This article is part of our Corner Report series.
This article will go game by game for the Thanksgiving and Friday slate looking at the top wide receivers from an offense and, based on the inside/outside and left/right splits of those receivers, identify the cornerbacks most likely to face them in man coverage. This post will have to be a little shorter and lean more on speculation/generalities than the entries to come, because teams haven't yet conclusively revealed their personnel tendencies.
Receivers rarely see the same corner every play, be it due to formation 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.
Detroit Lions vs. Green Bay Packers
DETROIT WIDE RECEIVERS
Jaire Alexander (shoulder) would be a major boost to the Green Bay defense if he's able to play, but he sat out against the Chargers with the shoulder last week after previously dealing with a back injury in recent weeks. Even if active Alexander would be unlikely to match up much with Amon-Ra St. Brown, however, as St. Brown's slot role more so figures to line him up against Keisean Nixon, which is a much more favorable matchup than Alexander. If Alexander is out then the top two boundary corners are likely Carrington Valentine and Lonnie Ballentine, neither of whom is especially intimidating for wideouts like Jameson Williams or Josh Reynolds.
Upgrade: Amon-Ra St. Brown
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Jameson Williams (arguable Upgrade if Alexander is out), Josh Reynolds (see Williams)
GREEN BAY WIDE RECEIVERS
Dontayvion Wicks has done well lately but might be out with a concussion for this one. Christian Watson had seemingly lost ground to Wicks in recent weeks, so perhaps Wicks' absence would mostly benefit Watson specifically. Jayden Reed and to a lesser extent Romeo Doubs have done just fine despite Wicks' ascent, which might or might not indicate that they are both starting to pull away from Watson in the Green Bay wideout rotation.
One way Watson remains a clear standout among the Green Bay receivers is his downfield ability, which is important against the Detroit corner personnel. The Lions defense is built to crash downward more than it's built to turn and run backward, but forcing the latter outcome is Watson's calling card if he has one. Boundary corners Jerry Jacobs and Cam Sutton get worse the farther downfield they run, and downfield is where the Packers should look to strike, be it with Watson, Doubs or Reed.
Reed is the one most likely to see Brian Branch in the slot, and as a smallish, slowish defensive back with a strong-safety skill set it's probably safe to assume that Branch also gets worse the farther downfield he's forced to run. Reed definitely has some wheels to him, so a big play could be had. The more the Packers throw underneath, though, the better these corners will look.
Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Romeo Doubs, Jayden Reed, Christian Watson, Dontayvion Wicks
Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Commanders
DALLAS WIDE RECEIVERS
The Washington defense is so comically mismanaged by Ron Rivera and Jack Del Rio that they only get about 25 cents of production for every dollar of talent they have, so to point out that Kendall Fuller and Emmanuel Forbes are talented corners isn't necessarily to name anything substantive. Benjamin St-Juste in the slot is a prime target for CeeDee Lamb, who by now tends to leave most of the outside reps to Brandin Cooks and to a lesser extent Michael Gallup. Lamb against St-Juste is a huge mismatch. Gallup and especially Cooks can probably get some outside wins against these corners, especially if Del Rio continues to call an open-net defense, but Gallup seems to be losing some ground to Jalen Tolbert.
Upgrade: CeeDee Lamb
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Brandin Cooks, Michael Gallup, Jalen Tolbert
WASHINGTON WIDE RECEIVERS
Ejection threat aside, Curtis Samuel ought to get a little more going here, both because slot defender Jourdan Lewis is probably the most vulnerable Dallas corner and because Samuel runs the shortest routes among the Washington receivers. The Dallas pass rush is unfairly good and makes it difficult for quarterbacks to strike downfield, though if Sam Howell can manage that rush then Terry McLaurin can roast either of DaRon Bland or especially Stephon Gilmore downfield. It's difficult to tell how much this setting suits Jahan Dotson, especially if Samuel is back fully healthy. Dotson doesn't operate as far downfield as McLaurin, but if there's a need for a checkdown against the rush it would seem like Samuel outranks Dotson for most reads. There's reason to believe in Dotson's own talent, though, so if he gets a real opportunity then he'd probably have the advantage over either of Bland or Gilmore. Generally, though, Samuel and McLaurin seem like the more likely targets.
Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, Jahan Dotson
Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers
SEATTLE WIDE RECEIVERS
To this point the 49ers have almost exclusively used Charvarius Ward as their left corner, which would likely leave Ambry Thomas as the right corner since the 49ers have seemingly benched Isaiah Oliver in the slot, replacing him with previous right corner Deommodore Lenoir.
Ward is the one you don't want to see, so hopefully Seattle lines up DK Metcalf on the offense's left (the defense's right) as often as possible, getting him matched up with Thomas rather than Ward. Thomas may very well be improving from his early-career struggles, but Ward is a uniquely challenging matchup for a receiver like Metcalf. Ward is tall and fast with excellent leaping ability, all of which are normally advantages Metcalf holds over most other corners. Thomas is neither small nor slow, but he's smaller and slower than Ward, not to mention worse overall.
It wouldn't be sacrificing Tyler Lockett to match him up more against Ward, because Lockett is the kind of receiver Ward doesn't want to see. Ward wants to line up against receivers who look like him, because they're more likely to match stride lengths and general movement tendencies. Lockett and his start/stop ability could be a challenge for a longer-legged corner like Ward. With that said, Lockett can beat Thomas, too.
What's less obvious is whether Jaxon Smith-Njigba can get anything going against Lenoir. Lenoir struggled outside, but the slot might suit him better. Lenoir is short and dense for a corner, but heavier feet are less likely to hurt him in the slot.
Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: DK Metcalf (the less Ward the better), Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba
SAN FRANCISCO WIDE RECEIVERS
Seattle tends to play Tariq Woolen on the right and Tre Brown on the left, with Devon Witherspoon in the slot when playing in nickel. It will be interesting to see if Seattle runs more Base defense than usual, both to counter San Francisco's rushing attack in general and to keep the rugged Deebo Samuel matched up against one of Woolen or Witherspoon as often as possible. Brown is much more slight than Woolen or Witherspoon, both of whom are likely more prepared to make a high-contact tackle on Samuel.
Brandon Aiyuk can beat any of the Seahawks corners, and unlike Samuel he looks likely to function mostly downfield – his ADOT (14.7) is more than twice what Samuel's is (6.9). The Seattle pass rush has shown some life but Aiyuk should be able to beat these corners downfield.
Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel
New York Jets vs. Miami Dolphins
JETS WIDE RECEIVERS
Tim Boyle is probably worse than Zach Wilson. It might not seem possible, but most of the numbers indicate that it's likely. Garrett Wilson is incredible and can't be covered by these corners, not even Jalen Ramsey, but Boyle's passes might not get there. Allen Lazard might be one of the few receivers Xavien Howard can actually run with at this point.
Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Garrett Wilson, Allen Lazard
MIAMI WIDE RECEIVERS
Tyreek Hill is not concerned with these corners, not even Sauce Gardner. In fact, Hill might find it easier to beat Gardner than D.J. Reed, who is better built to mirror the start/stop abilities of Hill. The same is true of Jaylen Waddle – Gardner does not want to see him, even if he wants to see Hill less. The Jets need zone coverages and a timely pass rush to block throwing lanes and break the play structure before Hill and Waddle get open.
Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle
