Corner Report: Week 11

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.

MIN vs GB

Minnesota Wide Receivers

Eric Stokes might be good as a second or third corner, but he probably can't match up well against quality No. 1 receivers like Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen. That's even more true for Rasul Douglas, who just doesn't have the speed to run downfield with a player like Jefferson. K.J. Osborn doesn't show up that often but he should have the advantage over slot corner Chandon Sullivan.

Upgrade: Justin Jefferson, Adam Thielen
Downgrade: N/A
Even: K.J. Osborn

Green Bay Wide Receivers

Davante Adams should mostly run against Bashaud Breeland and Cameron Dantzler, neither of whom are better than below average. It's a significant advantage for Adams – those corners will need to play well just to stay safe from Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard, let alone Adams. Aside from Adams, the most threatening Green Bay receiver is probably Valdes-Scantling, who's much faster than Breeland and Dantzler. Slot corner Mackensie Alexander should mostly see Lazard and Randall Cobb.

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

CHI vs BAL

Chicago Wide Receivers

Darnell Mooney might be the main pass-catching threat for the Bears, even if Allen Robinson (hamstring) is able to play. That distinction might make him the assignment of Marlon Humphrey more often than not, especially if Robinson is out. Anthony Averett and to a lesser extent Tavon Young are the Ravens corners more easily beaten. Speed specialists Marquise Goodwin and Damiere Byrd appear to be the next receivers up if Robinson is limited or out, but it's also possible that Jimmy Graham could see his role increase if Robinson's decreseases.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney, Marquise Goodwin, Damiere Byrd
 

Baltimore Wide Receivers

As several teams have demonstrated by now – most recently the Dolphins last week – if you run off-zone coverage against the Ravens, offensive coordinator Greg Roman will never adjust and call zone-beating route combos. It's possible that the Ravens don't have any in the playbook. Or at least, it's difficult to think of another reason why someone would be unable to do something so conventionally obvious, and low-difficulty of a task. The Ravens over and over ran route combos into zones of the field where defenders sat for the routes to break, and the Dolphins game wasn't the first case of this. By now the deal is obvious and should be well known: you don't run man coverage against the Ravens. It's too hard to cover Marquise Brown (thigh) and Mark Andrews while also keeping sufficient defensive assignments toward the run threat from Jackson. While it might not be easy to run with Brown and Andrews in these conditions, it is easy enough to just go where they're going before they do and not bothering to mirror their motions before that point. This also allows the defense to keep their eyes on Jackson rather than the route runner.

Basically, this Bears defense can't cover these Ravens receivers, but if the Bears are smart they simply won't ask them to. Jaylon Johnson is the one good Bears corner, and he's almost always on the right side. That's where Sammy Watkins and Rashod Bateman tend to run. Johnson is better-suited to cover them than Brown, who is simply too fast. Kindle Vildor should see more of Brown, assuming Brown plays through his thigh injury. Devin Duvernay seems to be establishing himself as the main slot receiver for Baltimore, and in this one he should mostly see Duke Shelley.

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

PHI vs NO

Philadelphia Wide Receivers

DeVonta Smith is very impressive, and even shadow coverage from Marshon Lattimore might not be enough to stop him. Lattimore is very good but generally he's more toolsy than technically sharp, whereas Smith is already a legendary mechanic at wide receiver. You might be better off covering Smith with a Chris Harris/Casey Hayward type of corner than a Denzel Ward one, in other words, and Lattimore is more the latter category. It's a tough matchup for Smith, but it is for Lattimore too. Elsewhere, Paulson Adebo is probably the Saints corner most easily beaten, and as of last week he was still splitting snaps with Bradley Roby. The Saints might intend to get Roby playing full time, and if they do it could constitute an upgrade to the Saints defense. Jalen Reagor should mostly run against those two, while Quez Watkins should mostly run against P.J. Williams. Williams is at a significant speed disadvantage to Watkins.

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

New Orleans Wide Receivers

Tre'Quan Smith isn't an imposing player but he might be to a 5-foot-9 slot specialist like Avonte Maddox, who might be better built to cover a Hunter Renfrow type than a player like Smith, who's built more like an outside receiver at 6-foot-2, 210-pound Smith. Marquez Callaway could see the shadow coverage of Darius Slay in two-wide sets, but Slay's speed might be better used against Deonte Harris, who's probably the Saints' most dangerous one-snap receiver. If the Eagles don't shadow Callaway with Slay then Callaway would see more of Steven Nelson, a solid player but one more easily beaten than Slay.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Marquez Callaway (lower to downgrade if shadowed by Slay), Tre'Quan Smith, Deonte Harris

CLE vs DET

Cleveland Wide Receivers

Jarvis Landry (knee), Donovan Peoples-Jones (groin) and Anthony Schwartz (concussion) are all messed up, though Landry practiced Thursday and should have the best shot of the three to suit up. Rashard Higgins is next up otherwise, and despite his indifferent reception from Browns coaches he can definitely hurt corners as weak as the ones in Detroit. Keep an eye out for rain though.

Upgrade: Jarvis Landry, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Anthony Schwartz, Rashard Higgins
Downgrade: N/A
Even: N/A

Detroit Wide Receivers

Kalif Raymond is an easy player to root for and he deserves better than Detroit, but he's likely overmatched against corners of Denzel Ward and Greg Newsome quality, especially since both are speed-centric corners. Raymond wants to run against a Rasul Douglas type, not these two. Amon-Ra St. Brown is well-mirrored athletically by slot corner Troy Hill, but Hill is probably still the easiest target in this secondary.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: Kalif Raymond
Even: Amon-Ra St. Brown

JAC vs SF

Jacksonville Wide Receivers

Laviska Shenault can't play outside. The Jaguars might as well leave him on the bench, because Shenault is so effective otherwise that the Jags offense funnels huge target counts to Dan Arnold and Jamal Agnew, the latter of which has been extremely inefficient to the point that it just isn't a serious passing game. Marvin Jones can beat these corners, but not with a safety over the top. Agnew is the only Jags receiver getting reliable target volume, which has been reliably ineffective.

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

San Francisco Wide Receivers

Matchups don't matter for Deebo Samuel, but the Jaguars defense has played well lately and that might be a concern for the volume upside of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. If Garoppolo doesn't offer volume and Samuel claims his usual share (as we should expect), then it only leaves so much room for Brandon Aiyuk to maintain the momentum he's built in recent weeks.

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

BUF vs IND

Buffalo Wide Receivers

The Colts corner rotation is probably the healthiest and at its best generally as it's been all year, so while Stefon Diggs and Emmanuel Sanders are both imposing the outside corner rotation of Rock Ya-Sin, Xavier Rhodes and Isaiah Rodgers are playing better than what the Colts showed in the first couple months. The Colts have given up some big plays but made some of their own, so there's an element of downside/upside here depending on how well Josh Allen reads the coverages. Kenny Moore is about as much of a rover as a true slot corner, but Cole Beasley tends to run shallow enough that he should stay in Moore's range most of the time. The weak spot in all of this will be subject to the Colts' specific strategic intentions, and it's hard to know their game plan from afar. If they prioritize stopping Diggs (understandable) then Beasley could find some room in the middle of the field even if Moore plays well.

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

Indianapolis Wide Receivers

The Bills might shadow Michael Pittman with Tre'Davious White, but they might regret whatever matchup they leave with T.Y. Hilton on that play. Pittman might be Indianapolis' WR1 in function, but he isn't their most dangerous receiver in a given play. That's Hilton. They might therefore shadow Hilton with White instead, reasoning he can handle the task himself and thus affording the Bills more resources to help Levi Wallace against Pittman. In the slot Taron Johnson should be a formidable matchup for Zach Pascal and also Pittman to a lesser extent.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Michael Pittman, T.Y. Hilton, Zach Pascal

CAR vs WAS

Carolina Wide Receivers

Between the moving parts caused by the arrival of Cam Newton and the general struggles preceding that, it's not easy to feel good about this Carolina passing game even though the Washington defense is a wreck. But whatever the Panthers are, Washington is still no more than a wreck, so perhaps Newton and the Panthers can make the magic last one more week. The Washington secondary has been bad all year, playing a wretched scheme doomed to failure even before we subtracted Montez Sweat and Chase Young from the pass rush.

Upgrade: D.J. Moore, Robby Anderson, Terrace Marshall
Downgrade: N/A
Even: N/A

Washington Wide Receivers

This Panthers defense is not friendly. Particularly with Stephon Gilmore added to the secondary, this defense has a lot of personnel variation capable of matching most offensive loadouts, and any specialist is matched by a neutralizing, corresponding one on the Carolina side. Terry McLaurin presents an interesting case study, though, on whether Carolina has an answer for a true alpha receiver. It's easy enough to match a pass-catching tight end against a physical corner like Gilmore, or a speed specialist against a burner like Donte Jackson, but McLaurin is the burner and physicality element at the same time. If anyone can slow McLaurin it would probably have to be Gilmore, but Gilmore is at a speed disadvantage there. DeAndre Carter is somewhat interesting for his speed and quickness otherwise, but as a route runner he's probably not intimidating to the likes of Gilmore, Jackson, or slot corner A.J. Bouye.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Terry McLaurin, DeAndre Carter

NYJ vs MIA

Jets Wide Receivers

Xavien Howard and Byron Jones are good outside corners, but they're both built for outside prototype receivers more than the dart-type wideouts like Elijah Moore, who might be like trying to catch a squirrel to more well-built corners like Howard and Jones. Corey Davis projects worse against corners like these because he's such a big target, not that he can't win the matchup anyway. Jamison Crowder sets up strong in the slot either way – no matter how well the outside corners produce in a given game, the inside will always be the weakest spot with this defense.

Upgrade: Jamison Crowder
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Corey Davis, Elijah Moore

Miami Wide Receivers

Jaylen Waddle is too good for corners like these to project well against him, and Actual Wide Receiver Mike Gesicki probably is too. Albert Wilson as the third receiver can't be counted out either, but this passing game lives through Waddle and Gesicki as long as DeVante Parker is out.

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

TEN vs HOU

Tennessee Wide Receivers

Last week was a difficult matchup for A.J. Brown, but this one is much easier. Julio Jones may or may not be real but if he is, he theoretically would be a problem for this secondary too. There's room for a third contributor, too, be it Marcus Johnson or Chester Rogers, but it's been tough to guess Tennessee's sub-package wideouts from week to week. Johnson is the downfield guy, Rogers a slot specialist.

Upgrade: A.J. Brown, Julio Jones, Marcus Johnson, Chester Rogers
Downgrade: N/A
Even: N/A

Houston Wide Receivers

The Titans secondary is beat up. They were already without top corner Kristian Fulton, but now CBs 2 and 3 Janoris Jenkins and Chris Jackson are both in danger of missing this game, too. It could leave the Tennessee defense surprisingly vulnerable in this game. Brandin Cooks can't be stopped with backups, and even the potential starters in this case are all much smaller than the 6-foot-4 (and fast!) Nico Collins. Chris Conley is dangerous to this secondary, too. Luckily for Tennessee, the Texans appear determined to make themselves worse by giving a make-work role to Danny Amendola.

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

KC vs DAL

Kansas City Wide Receivers

Tyreek Hill might be able to take advantage of a Dallas defense that takes more risks than most. Taking risks against Hill rarely has a payoff, and the chances of it going awry are singularly high with him. Dallas' best chance is to not try at all and sit deep, but if they get greedy Hill can burn them pretty easily. Byron Pringle appears to be the new WR2 ahead of Mecole Hardman, and either of them could make a play for the same reasons as Hill: the Cowboys taking a risk they shouldn't.

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

Dallas Wide Receivers

Amari Cooper and CeeDee Lamb are interchangeable in the slot, so they should both see a good amount of L'Jarius Sneed and Tyrann Mathieu, depending on how many four-wide looks Dallas gives them. Michael Gallup should more so stay outside, where Charvarius Ward is well-built to run with him. The other outside corners (Rashad Fenton and Mike Hughes) are probably a little more vulnerable to Gallup than Ward. None of these corners warrant favored status against Lamb or Cooper.

Upgrade: CeeDee Lamb, Amari Cooper
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Michael Gallup

LV vs CIN

Las Vegas Wide Receivers

Chidobe Awuzie is the top Cincinnati corner and a candidate to shadow Bryan Edwards outside, given that Edwards is more threatening than Zay Jones at the other outside receiver spot. If Awuzie shadows Edwards then it would probably leave Jones to run against Eli Apple. The slot corner should be Mike Hilton, so Hunter Renfrow will be his problem.

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

Cincinnati Wide Receivers

When the Raiders pass defense is good it usually has a lot to do with Casey Hayward playing well. Hayward projects worse against receivers like Ja'Marr Chase (speed) and Tee Higgins (size) than he does against some other receivers, so this could be a spot where Hayward regresses and the Raiders pass defense suffers overall for the fact. If Hayward stands strong here then he'll have probably gotten some help from his pass rush, forcing Joe Burrow to throw before Chase runs past or before Higgins establishes downfield position for the jumpball. Brandon Facyson is the other corner, and while bigger/faster than Hayward he's not as good overall. Nate Hobbs in the slot looks like the real deal, and he'll mostly be Tyler Boyd's problem.

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

SEA vs ARI

Seattle Wide Receivers

DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett versus Marco Wilson and Byron Murphy is clearly an advantage in favor of the Seahawks. Whether that matchup advantage actually matters depends on other conditions being met first, the most of important of which being Russell Wilson's ability to play through his finger injury. He couldn't against Green Bay, and the Seahawks receivers were open in that one, too. 

Upgrade: DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett
Downgrade: N/A
Even: N/A

Arizona Wide Receivers

DeAndre Hopkins (hamstring) is still out. At least he made that one catch against the Packers in that Thursday game they lost. It was worth it. To be fair to the Arizona offense, even Antoine Wesley would pose a matchup threat against the 5-foot-9 trio of Seattle corners. A.J. Green could be a problem on the right side for the same reason. Christian Kirk in the slot is another advantage for Arizona. You're definitely more worried about the quarterback than the corner matchup here.

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