Super Bowl 56 WR/CB Matchup Report
Published: Feb 12, 2022
This is it! We are to the Super Bowl and the final game of the NFL season. Welcome to the final wide receiver/cornerback article of the season. With only two teams playing we will go over both sets of outside receivers and both slot receivers. Then, below the charts in this article, I break down my elite, affordable, and bargain picks for DFS purposes. This is our last chance to win some DFS money, so let’s make it count. Thank you to those who have read all season and I hope that the article has helped you make some winning choices this season! Follow me on Twitter (@fightingchance) as well!
Left Wide Receivers vs. Right Cornerbacks | |||||
Wide Receiver | Team | Cornerback | Team | ||
Tee Higgins | CIN | Darious Williams | LAR | ||
With teams really focusing on Ja'Marr Chase in the playoffs, Higgins has been a beneficiary of less defense. He has 19 targets in the last two games which he has converted to 13 catches for 199 yards although he hasn't found the end zone since Week 16. He does have a seven inch height advantage over Williams assuming that Jalen Ramsey is on Chase. That can't be ignored, although Williams is shorter than almost every receiver and he is still very good. I believe that Higgins will be highly targeted again in this one and will get the middle of the field work while Chase streaks down the sidelines. In a PPR format I think he is a great value for his price tag as both teams should look to throw the ball a bunch in this one. I feel good with Higgins in my Super Bowl lineups. | |||||
Wide Receiver | Team | Cornerback | Team | ||
Odell Beckham | LAR | Chidobe Awuzie | CIN | ||
In his best game in a long time, Beckham had nine catches for 113 yards against the 49ers in the NFC Championship. He certainly has been helped by not only a change of scenery, but a better quarterback and a team with a better receiver who is taking up the majority of the defensive attention. He has 19 catches for 136 yards with a touchdown in the playoffs and is locked in as the second receiver for the Rams. Awuzie had just a 74.8 quarterback rating against and allowed three touchdowns all season. However, I do expect the Rams to throw plenty, and especially if Tyler Higbee can't play that should open up a few more targets for Beckham. I don't know if I expect him to top 100 yards again, but he is a near lock for six catches and 75 yards and is a great mid-range salary option for your Super Bowl DFS lineup. | |||||
Right Wide Receivers vs. Left Cornerbacks | |||||
Wide Receiver | Team | Cornerback | Team | ||
Ja'Marr Chase | CIN | Jalen Ramsey | LAR | ||
His record setting season continued as he had six catches for 54 yards and a touchdown agains the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game. Kansas City did everything they could to keep him in line and while he didn't have an amazing game, that is still 17 fantasy points in PPR scoring. The Rams will also try to do everything they can to limit Chase and certainly have the talent in the secondary to keep him held down. So while the confidence level isn't exactly ten out of ten, I find it hard to believe that Chase can be bottled up the whole game. If you are looking for an anytime touchdown scorer, Chase is a great bet there as well as he has 14 on the season and if the Bengals are going to win this game, he is going to have to excel. He isn't a cheap option but he definitely has the best chance of anyone not named Cooper Kupp to have a slate winning type of game. | |||||
Wide Receiver | Team | Cornerback | Team | ||
Van Jefferson | LAR | Eli Apple | CIN | ||
After a decent middle of the season, Jefferson has disappeared due to a combination of lack of involvement in the offense and a lack of ability to catch the ball. He had just two grabs for nine yards against the 49er and has had more than two catches just once since Week 13 against Jacksonville and hasn't scored since Week 14. There aren't a lot of options on the slate when it is only one game, but Jefferson is either a big play or nothing and he hasn't made a big play in quite a while. I am avoiding him in the final showdown slate. | |||||
Now, here are the matchups in the slot for the Super Bowl
Slot Wide Receivers vs. Slot Cornerbacks | |||||
Wide Receiver | Team | Cornerback | Team | ||
Cooper Kupp | LAR | Mike Hilton | CIN | ||
What's left to be said about this guy this season? He tortured the 49ers for 142 yards on 11 catches with two touchdowns and was the key to the game. Poor Mike Hilton. He is a decent corner, and allowed 72% of passes to be caught and surrendered just four touchdowns in the regular season. But Kupp has been unstoppable all season long and has a touchdown in five straight games and four in the playoffs so far. He is the closest thing there is in DFS and is basically a lock to have 100 yards and a score. Find a way to get him into your Super Bowl DFS lineups if you can. | |||||
Wide Receiver | Team | Cornerback | Team | ||
Tyler Boyd | CIN | David Long | LAR | ||
He has just 62 yards in three playoff games so far on eight catches. There is a narrative out there that he could see more targets if C.J. Uzomah is unable to play, but Uzomah went out early in the AFC Championship and Boyd had four catches for 19 yards. Long did allow over 14 yards per catch which is really high for a slot corner, but he did also give up just one touchdown all season. Boyd would have to find the end zone to return value even though his salary isn't that high, but it has been a couple weeks since he has done that and my confidence level in him has plummeted. However, there isn't another wide receiver I remotely trust in his salary range so if you are looking to go pass catcher for a cheaper bargain you can hope that Boyd finds the end zone. | |||||
Elite
This is the last time I have to write this season about what a no brainer Cooper Kupp has been. It doesn’t matter how much teams try to take him out of the offense, somehow it just doesn’t happen. The Cardinals are the only team all season to keep him under 90 receiving yards and he has a touchdown in eight of the last nine games. He certainly isn’t cheap, but he is also nearly a lock to give you a good return on his salary. The Rams don’t run the ball really well, and Kupp is the motor that makes the passing game go. For the final time, Kupp is an amazing option to get into all DFS lineups for the Super Bowl.
Affordable
Tee Higgins vs Darious Williams
I like Higgins and Beckham here, but I went with Higgins for a couple of reasons. First, he has had more good games for the Bengals this season than Beckham did. Odell had a bunch of touchdowns, but if he didn’t find the end zone, he would have had a lot of ho-hum fantasy outings. Second, I think the Rams have more of a chance to hold down Ja’Marr Chase than the Bengals do of limiting Cooper Kupp. So, if one team is going to rely more heavily on their second-best receiver, I think it will be Cincinnati. I also assume that C.J. Uzomah will not be able to play or will be very limited, which should open up more targets for him over the middle. Higgins has had a very productive year and career, and while the Rams secondary is very good, I still think he has a reasonable chance at 14-17 fantasy points in PPR scoring in the big game.
Bargain Bin
There really aren’t fringe receivers to consider on either team as both only really use three receivers. Sure, the Rams have Ben Skrowonek but he will probably be running laps for a month after dropping that sure touchdown in the NFC Championship. Boyd runs shallow routes, but he still does get a good number of targets, and I have more faith in him than I do Van Jefferson who is the only other receiver in this salary range. Personally, I would probably take one of the tight ends (depending on health of course) or Shooter McPherson (or Money Mac) if you prefer Bengals kicker Evan McPherson. But if you are looking for a lower salaried wide receiver, Boyd is the much better option with more targets and at least he had a nice string of touchdowns towards the end of the season.
*Information gathered from research done at Pro Football Focus.