Corner Report: Week 7

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. The corners named will parenthetically cite the rank of their coverage grade from Pro Football Focus from the 2020 season, though sometimes with reference to prior years when noted.

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.

NO vs CAR

NEW ORLEANS WIDE RECEIVERS

Michael Thomas is evidently a long shot to play and Emmanuel Sanders is out, meaning Tre'Quan Smith will need to lead the way from the slot with Marquez Callaway stepping up outside. To this point, Smith has generally played the slot when applicable while Sanders has mostly stayed outside. In two-wide sets Smith tends to play the left a little more than the right, and Sanders the right more than the left. Callaway tended to take most left outside snaps in three-wide sets last week, but here he'll probably see more snaps on the right. If that pattern holds here, then Callaway should mostly see Donte Jackson (73.9 PFF) and Eli Apple (N/A). Smith should see some of those two but more so slot corner Corn Elder (75.5 PFF). This looks like a fairly legitimate test for Drew Brees.

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

CAROLINA WIDE RECEIVERS

DJ Moore should see the most of Marshon Lattimore (45.2 PFF), a very talented corner but one whose production has been abysmal in 2020. When Lattimore is on Moore, Robby Anderson should face Janoris Jenkins (67.1 PFF). Something like 60/40 can be expected in their respective share splits. As an aging, smaller corner Jenkins is in any case not an ideal counter to a tall, fast receiver like Anderson. The Panthers receivers likely have the advantage here, even if Curtis Samuel can't get back onto the field. If Samuel is out, the Panthers might use a rotation at slot receiver between Keith Kirkwood, Seth Roberts and Pharoh Cooper.

Upgrade: Robby Anderson, DJ Moore
Downgrade: N/A
Even: N/A

CIN vs CLE

CINCINNATI WIDE RECEIVERS

Tee Higgins and A.J. Green have a good thing going outside, where Higgins plays a little more on the right and Green a little more on the left. That should leave Higgins with the greater number of snaps against Denzel Ward (73.1 PFF), who really did a number on the Bengals receivers the first time they played. Right corner Terrance Mitchell (58.6 PFF) is more beatable, so the Bengals would be wise to target him rather than Ward. Slot corner Kevin Johnson (72.0 PFF) has played well and should provide a formidable test for Tyler Boyd, though Boyd is of a caliber that should leave his owners undeterred by most matchup considerations.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Tee Higgins, A.J. Green (arguable upgrade if he avoids Ward), Tyler Boyd

CLEVELAND WIDE RECEIVERS

Standout right corner William Jackson will miss this game, which makes for a big green light in the case of Odell Beckham. Leshaun Sims (55.3 PFF) and Darius Phillips (46.5 PFF) simply cannot cover Beckham. The best remaining Bengals corner is slot man Mackensie Alexander (63.0 PFF), who might funnel some action toward Beckham if Jarvis Landry gets tied up on any given play. Landry should manage in his own right, though, and will get looks at Sims and Phillips in two-wide sets.

Upgrade: Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins
Downgrade: N/A
Even: N/A

HOU vs GB

HOUSTON WIDE RECEIVERS

Jaire Alexander (90.6 PFF) is going to be a problem for someone, the only question is whether he'll shadow one of Will Fuller or Brandin Cooks or instead split his time between the two by manning one side of the defense. The answer to this question is both elusive but also crucial – if Alexader shadows someone it not only disrupts their production, but it funnels the target progression toward whoever isn't on Alexander. If Alexander shadows Fuller, in other words, Cooks will almost certainly go off. Randall Cobb might get in on that if so, but he gets a tough corner in slot man Chandon Sullivan (66.1 PFF), so Cooks against Kevin King (58.7 PFF) would be a bonanza for Cooks. Although, King might miss the game with injury and his backup probably is better.

Upgrade: Brandin Cooks (lower to 'even' if Alexander does not shadow Fuller)
Downgrade: Will Fuller (raise to 'even' if Alexander does not shadow him)
Even: Randall Cobb

GREEN BAY WIDE RECEIVERS

Davante Adams should probably draw the shadow coverage of Bradley Roby (72.2 PFF) – a good but not great corner, and the latter is typically what's necessary to slow a receiver as good as Adams. It's an 'even' for Adams but still a green light. Marquez Valdes-Scantling should be able to beat Vernon Hargreaves (45.8 PFF) deep, just keep in mind that MVS can pretty much only win deep, so Rodgers needs to be on target for it to work.

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

TEN vs PIT

TENNESSEE WIDE RECEIVERS

A.J. Brown has a knee thing we should keep an eye on, but if he's ready to go he should mostly run against right corner Steven Nelson (67.8 PFF) – a good player but, like most corners, not one suited to covering Brown. They might have safety help waiting for him. Left corner Joe Haden (53.6 PFF) will see some of Brown also, but should more so see Corey Davis. The Pittsburgh pass rush is always a greater obstacle than its actual coverage, but both Brown and Davis probably have the upper hand in a talent versus talent sense against these corners. Slot corner Cam Sutton (57.4 PFF) should see the most of Adam Humphries.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: A.J. Brown, Corey Davis, Adam Humphries

PITTSBURGH WIDE RECEIVERS

Diontae Johnson should be back, leaving Pittsburgh to split its snaps between him, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chase Claypool and James Washington. It seems like Washington is the loser here, but it's tough to know for sure where this is all headed. Smith-Schuster returned to a full-time slot role last week and should generally be expected to remain there in this matchup. If he does, he might run against seventh-round pick Chris Jackson (29.5 PFF), which sure would seem like a green light for JSS. Johnson runs outside mostly, and a little more on the left than the right. He should therefore see the most of right corner Malcolm Butler (53.7 PFF), who can definitely be beaten. Butler is probably most threatened by speed, though, which Johnson doesn't have. Claypool certainly does, though, and he probably has the advantage regardless of where he lines up.

Upgrade: JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chase Claypool
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Diontae Johnson

ATL vs DET

ATLANTA WIDE RECEIVERS

The Lions are at a disadvantage all over here, and that'd probably be the case even if Desmond Trufant were playing.

Upgrade: Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Russell Gage
Downgrade: N/A
Even: N/A

DETROIT WIDE RECEIVERS

Kenny Golladay runs on the left the slightest bit more than on the right, but it's not clear what that means for his matchup. He might actual see shadow coverage from rookie A.J. Terrell (71.3 PFF), but it's asking a lot of a rookie to cover Golladay. If Golladay gets cracks at Kendall Sheffield (31.1 PFF) it will go worse for the Falcons, with that said. Marvin Jones and Danny Amendola should see the most of slot corner Isaiah Oliver (57.0 PFF), with Jones otherwise taking the one of Terrell/Sheffield who is not on Golladay.

Upgrade: Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones, Danny Amendola
Downgrade: N/A
Even: N/A

NYJ vs BUF

JETS WIDE RECEIVERS

Jamison Crowder has a good enough matchup in the slot against Cam Lewis (54.0 PFF). Jeffery Smith and Breshad Perriman will have to split up Tre'Davious White (68.5 PFF) and Levi Wallace (67.0 PFF), but Wallace is the only one of the two they have much of a prayer against.

Upgrade: Jamison Crowder
Downgrade: Breshad Perriman, Jeffery Smith
Even: N/A

BUFFALO WIDE RECEIVERS

Cole Beasley gets the one tough draw of the Jets secondary, where Brian Poole (88.8 PFF) is strong in the slot. Stefon Diggs and John Brown should both get open with relative ease against the Jets' overmatched outside corners.

Upgrade: Stefon Diggs, John Brown
Downgrade: Cole Beasley
Even: N/A

WAS vs DAL

WASHINGTON WIDE RECEIVERS

Terry McLaurin is too good for these guys. Dontrelle Inman probably isn't, but even he might be able to get open a little bit here.

Upgrade: Terry McLaurin
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Dontrelle Inman

DALLAS WIDE RECEIVERS

Kendall Fuller (88.1 PFF) is tough at right corner, where he should see the most of Michael Gallup in addition to Amari Cooper most of the rest of the time. Cooper should get most of his routes against Ronald Darby (68.4 PFF). CeeDee Lamb might have the easiest matchup of the three, as Washington slot corner Jimmy Moreland (46.8 PFF) just isn't supposed to be covering receivers like Lamb.

Upgrade: CeeDee Lamb
Downgrade: Michael Gallup
Even: Amari Cooper

LV vs TB

LAS VEGAS WIDE RECEIVERS

Tampa has three strong corners, including slot corner Sean Murphy-Bunting (54.0 PFF), but Hunter Renfrow should be able to be his usual self more or less. The outside corners Jamel Dean and Carlton Davis are also very good, but they're built more to handle traditional WR1 types than a smallish burner like Henry Ruggs. As the Chiefs found out before the Raiders' bye, covering Ruggs is a very different task than covering a Davante Adams type – one brief lapse is all it takes for the play to unravel.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Henry Ruggs, Hunter Renfrow

TAMPA BAY WIDE RECEIVERS

Chris Godwin should have a major advantage over Lamarcus Joyner (48.4 PFF), who's too small and slow to realistically slow down an elite player like Godwin. Mike Evans might see tougher coverage outside, but that isn't saying much – Trayvon Mullen and Nevin Lawson are both highly vulnerable to Evans. They're also vulnerable to Scotty Miller.

Upgrade: Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Scotty Miller
Downgrade: N/A
Even: N/A

LAC vs JAC

CHARGERS WIDE RECEIVERS

Keenan Allen has a back issue that might limit him somewhat, but if not this should be a good setup for him. Sidney Jones (77.5 PFF) has played well in two games, but he's about 40 pounds lighter than Allen and hasn't been substantially tested yet as Jacksonville's slot corner. Tests don't get much tougher than Allen. Mike Williams and Jalen Guyton should mostly split their time between C.J. Henderson (66.2 PFF) and Tre Herndon (49.5 PFF) – Henderson is somewhat concerning but Herndon is not. Particularly in Williams' case, there should be winnable moments here.

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

JACKSONVILLE WIDE RECEIVERS

DJ Chark (ankle) isn't at full strength so it's difficult to tell what he's capable of, but if he were at full health he would absolutely have the ability to beat any of these Chargers corners. Former shadow corner Casey Hayward (57.4 PFF) has been reduced to the full-time left corner, while Michael Davis (68.3 PFF) plays the right. Desmond King (71.7 PFF) continues to play well in the slot. Hayward is the one Chark would beat most easily, but so far he's run on the left side of the offense, which would more so leave him against Davis on the defense's right. If Chark is on the left, then in three-wide looks the right receiver will generally be Laviska Shenault, who can't run away from Hayward but might be able to bully him a bit physically. Keelan Cole doesn't project all that great against King in the slot.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: Keelan Cole
Even: DJ Chark, Laviska Shenault

NE vs SF

NEW ENGLAND WIDE RECEIVERS

Outside corners Emmanuel Moseley (61.4 PFF) and Jason Verrett (84.0 PFF) are both good, and N'Keal Harry seems rather lethargic lately. Moseley and Verrett are both much smaller than Harry – about four inches and 50 pounds difference – but who knows whether Harry can make any use of the fact. Damiere Byrd might struggle to separate from Moseley or Verrett underneath – they're built similarly to him – but his long speed is tough for anyone to keep up with. Still, tough draw for the outside New England receivers. Julian Edelman might be able to get something going against slot corner Jamar Taylor (34.4 PFF), who will almost certainly need help.

Upgrade: Julian Edelman
Downgrade: N'Keal Harry, Damiere Byrd
Even: N/A

SAN FRANCISCO WIDE RECEIVERS

The 49ers offense doesn't leave its wide receivers in traditional coverage matchups thanks to the extensive motion and run principles that blur the line between passes and handoffs, but to whatever extent Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk actually run routes they'll have a generally tough test this week. Maybe Stephon Gilmore (61.0 PFF) will shadow George Kittle rather than either of the 49ers wideouts, but if not on Kittle then Gilmore might pay special attention to Samuel, to unclear consequence. Whichever of Samuel or Aiyuk isn't on Gilmore would probably face J.C. Jackson (83.0 PFF), who might be even better than Gilmore at this point. Slot corner Jonathan Jones (69.0 PFF) should see the most of Kendrick Bourne.

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

DEN vs KC

DENVER WIDE RECEIVERS

Jerry Jeudy gets one of the worst matchups for a slot receiver, as Tyrann Mathieu tends to cover that region. Perhaps the talented rookie is up for the challenge, but it should be a challenge nonetheless. With that said, Charvarius Ward (61.4 PFF) matches up well with the otherwise red-hot Tim Patrick, and DaeSean Hamilton probably can't beat anyone, be it Ward or Rashad Fenton (78.5 PFF) who covers him on a given play.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: Jerry Jeudy, DaeSean Hamilton
Even: Tim Patrick

KANSAS CITY WIDE RECEIVERS

When you face the Denver defense you face the scheme more than you face the individual defenders, so the matchups aren't necessarily determined by talents or traits as much as broader circumstances dictated by the competing offensive and defensive schemes. So while Tyreek Hill will see all of the Denver corners, he's probably more so running against a combination of man coverage and supplementary zone coverages unique to the designs of Vic Fangio. In 2019 Hill had some amount of success against Fangio, catching eight passes for 141 yards and three touchdowns on 12 targets. On the other hand, there's a lot of touchdown dependency in that sample, and no especial hints of much target volume potential. Demarcus Robinson is the second wideout as long as Sammy Watkins is out, because defenses are sitting deep and Andy Reid insists on giving all underneath and intermediate work to Robinson, no matter the mountain of evidence of how little sense it makes. Robinson projects poorly against a player like right corner Michael Ojemudia (63.8 PFF), and left corner/slot corner Bryce Callahan (77.6 PFF) is one of the best in the league. Third corner De'Vaunte Bausby (62.9 PFF) is less intimidating.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: Demarcus Robinson
Even: Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins

ARI vs SEA

ARIZONA WIDE RECEIVERS

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: DeAndre Hopkins, Christian Kirk, Larry Fitzgerald

SEATTLE WIDE RECEIVERS

Upgrade: DK Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, David Moore, Freddie Swain
Downgrade: N/A
Even: N/A

LAR vs CHI

RAMS WIDE RECEIVERS

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: Robert Woods, Josh Reynolds
Even: Cooper Kupp

CHICAGO WIDE RECEIVERS

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney
Even: Anthony Miller