Corner Report: Week 9

This article will go game by game for the Sunday main slate looking at the top wide receivers from an offense and, based on the inside/outside and left/right splits in the alignment data of those receivers, identify the cornerbacks most likely to face them in man coverage.

Receivers very rarely see the same corner every play, be it due to formational quirks or zone coverage calls by the defense, so a receiver's fortunes depend on much more than just the quality of the corner they're likely to see the most in a given game. Even against a bad corner, a good receiver can be denied the opportunity if the pass rush or something else outside his control complicates things. But it's part of the puzzle, and it's worth keeping track of.

Receivers are left with an Upgrade, Downgrade, or Even verdict based on their projected matchup. This shouldn't be read as 'good' or 'bad' but rather a measured tweak from the receiver's baseline projection.

DAL vs DEN

Dallas Wide Receivers

The Denver defense has gotten better results out of right corner Ronald Darby and left corner Patrick Surtain in recent weeks, and if they can maintain their momentum they should make a formidable trio with slot corner Bryce Callahan. The Broncos defense underachieved early in the year, but it's possible that they're better at this point. CeeDee Lamb plays outside more and more often on the left than Amari Cooper, so Lamb should see Darby most followed by Surtain while Cooper sees a more even split of Darby/Surtain, with more looks at Callahan than Lamb. Cedrick Wilson plays the slot most reliably when Dallas goes three-wide, and he should mostly run against Callahan. Callahan is probably a better corner than Wilson is a receiver, but Wilson (6-foot-2) does have a build advantage over Callahan (5-foot-9).

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper, Cedrick Wilson

Denver Wide Receivers

Jerry Jeudy will rarely leave the slot, while Courtland Sutton usually plays the left side and Tim Patrick usually the right. Sutton and Patrick will occasionally switch sides, but for the most part the Broncos should match up Trevon Diggs against Sutton and Anthony Brown against Patrick. That's an easier matchup for Patrick, though both receivers can win against a risk-taking Dallas secondary. Jeudy should mostly see Jourdan Lewis. All corner matchups here are sooner upgrades than downgrades, though not necessarily either.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick

NYG vs LV

Giants Wide Receivers

Because of injuries to Kenny Golladay, Sterling Shepard and Dante Pettis, your starting Giants receivers might be Darius Slayton and Kadarius Toney, with Toney likely moving into the slot in three-wide sets while John Ross steps in opposite Slayton outside. It's also possible that Collin Johnson has to play an increased role to pick up the slack.

The Raiders tend to flip outside corners Casey Hayward and Brandon Facyson back and forth based on matchup or/and playcall, so they could line up on either side in a given play. Matchup-wise there's nothing great for Hayward, who was never fast and would be pushing his luck now especially by going against burners like Slayton and Ross. They might therefore not bother placing Hayward against one more than the other, and just give him safety help as necessary. Facyson can run a bit more but he's no burner either. The Raiders need to be careful not to let Slayton or Ross run past them. Or Toney for that matter, but he should mostly run against Nate Hobbs in the slot. Hobbs is only a rookie fifth-round pick but he's been excellent basically all year.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Kadarius Toney, Darius Slayton, John Ross, Collin Johnson

Las Vegas Wide Receivers

The Raiders might need to look to Zay Jones as their new speed-clearing deep threat, even though he's not a proper burner. He's still a lot faster than Bryan Edwards, who will need to pick up some of the intermediate slack as a target with Henry Ruggs gone. This might not be the easiest spot for Edwards to excel, though – he might see shadow coverage from James Bradberry, who's almost lab-built to stop receivers exactly like Edwards. Jones should get the remaining outside corner, be it Bradberry or Adoree' Jackson. Hunter Renfrow operates mostly in the slot and from there he should mostly run against Darnay Holmes – an advantage for Renfrow.

Upgrade: Hunter Renfrow
Downgrade: Bryan Edwards, Zay Jones
Even: N/A

NO vs ATL

New Orleans Wide Receivers

Not much has changed with the Atlanta secondary – A.J. Terrell is still good on the left side and Fabian Moreau is still bad on the right. Rookie fifth-round pick Avery Williams recently took over the slot corner role, so we'll see soon what he's capable of. It will be interesting to see how the 5-foot-9 Williams fares against the 6-foot-2 Tre'Quan Smith, but Williams at least has speed and quickness to work with. Marquez Callaway mostly plays on the left side, so he should see more Moreau than Terrell, which is good for Callaway.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Marquez Callaway, Tre'Quan Smith, Deonte Harris

Atlanta Wide Receivers

The Atlanta wideout rotation is awful without Calvin Ridley. Tajae Sharpe and Russell Gage are apparently the outside receivers, and in two-wide sets they tend to leave Sharpe on the left and Gage on the right. In three-wide sets Olamide Zaccheaus seemingly become interchangeable with Gage – Gage can move into the slot, but Gage might also stay wide as Zaccheaus takes the slot. Marshon Lattimore is above these players and not worth shadowing any of them, so we might expect him to take one side and let the Saints rotate their remaining outside corners at the other spot. Bradley Roby was expected to be starter opposite Lattimore by now, but Paulson Adebo and even previous slot specialist Chauncey Gardner-Johnson have run ahead. Roby's playing time has picked up, though, and if/when he's ready to start the Saints defense could get tougher yet. Anyway, this is all bad for the Falcons.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: Russell Gage, Tajae Sharpe, Olamide Zaccheaus
Even: N/A

JAC vs BUF

Jacksonville Wide Receivers

Not good! This offense sucks. Laviska Shenault shouldn't be playing outside receiver, even with Jamal Agnew playing admirably in the slot role previously held by Shenault, and if Marvin Jones is dropping passes like last week then he offers nothing either. Jones is the best overall wideout of the group, but for that distinction he might draw shadow coverage from Tre'Davious White, which is not a matchup Jones can win regularly. Shenault might be able to physically bully the skinnyish Levi Wallace, but he won't be running away from him. Agnew should mostly run against Taron Johnson, which is probably a bad matchup.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: Marvin Jones, Jamal Agnew
Even: Laviska Shenault

Buffalo Wide Receivers

The story with the Jacksonville secondary is simple: Shaquill Griffin is good, and everyone else is bad. The kind of 'bad' that always somehow ends up worse than you expect, even when you assume it will be bad.

Upgrade: Stefon Diggs, Emmanuel Sanders, Cole Beasley, Gabriel Davis
Downgrade: N/A
Even: N/A

CAR vs NE

Carolina Wide Receivers

D.J. Moore should draw the superb J.C. Jackson, making for one of the more entertaining individual matchups on the slate. While it could make for good football tape, it's still a tough situation for Moore if Jackson is on him. Robby Anderson would mostly see Jalen Mills in that scenario. Mills can't run with Anderson, but Anderson hasn't been doing anything with his targets. Who knows which way gives first. Myles Bryant should be the main slot corner, and from there he should mostly see Shi Smith or/and Keith Kirkwood.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: D.J. Moore
Even: Robby Anderson, Shi Smith, Keith Kirkwood

New England Wide Receivers

Stephon Gilmore took playing time from rookie outside corner Keith Taylor last week, with Donte Jackson's role at outside corner left alone for the most part. If Gilmore plays more going forward it should mostly be at Taylor's expense – Gilmore can cover the slot, where A.J. Bouye runs, but Taylor is generally less regarded than Bouye. Jackson and Gilmore should in each case play both on the left and the right, so Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne should see both of them on some vaguely even split. Jakobi Meyers should mostly run against Bouye. In each case it's probably closer to a downgrade than an upgrade.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Jakobi Meyers, Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne

BAL vs MIN

Baltimore Wide Receivers

The Vikings can't cover these guys. That fact plus the run threat posed by Lamar Jackson might lead the Vikings to call more zone coverages here, both to save the corners some mileage and allow defenders to keep their eyes on Jackson rather than turning away to trail in man coverage. The matchups might be even more inexact than usual as a result, but the Ravens should hold the better hand going in, whatever the specifics turn out to be. Cameron Dantzler at right corner and Bashaud Breeland at left corner are completely incapable of covering Marquise Brown, and they might not do much better against Rashod Bateman either. There could be a playing time crunch for Bateman whenever Sammy Watkins (hamstring) can return, and Watkins has been practicing. Devin Duvernay would likely play fewer than 20 snaps per game at that point, also.

Upgrade: Marquise Brown, Rashod Bateman, Sammy Watkins, Devin Duvernay
Downgrade: N/A
Even: N/A

Minnesota Wide Receivers

Marlon Humphrey is a very good corner but he can only cover one player per snap, and the rest of the Ravens defense sometimes can't cover any. Against Minnesota it's not clear whether he would shadow Justin Jefferson or Adam Thielen, but whoever gets Humphrey on a play is substantially less likely to draw and catch a target on the play in question. The good news for Minnesota is that the rest of the secondary has been beatable – Anthony Averett in particular has been vulnerable, and one of Thielen or Jefferson should be on him almost every play. Tavon Young might be decent in the slot but K.J. Osborn has a major size advantage and should project at least fine here.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Justin Jefferson (raise to 'upgrade' if not shadowed by Humphrey), Adam Thielen (raise to 'upgrade' if not shadowed by Humphre), K.J. Osborn

CIN vs CLE

Cincinnati Wide Receivers

It's not clear whether the Browns will try to shadow Ja'Marr Chase with Denzel Ward, especially with neither Ward nor the otherwise good Greg Newsome matching up especially well with the much bigger Tee Higgins. It's a manageable situation for the Bengals, because Chase and Higgins can both win without getting open. Tyler Boyd probably has the upper hand over Troy Hill in the slot. So long as the Bengals manage the pass rush this should be a decent enough spot for the passing game to move the ball.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd

Cleveland Wide Receivers

Jarvis Landry should mostly run against Mike Hilton – a matchup that suits Landry well enough. Rashard Higgins and Donovan Peoples-Jones should split their snaps against Chidobe Awuzie and Eli Apple for the most part, though the Bengals could choose to shadow one of the two with Awuzie. Apple is the more beatable of the two.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins (downgrade if shadowed by Awuzie), Donovan Peoples-Jones (downgrade if shadowed by Awuzie)

MIA vs HOU

Miami Wide Receivers

Jaylen Waddle is one receiver for the Dolphins. It's difficult to guess who the others will be, but Mack Hollins, Preston Williams and Isaiah Ford might be the top candidates. The more Ford plays the more Waddle plays outside, and the less Ford plays the more Waddle plays in the slot. The matchups are favorable for all of them – outside corners Vernon Hargreaves and Terrance Mitchell should be backups, and the same is true of slot corner Tavierre Thomas.

Upgrade: Jaylen Waddle
Downgrade: N/A
Even: N/A

Houston Wide Receivers

Outside corners Xavien Howard and Byron Jones are standout talents, but probably not to the point that they constitute a downgrade for a player as good as Brandin Cooks. It is enough to downgrade Nico Collins and Chris Conley, on the other hand. The slot is probably the weakest spot for the Miami defense, in any case – the more Cooks plays there the better for his projection.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: Nico Collins, Chris Conley
Even: Brandin Cooks

PHI vs LAC

Philadelphia Wide Receivers

DeVonta Smith, Jalen Reagor and Quez Watkins can all do various things, but the Eagles passing game might struggle to produce efficiently against a disciplined Chargers pass defense, and last week the Eagles took away all the pass attempt volume to run instead. Chris Harris in the slot might be the toughest corner – that's bad for Watkins if so – but the outside personnel of Asante Samuel, Tevaughn Campbell and Michael Davis are probably more beatable.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: Quez Watkins
Even: DeVonta Smith, Jalen Reagor

Chargers Wide Receivers

Mike Williams ought to see the shadow of Darius Slay most of the game, and he's unlikely to create separation from him. Williams could still win above the rim thanks to his 6-foot-4 frame, but Slay should be nearby almost every time. Keenan Allen gets a much easier matchup if he can line up against Avonte Maddox, who might be a decent slot corner but at 5-foot-9 isn't built to grapple with a bigger slot wideout like Allen. Jalen Guyton is much faster than Steven Nelson otherwise, but he just isn't drawing targets.

Upgrade: Keenan Allen
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Mike Willliams, Jalen Guyton

KC vs GB

Kansas City Wide Receivers

If the Packers are smart they'll call deep zones rather than arrange any man coverage against Tyreek Hill, but the Packers otherwise can't cover Hill, and maybe not Mecole Hardman either. Eric Stokes might be a good starter eventually but the rookie is overexposed in the CB1 role, and the other Packers corners are worse yet.

Upgrade: Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Byron Pringle, Demarcus Robinson
Downgrade: N/A
Even: N/A

Green Bay Wide Receivers

Playing in Arrowhead with a first-time starter is probably a reasonable source of concern for Davante Adams investors, but the matchup is quite favorable. The Chiefs defense has played poorly all year, and against plays much worse than Adams. It's also important to remember that Adams has the benefit of Matt LaFleur's scheming, which often frees him up for targets on plays that would nowhere on other offenses. It's probably an upgrade for all of the Packers receivers, though playing Jordan Love instead of Aaron Rodgers might make it more difficult for the secondary targets to get involved.

Upgrade: Davante Adams
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Allen Lazard, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Randall Cobb

SF vs ARI

San Francisco Wide Receivers

Assuming Deebo Samuel (calf) can play he should have a good matchup here. None of the Arizona corners are especially intimidating for him, and the last time he faced the Cardinals he drew nine of Trey Lance's 29 pass attempts. He could draw a similar target share here, though with a return better than three catches for 58 yards. Brandon Aiyuk continues to play a three-down role, but without any of the production of last year. His four catches for 45 yards on seven targets last week was his best box score of the year.

Upgrade: Deebo Samuel
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Brandon Aiyuk

Arizona Wide Receivers

Who knows what's going on with DeAndre Hopkins (hamstring) and A.J. Green (COVID) but if they can play it will be Hopkins on the left and Green on the right. Antoine Wesley is the primary replacement for Hopkins if he can't go, while on the right it might actually be Christian Kirk to replace Green, stepping out of the slot to do it and seeing the slot rep replaced by Rondale Moore or even Zach Ertz. Right corner Josh Norman can probably keep up with Wesley, who's among the slowest receivers in the league, and left corner Emmanuel Moseley can probably match Kirk reasonable well outside. The slot corner is K'Waun Williams, who doesn't really move the needle either way. What the Cardinals need to do is try to get Norman matched up with Moore or Kirk – he can't run with them.

Upgrade: DeAndre Hopkins
Downgrade: N/A
Even: A.J. Green, Christian Kirk, Rondale Moore