Andre Johnson broke the trend against the Seahawks, putting up nine receptions for 110 yards against a D that has allowed few WR points. Of course, DeAndre Hopkins got the Richard Sherman treatment for most of the day and walked away with just two catches for 27 yards. There will obviously be times when a player outdoes expectations against a tough matchup but those are outliers, not the norm. For the most part, tough matchups mean low fantasy output so despite being wrong on Andre last week, I’d still avoid Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton against the Seahawks.
Luckily, the tough Steelers and Buccaneers defenses are on bye weeks but Torrey Smith, Brandon Marshall, A.J. Green, Nate Washington, and plenty of other receivers have tough matchups this week. Steve Smith figures to get the Patrick Peterson treatment against the Cards so he’s a tough start as well.
On the positive side, Calvin Johnson, Victor Cruz, Josh Gordon, Marques Colston, Demariyus Thomas, and DeSean Jackson are all liable to see big games on Sunday. With Stephen Hill and Santonio Holmes out against the Falcons, even Jeremy Kerley might be worthy of a start on matchup alone.
Let’s take a look at how the WR matchups are shaping out heading into Week 5.
Browse Defensive Matchups by Position: QB – RB – WR – TE
Highly Unfavorable, Unfavorable, Neutral, Slightly Favorable, Favorable
|
Rank |
AVG |
Defense |
Week 5 Opponents |
|
1 |
12.03 | Seahawks | Reggie Wayne, T.Y. Hilton, Darrius Heyward-Bey |
|
2 |
13.00 | Steelers | BYE |
|
3 |
15.27 | Buccaneers | BYE |
|
4 |
15.57 | Dolphins | Torrey Smith, Marlon Brown |
|
5 |
16.60 | Saints | Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery |
|
6 |
17 | Patriots | A.J. Green, Mohamed Sanu, Marvin Jones |
|
7 |
17.5 | Lions | Randall Cobb, Jordy Nelson, James Jones |
|
8 |
17.5 | Colts | Sidney Rice, Golden Tate, Doug Baldwin |
|
9 |
18.1 | Cardinals | Steve Smith, Ted Ginn Jr., Brandon LaFell |
|
10 |
18.27 | Chiefs | Nate Washington, Kendall Wright, Kenny Britt |
|
11 |
18.57 | Titans | Dwayne Bowe, Donnie Avery, Dexter McCluster |
|
12 |
19.4 | 49ers | Andre Johnson, DeAndre Hopkins |
|
13 |
20.57 | Panthers | Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, Andre Roberts |
|
14 |
20.77 | Texans | Anquan Boldin |
|
15 |
21.6 | Browns | Stevie Johnson, Robert Woods |
|
16 |
21.9 | Jets | Julio Jones, Roddy White, Harry Douglas |
|
17 |
22.77 | Vikings | BYE |
|
18 |
23.03 | Bengals | Julian Edelman, Kenbrell Thompkins, Aaron Dobson, Danny Amendola (Q) |
|
19 |
23.3 | Jaguars | Chris Givens, Tavon Austin, Austin Pettis |
|
20 |
26.3 | Broncos | Dez Bryant, Terrance Williams, Dwayne Harris, Miles Austin (Q) |
|
21 |
26.3 | Raiders | Vincent Brown, Eddie Royal, Keenan Allen |
|
22 |
27.37 | Ravens | Mike Wallace, Brian Hartline, Brandon Gibson |
|
23 |
27.83 | Giants | DeSean Jackson, Jason Avant, Riley Cooper |
|
24 |
28.1 | Cowboys | Demariyus Thomas, Eric Decker, Wes Welker |
|
25 |
29.67 | Rams | Justin Blackmon, Cecil Shorts |
|
26 |
29.93 | Chargers | Denarius Moore, Rod Streater |
|
27 |
29.97 | Falcons | Jeremy Kerley (Stephen Hill, Santonio Holmes likely out) |
|
28 |
31.23 | Bears | Marques Colston, Kenny Stills, Robert Meachem, Lance Moore (Q) |
|
29 |
31.3 | Bills | Josh Gordon, Davone Bess, Greg Little |
|
30 |
31.67 | Eagles | Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, Ruben Randle |
|
31 |
32.23 | Packers | Calvin Johnson, Ryan Broyles, |
|
32 |
35.37 | Redskins | BYE |
*Values based on Yahoo standard scoring.
Browse Defensive Matchups by Position: QB – RB – WR – TE
