.8).

Watson has let up a team-worst 123 passer rating when targeted along with a 64% catch rate.

McDuffie, meanwhile, has a team-high 68.9% catch rate allowed and has surrendered a 97.3 passer rating himself.

Smith has also just been better against man compared to zone this season. He's caught 12 of his 15 targets in that coverage while Jalen Hurts has a stellar 119.3 passer rating when targeting Smith in man.

It's far from a cakewalk of a matchup, but DeVonta Smith's projected usage spike gives him a WR2 floor and WR1 upside this week.

Rashee Rice (KC)-Eli Ricks & Bradley Roby (PHI)

numberFire Projection: 8.7 points (WR43)

• 37.8 Yards
• 3.3 Receptions (5.0 Targets)

FanDuel Props:

• O/U 41.5 Yards
• O/U 3.5 Receptions
• +200 Any Time Touchdown Scorer

I am not afraid to admit that I have an affinity for Rashee Rice, but can you blame me? The rookie was quietly the half-PPR WR18 in his five games preceding their bye week, and his utilization continues to climb.

He's also attached to Patrick Mahomes and a Chiefs offense that's passed at the second-highest rate over expectation (9.0%).

From Weeks 1-5, Rice ran a route on just 32.1% of dropbacks. He averaged 7.5 fantasy points per game over that span.

From Weeks 6-9, his route participation jumped to 59.1% and his fantasy points per game climbed to 10.0.

Coming out of the bye week, I'd expect the Chiefs to continue to give their prized rookie more responsibility. He easily paces their receiving room in yards per route run (2.42) despite a less-than-ideal 5.6 aDOT.

Looking ahead to this week, Rice is again in a good spot to perform thanks to his matchup with the Eagles.

Philly has played man coverage at the ninth-highest rate in the NFL this season, per NextGenStats. That should put Rice up against Elli Ricks (34.9 PFF coverage grade) and Bradley Roby (47.8) in the slot -- and a bit of James Bradberry (53.9) and Darius Slay (64.9) on the outside.

Philly has used Ricks in the slot with Roby injured. He's allowed 9 of 14 slot targets to be caught for 114 yards.

However, 31-year-old Roby is expected to return this week, so Rice should see a combination of both. Although Roby has hardly played this season, he received a 49.6 PFF coverage grade in 2022. That was the 14th-lowest coverage grade of all qualified cornerbacks.

In general, the Eagles have been a feeding ground for opposing wide receivers, mostly due to an absurd amount of volume. They've allowed 1.40 adjusted fantasy points per target (15th-highest) to the position. However, they've allowed WRs to be targeted at a 22.4% clip (second-highest) and are tied for the most touchdowns allowed (14).

With Rice leading all KC wideouts in red zone target share (21.6%), he stands a good chance of adding to his (tied for) team-leading four receiving touchdowns.

The matchup and growing role make Rashee Rice a solid flex play in Week 11.

Rondale Moore (ARI)-Tavierre Thomas (HOU)

numberFire Projection: 7.5 points (WR56)

• 27.5 Yards
• 2.9 Receptions (4.3 Targets)

FanDuel Props:

• +350 Any Time Touchdown Scorer

Kyler Murray made his season debut last week and propelled Rondale Moore to a stellar 25.8% target share.

The Murray-Moore connection isn't exactly new. In six games together last season, Murray fed Moore a 20.5% target share, and that was with DeAndre Hopkins still in town.

That makes me confident that last week's heavy usage is a trend we can rely on going forward.

This week, Moore and the Arizona Cardinals square off with the Houston Texans. Houston's secondary isn't terrible, but they have notably let up the second-highest catch rate over expectation (7.4%) in the league.

They also play zone at the fourth-highest rate, per NextGenStats.

Against zone with Kyler Murray last season, Moore only saw a 4.4 aDOT. However, he averaged a team-high 6.6 yards after the catch per reception. That could come in handy against a Houston defense that let up 71 YAC to slot man Tyler Boyd last week.

In general, the Texans have bled fantasy points to slot receivers primarily thanks to Tavierre Thomas (76.9 PFF coverage grade).

Over the last five weeks, Thomas has been targeted the seventh-most times (20) and given up the seventh-most yards (155) in the slot. Over that span, Houston has let Boyd (15.7 points), Adam Thielen (11.2), and Rashid Shaheed (17.3) all have productive fantasy outings from the slot.

With Kyler back and given the favorable matchup ahead, Rondale Moore is a sneaky flex play -- especially in full-PPR scoring formats.

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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.