Welcome to the weekly wide receiver/cornerback breakdown for fantasy football, PLAYOFF EDITION! All season here, we have analyzed each of the outside matchups one by one, as well as some of my favorite matchups in the slot. Even though season-long leagues are done, there are different playoff leagues and plenty of people looking to make some money in DFS, so we still want to help you win. In any format, it is important to dig deep and find the best matchups to gain a competitive advantage, optimize your starting lineups, and win! This article is critical for fantasy football players as it will help you find the right matchups to target when setting your lineups. You can follow me on Twitter, @FantasyCoachJB, and reach out with all your fantasy football questions as well.

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Fantasy Football WR/CB Matchup Report Wild Card Round:

WR CB Matchup Report
      
Left WR vs Right CB
Wide ReceiverTeamDK / FD $CornerbackOppMatchup
Stefon DiggsBUF$7400 / $7700Joey Porter Jr.PITModerate
The 15.7 fantasy points Diggs collected last week was the first time he was in double digits since the bye week. He caught 7 of 8 targets and was once again the focal point of the passing game. This week he will likely draw the shadow coverage from Porter who is one of the top young corners and who has done a great job limiting some of the premier receivers in the league. While Diggs is an elite talent, his inconsistencies lately along with the tougher matchup knocks him down a notch this week.
Amari CooperCLE$6800 / $7500Steven NelsonHOUModerate
Houston plays sides and Nelson plays the right side corner 95% of the time, so when Cooper lines up on the left like he does most of the time he will avoid Stingley and see Nelson. Nelson is no slouch as he has only allowed 1 touchdown in his coverage this season and has allowed less than a 60% reception percentage as well. Houston grades out in the top 10 in team coverage grade so between the tougher matchup and the nagging heel injury, Cooper certainly carries some risk this week.
Michael GallupDAL$3100 / $4600Carrington ValentineGBRisky
Gallup is not seeing enough usage to be trusted, even in a plus matchup this week against a struggling Green Bay secondary. He hasnt seen more than a 51% snap percentage since the bye week and he has 3 games with 0 receptions in his past 6 games.
Jameson WilliamsDET$3500 / $5200Cobie DurantLARModerate
Dealing with a slight ankle injury, Williams is expected to play with no limitation this week. He gets a plus matchup against the Rams who are the second lowest graded team in PFF coverage grades and Durant has allowed over 14 yards per reception in his coverage. Williams doesnt see a heavy target volume, but is an explosive playmaker so he is one of my favorite options in GPP tournaments this week at a favorable price point.
Christian WatsonGB$4500 / $6400DaRon BlandDALRIsky
The hamstring injuries have troubled Watson most of this season and while he is expected to try to give it a go for the playoffs, there is always an increased risk of reinjury with these type of injuries. That alone scares me, and then you look at the matchup against the Cowboys solid defense and Bland who is the #2 graded corner on PFF and Watson becomes too risky to trust even with his immense talent.
Nico CollinsHOU$7000 / $8300Martin Emerson Jr.CLESafe
Last week I said "I once again like him as the main target for C.J. Stroud who is looking to put an exclamation point on a solid rookie campaign." and he did exactly that with 9 catches for 195 yards and a touchdown. Cleveland has a great defense, but Stroud and Collins are clicking right now andI dont see that stopping even in a tough matchup. While Emerson is solid, he does allow over 14 yards per receptions when he does allow catches, they can be big plays, and thats what Nico has been making.
Justin WatsonKC$3400 / $5200Jalen RamseyMIARisky
Watson plays the highest snap percentage of the rotational outside receivers and Mahomes has shown some trust in him, but he is too risky to trust this week. He will see a good deal of Jalen Ramsey and the Chiefs will likely focus the passing game on Kelce and Rice, leaving the rest of the receivers just fighting for scraps.
Demarcus RobinsonLAR$3600 / $6300Kindle VildorDETModerate
Taking week 18 out of the conversation, Robinson has seen 10 targets and/or scored a touchdown in each of the past 5 weeks as he emerged as a great complimentary piece in the Rams passing game. The matchup against Detroit is a good one too and they have used Sutton to shadow a bit so they could use Sutton on Puka and leave the best matchup for Robinson on VIldor. He is in a good spot and is a sneaky DFS play and could also be a good option in a one and done league if you think the Rams can win and want to save Kupp and/or Puka (or if you want to stack Rams!).
Jaylen WaddleMIA$6500 / $7000Jaylen WatsonKCRisky
Waddle is still dealing with a high ankle sprain and while he is trying to play this week, he wont be himself even if he does. The Dolphins are very banged up coming into this game and while Watson has allowed 5 touchdowns in his coverage and would generally be a good matchup, I worry that Waddle isnt healthy enough to take advantage of it, and I dont want to put him in any of my lineups for him to just go out and tweak his ankle and come out. Ill pass this week.
A.J. BrownPHI$8100 / $8200Jamel DeanTBSafe
Theyre calling the injury that knocked Brown out of last week's game a "mild MCL" so he is expected to play throught it this week. It is a plus matchup against the vulnerable Buccaneers secondary so as long as he is healthy and Hurts is dealing with his finger injury fine, Brown is a solid play this week in all formats.
George PickensPIT$5200 / $6600Rasul DouglasBUFRisky
Ever since Mason Rudolph took over, Pickens has thrived. Then last week he came back down to earth with a goose egg in a touch matchup against Baltimore and he gets another tough matchup with Buffalo this week. Douglas can be beat on deep balls, but he is a very solid overall corner so it makes Pickens a boom/bust risky option to use this week. Maybe you can use him in a one-and-done style league figuring its his only game and hoping he can get behind the defense for a long touchdown.
Mike EvansTB$6900 / $8400Darius SlayPHIModerate
Slay returned to practice this week after being out several weeks after arthroscopic knee surgery. We arent 100% that he plays but if he does it makes things harder for Evans. Philly has really struggled in the secondary so it is a good matchup for Evans who is Bakers favorite target and a touchdown machine. The only reason I wont call him fully safe is because Baker is dealing with a rib injury that we saw prevented him from throwing deep. If the ribs dont heal, he may have some trouble getting it to Evans down the field. Keep an eye on practice reports.
      
Right WR vs Left CB
Wide ReceiverTeamDraftKings/FanDuelCornerbackOppMatchup
Gabe DavisBUF$5300 / $6000Levi WallacePITRisky
After leaving last week's game with a PCL sprain, we arent sure if we will see Davis this week or not yet. he has been a boom/bust play all year and with the injury concern on top of it all, he is a risky option this week.
David BellCLE$3500 / $5100Derek StingleyHOURisky
Last week I had Bell in this article as a DFS dart throw option and he managed to score 2 touchdowns to really pay off those who took the gamble. With Tillman ruled out and a banged up Cooper, there could be some increased opportunities for Bell again this week, but he gets a tough matchup against the Houston secondary and Stingley who is graded as a top 10 corner in PFF coverage grades. In a tough matchup, even with a couple extra targets, Bell is a risky play this week,
Brandin CooksDAL$4900 / $6500Jaire AlexanderGBModerate
Aleander moves around but rarely goes into the slot so he likely wont match up with Lamb. Instead of wasting him on Gallup, the Packers will likely use him to shadow the top outside receiver for Dallas and that's Cooks. Cooks has been very productive as the #2 receiver in Dallas but the tougher matchup with the possible shadow from Alexander brings him down from safe to moderate for me this week.
Josh ReynoldsDET$3800 / $5500Ahkello WitherspoonLARRisky
Prior to last week, Reynolds has not seen more than4 targets since week 5 and has only scored double digit fantasy points 3 times this season. The Rams are a plus matchup, but there just isnt enough volume for us to be able to trust him.
Romeo DoubsGB$5400 / $5700Stephon GilmoreDALRisky
Green Bay's receiver room is all sorts of banged up and now Doubs is a part of it once again with bruised ribs. He has 4 catches or less in each of his last 7 games and now he matches up with Gilmore who is still one of the league's top corners. Ill be avoiding Doubs and looking elsewhere at this price point.
Noah BrownHOU$5100 / $6200Denzel WardCLERisky
Dealing with a back injury that could be a herniated disk, we Brown may not even be able to play this week. Even if he does go, it will be a tough matchup against Ward and the Cleveland defense so I will avoid Brown this week.
Marquez Valdes-ScantlingKC$3000 / $4800Eli AppleMIARisky
With Xavien Howard out, Eli Apple would be a good guy to target, but not with MVS. He doesnt see enough volume, he has issues with drops and he is nothing more than a min-salary GPP dart throw.
Puka NacuaLAR$7200 / $8000Cameron SuttonDETSafe
I'm thinking that this is a situation where they could use Sutton to travel with Nacua to try to limit him. While normally shadow coverage downgrades receivers, Sutton isnt that great, hes just the better of the 2 corners. Nacua has shown his ability all season and he will look to keep making his mark in his first playoff game. The matchup is good and the price is fair in DFS also.
Tyreek HillMIA$8700 / $9400L'Jarius SneedKCSafe
After missing some time with injury and then coming back not 100%, Tyreek has gone right back to his target monster self averaging 13 targets over the past 3 weeks. Sneed has been incredible this season in shadow coverage so this is going to be great matchup between 2 of the best at their positions. With the target volume he sees and a gimpy Waddle, Hill is still very viable even in a tough matchup.
DeVonta SmithPHI$6700 / $7200Carlton Davis IIITBModerate
Smith sat out last week dealing with an ankle injury. He is still not 100% so even in a plus matchup against Tampa he isnt totally safe. He has seen 5 targets in each of his past 3 games so the floor is there, but the price isnt low enough to use in DFS and the ankle injury make shim more risky than Id like this week.
Diontae JohnsonPIT$5000 / $6700Christian BenfordBUFModerate
Dionte got into the double digits last week for the second week in a row and finally outperformed George Pickens for the first time with Rudolph at quarterback. Unfortunately yhe upside is capped this week in a tough matchup against Benford and the Buffalo defense. Pittsburgh will struggle to score in this game so I dont like using any of them this week.
Chris GodwinTB$6200 / $6900James BradberryPHIModerate
In the past 5 games, Godwn in has scored double digit fantasy points and should do it again this week in a plus matchup. Especially if Baker Mayfield is still dealing with the sore ribs, he will look more to Godwin on the short routes over Evans on the outside.

Top 10 Matchups in the Slot for Wild Card Round

Slot WR vs Slot CB
Wide ReceiverTeamDraftKings/FanDuelCornerbackOppMatchup
CeeDee LambDAL$9000 / $10000Keisean NixonGBSafe
With Jaire Alexander not often playing the slot, I dont think he shadows Lamb, which then leaves him matched up with Nixon in the slot.This is a very favorable matchup for Lamb against a guy who allows over an 80% reception percentage. If this is the matchup, Lamb should feast this week.
Amon-Ra St. BrownDET$8000 / $9000Quentin LakeLARSafe
In the past 4 weeks, Amon-Ra has scored at least 22 fantasy points each week. He now gets a plus matchup against the Rams second lowest graded defense and Lake who has allowed over a 70% reception percentage in his coverage. I like ARSB as one of my favorite plays of the week.
Jayden ReedGB$5700 / $7000Jourdan LewisDALSafe
Reed is dealing with turf toe and a rib injury, but he will still be out there and Jordan Love needs that. All of the Packers receivers are banged up,.but they will need to rely on Reed to keep pace with Dallas this week. Lewis is the guy to target here since the outside corners are excellent and are usually avoided by opponents.
Cooper KuppLAR$7500 / $7500Brian BranchDETSafe
Branch is an excellent rookie who is a big hitter, but not a great cover corner. He is a converted safety and the matchup advantage goes to Kupp here. If he comes back healthy this week, He is an excellent play.
Rashee RiceKC$6600 / $7800Kader KohouMIASafe
Since emerging as the clear #2 targets in the passing game, Rice has seen a favorable snap and target share. he also gets a plus matchup against Kohou while his teammates struggle with the Dolphins pass defense.
Elijah MooreCLE$4000 / $6000Desmond KingHOUSafe
I like Moore this week as my favorite pay-down receiver. With Cooper banged up, Joe Flacco will need to rely on his guys in the middle of the field which is Moore and David Njoku. King was brought back in more for his tackling than his coverage so this is a good matchup for Moore who should see increased volume in a plus matchup.
Khalil ShakirBUF$3400 / $5800Chandon SullivanPITModerate
Coming off a 16.5 fantasy point performance, Shakir has been given some more opportunity, especially with Gabe Davis going down last week. He efficiently caught all 6 of his targets and he gets a plus matchup against Sullivan who has allowed a 69.7% reception percentage in his coverage.
Julio JonesPHI$3900 / $5100Christian IzienTBRisky
I'm calling this one risky, but Ihave to mention Jones this week. He has a 2 touchdown performance 2 weeks ago and followed that up with 2 catches for 13 yards last week. He is a true risk/reward option, but he does have a favorable matchup against the rookie undrafted free agent in Izien.