Wide Receivers vs. Cornerbacks: Week 4 Matchups

This article will go game by game for the Week 4 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.

Atlanta Falcons vs. New Orleans Saints

ATLANTA FALCONS WIDE RECEIVERS

Darnell Mooney has been busy the last two weeks, drawing 15 targets while Drake London has 16 and Ray-Ray McCloud eight. A general rule is that the more targets McCloud gets the worse the Falcons offense is doing in that game, so they would probably prefer to keep London and Mooney at at least twice the target volume. In this game it might be easier to attack the slot than the boundary, but slot corner Alontae Taylor would probably have no trouble keeping McCloud in front of him. Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo are probably a little tougher to beat on the boundary than Taylor in the slot, so if the Falcons keep McCloud in the slot instead of London or Mooney it might be what the Saints would prefer to see.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Drake London, Darnell Mooney, Ray-Ray McCloud

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS WIDE RECEIVERS

AJ Terrell is a good corner but is definitely no concern for Chris Olave, and might not even be much of one for Rashid Shaheed. If Terrell is assigned to Olave it would mostly leave Shaheed against Mike Hughes, who really shouldn't be covering Shaheed. Slot corner Dee Alford might see his snaps scaled back a little since the Saints don't use that many slot reps for receivers, but the Falcons probably don't want him on Olave or Shaheed, either. It's worth keeping in mind that the Falcons have arguably the league's best safety duo in Jessie Bates and Justin Simmons, so there's a chance the Atlanta pass defense overachieves all year relative to their corner personnel alone. Neither the Eagles nor Chiefs found it especially easy to throw on Atlanta, for what it's worth.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed

Carolina Panthers vs. Cincinnati Bengals

CAROLINA PANTHERS WIDE RECEIVERS

Cam Taylor-Britt is one good corner, but Dax Hill on the other side seems less impressive. Hill is very fast but also skinny, not to mention converting to corner after previously playing safety or/and slot corner in the NFL and at Michigan. Diontae Johnson can't outrun Hill, but he might be able to get him tripped up on a crossover. That might go for Taylor-Britt too, though Taylor-Britt is the one much more likely to hold his own relative to Hill. Slot corner Mike Hilton might be a bit challenged by the size of Xavier Legette and Jonathan Mingo, though Mingo has never been productive for any extended period. Legette against Hilton or/and Hill could be something to watch.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Diontae Johnson, Xavier Legette, Jonathan Mingo

CINCINNATI BENGALS WIDE RECEIVERS

Ja'Marr Chase is not deterred any by Jaycee Horn, but Horn nonetheless might be Chase's primary assignment here. Tee Higgins would be a major danger to Michael Jackson if so, and Andrei Iosivas has shown himself to be a jumpball threat from the slot, at least. Troy Hill is more easily beaten downfield than underneath, so Iosivas might be a bit crowded by Hill despite Hill being much slower of the two.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Ja'Marr Chase (arguable Upgrade if not shadowed by Horn), Tee Higgins (arguable Upgrade if Horn shadows Chase), Andrei Iosivas

Chicago Bears vs. Los Angeles Rams

CHICAGO BEARS WIDE RECEIVERS

The Bears offense continues to look like a mess – even last week's 16-point effort was one against a battered Colts defense without two of its best players and several others playing injured. Hopefully that changes at some point, and the Rams defense is probably one of the most accommodating for opposing passing games, but it's just hard to take it as a given that the Bears can look like a serious offense against anyone. The potential return of Keenan Allen (heel) presumably should help, but Rome Odunze picked up a hip injury in practice this week. As much as those two and D.J. Moore should have easy advantages over a Rams defense allowing 9.8 yards per pass, the Colts matchup last week should have been similarly easy and still had its share of complications. If Odunze or Allen are limited such that DeAndre Carter needs to play again then it could set the Bears back a little.

Upgrade: D.J. Moore, Rome Odunze, Keenan Allen
Downgrade: N/A
Even: DeAndre Carter

LOS ANGELES RAMS WIDE RECEIVERS

Without any warning the Rams made Tutu Atwell their leading receiver in Week 3, a role in which he did surprisingly well against a tough 49ers defense. It's not clear why Atwell wasn't used more previously, nor whether his role will stay the same in Week 4, but the Rams could use another 93 yards on five targets and it's doubtful that any of Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Whittington or Tyler Johnson can provide that. That's especially true against the Bears' strong corner rotation, which between Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon and Tyrique Stevenson should totally smother anything in the first 20 yards. The Bears pass rush makes it difficult to get downfield, but Atwell going downfield is probably the only way the Rams can move the ball through the air in this one.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: Demarcus Robinson, Jordan Whittington, Tyler Johnson
Even: Tutu Atwell

Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings

GREEN BAY PACKERS WIDE RECEIVERS

Brian Flores is accomplishing things with the Vikings defense that probably only two or three defensive coordinators in NFL history would be capable of, making them at once intimidating and seemingly a candidate for some sort of regression, especially if opposing offenses can figure out some of the extremely ambitious disguises used by the Minnesota defense. The Vikings use ambiguous or otherwise misleading looks to make the offense think they're running one type of coverage, only for the look to suddenly change into something unrecognizable after the snap. As much as Flores' blitzing gets a lot of attention, the blitzes are almost a means of creating these disguises as much or more than they are for specifically rushing the passer. When quarterbacks try to work through their reads they glitch because the Vikings' defensive movement overloads their inputs. Matt LaFleur might be one of the few coaches in the league to crack some of the code, but until then the talent versus talent matchups are only theoretical, if not entirely non-applicable. Corners like Stephon Gilmore and Shaquill Griffin can't defend the boundary one-on-one at this point in their careers, but to this point no one has been able to line up clean shots against them. Byron Murphy is the toughest one and often goes into the slot, so he might be the primary matchup for Jayden Reed. It's a strength versus strength if so – Murphy isn't who you want to run against if you're Reed, but Murphy can easily end up the one in danger if he's not on his game. As much as guys like Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson should be able to dust Gilmore and Griffin downfield, Flores has had no trouble accounting for this detail through three games.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson

MINNESOTA VIKINGS WIDE RECEIVERS

Jaire Alexander is a very good corner, but it doesn't at all matter to Justin Jefferson. No matchup is even a slight deterrent for Jefferson, but Jordan Addison is presumably more delicate as he works his way back from a couple consecutive ankle injuries. Addison might also be capable of beating Alexander if it comes down to it, but it'd be a lot easier to take aim at Eric Stokes. Stokes is tall and fast but his production has lagged relative to his tools, maybe in part because he lacks the twitch or anticipation to closely mirror quicker receivers. Jalen Nailor is another player Stokes would need to be careful around, and all three Vikings wideouts would make quick work of Keisean Nixon if the Packers leave him on an island.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Justin Jefferson (arguable Upgrade if not shadowed by Alexander), Jordan Addison (arguable Upgrade if Alexander shadows Jefferson), Jalen Nailor

Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

HOUSTON TEXANS WIDE RECEIVERS

Tank Dell (chest) appears unlikely to play, and Nico Collins (hamstring) showed up on the injury report Thursday. Stefon Diggs would need to really step up if Collins is limited or out, but the matchup should be charitable toward that. Rookie Jarrian Jones might turn out to be good, but if Collins is active there would only be so much help the Jaguars can give Jones (or Darnell Savage) in the slot against Diggs. Ronald Darby and especially Montaric Brown are beatable on the boundary, so much so that someone like Robert Woods might be able to do something in Dell's absence.

Upgrade: Nico Collins, Stefon Diggs
Downgrade: N/A
Even: N/A

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS WIDE RECEIVERS

Christian Kirk put up some garbage-time numbers against Buffalo in Week 3, which is perhaps a start, but garbage time might be the only hope for production from this group. The Jaguars coaching staff and front office are overrun with oafs, though most notably the Big Three of Doug Pederson, Press Taylor and Trent Baalke. Kirk should be too much for the slot safety coverage of Jalen Pitre, but in this insolvent Jaguars offense there might not be much to do about it. Brian Thomas is way too fast for Kamari Lassiter to cover – even Press Taylor might not be able to screw up that one if Houston foolishly leaves Lassiter in single coverage.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Christian Kirk, Brian Thomas, Gabe Davis

Indianapolis Colts vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS WIDE RECEIVERS

Michael Pittman and Josh Downs would ideally get going so that the Colts could have some semblance of an underneath/intermediate passing game – something they have badly lacked through three weeks. It's pretty much been a two-outcome passing game, with either Alec Pierce landing a bomb downfield or the ball going incomplete otherwise. The Steelers defense looks tough overall, which isn't shocking given that Joey Porter and Donte Jackson are probably their best boundary corner duo since Ike Taylor and whoever else. Beanie Bishop in the slot seems more beatable, so perhaps Downs can take some advantage of that.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Michael Pittman, Alec Pierce, Josh Downs

PITTSBURGH STEELERS WIDE RECEIVERS

George Pickens should get going in this one. The Colts went into this season with dubious personnel at boundary corner, and then they lost their best one (JuJu Brents) for the season. A guy like Calvin Austin could also potentially do some damage here, though it's not clear how committed the Steelers might be to getting Austin usage following his breakout Week 3 showing.

Upgrade: George Pickens, Calvin Austin
Downgrade: N/A
Even: N/A

New York Jets vs. Denver Broncos

NEW YORK JETS WIDE RECEIVERS

Garrett Wilson will probably see Patrick Surtain much or most of the time, which isn't ideal for Wilson. With that said, even Surtain gets beat occasionally, and a guy like Wilson is probably more likely to do it than someone like, say, D.K. Metcalf, whose means of winning (size and speed) is matched by Surtain. Wilson is not dependent on size to win – a tradeoff that gives him more start/stop and change of direction ability than someone much bigger like Metcalf (or Surtain) would have. It would still be far preferable for Wison to face Riley Moss instead, but the more important issue for Wilson is the question of developing rapport with Aaron Rodgers. The two are clearly trying to work toward that back-shoulder throw that Rodgers developed so well with a target like Jordy Nelson in the past, and if/when Wilson reaches that level of rhythm with Rodgers then defenses won't be able to stop it no matter how good the coverage is. With that said, if Moss and slot man Ja'Quan McMillian are the ones covering Allen Lazard and Mike Williams, then it's Lazard and Williams who have the easier corner matchup on the play.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Garrett Wilson (arguable Downgrade if shadowed by Surtain), Allen Lazard, Mike Williams

DENVER BRONCOS WIDE RECEIVERS

A three-wide loadout with Courtland Sutton and Josh Reynolds on the boundary with Lil'Jordan Humphrey in the slot is one comically ill-suited for NFL production. The Broncos caught a beat-up Tampa Bay defense sleepwalking in Week 3, but they won't have as much luck against... well, anyone. But against the Jets the regression could be particularly harsh for Bo Nix. Devaughn Vele would be a big improvement over Humphrey, but that's not really saying anything.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: Courtland Sutton, Josh Reynolds, Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Devaughn Vele
Even: N/A

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Philadelphia Eagles

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS WIDE RECEIVERS

Mike Evans should bounce back a bit after Patrick Surtain got the better of him in Week 3, though Darius Slay (left) and Quinyon Mitchell (right) both should be challenges for Evans. Still, Evans has won tougher matchups, even if they are easier ones on the schedule ahead. Jalen McMillan would probably be hard-pressed to get the better of either of Slay or Mitchell, and with less ability to fend for himself than in Evans' case. Chris Godwin should continue to get most of the slot looks, and he should be able to get the better of Avonte Maddox. Giving Maddox as much help as he needs against Godwin at the same time as giving sufficient safety support against Evans might be easier said than done.

Upgrade: Chris Godwin
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Mike Evans, Jalen McMillan

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES WIDE RECEIVERS

A.J. Brown (hamstring) and DeVonta Smith (concussion) might both be out for this one, which leaves the Eagles in a perilous position if so. Jahan Dotson and sixth-round tight end tweener Johnny Wilson would apparently be your lead boundary targets if both Brown and Smith are out. That's bad. Dotson might have some talent to work with and indeed tall, long-legged corners Jamel Dean and Zyon McCollum need to be careful with lateral dart wideouts like Dotson, but Wilson probably needs someone to trip on the field to get open against Dean or McCollum. Parris Campbell seemingly ran ahead of Britain Covey last week, though those two would presumably be fighting for slot snaps. With all of that said, if by some miracle Brown or Smith are active they would hold the advantage over any of these corners.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: Johnny Wilson
Even: A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jahan Dotson, Parris Campbell, Britain Covey

Arizona Cardinals vs. Washington Commanders

ARIZONA CARDINALS WIDE RECEIVERS

Marvin Harrison should have a big game here if his quadriceps injury isn't a major issue. Boundary corners Emmanuel Forbes and Benjamin St-Juste don't want to cover Harrison – they might not even want to cover Michael Wilson. The Cardinals need to get Wilson going here, especially if tight end Trey McBride (concussion) is out, but Arizona's lack of speed at receiver has become a spacing issue (one that only gets worse the more Greg Dortch plays). Dortch should see elevated snaps and usage if McBride is out, though Mike Sainristil is probably well-suited to covering a wideout built like Dortch.

Upgrade: Marvin Harrison
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Michael Wilson, Greg Dortch

WASHINGTON COMMANDERS WIDE RECEIVERS

Terry McLaurin finally got those go-route targets in Week 3, getting behind the Cincinnati defense and making it pay for the hubris of positioning the safety underneath. It remains to be seen if the Commanders can complete other types of throws with regularity – it has yet to occur at all – so I personally would expect the Cardinals to consider it the top priority to keep a safety over the go-route every snap, perhaps reducing Jayden Daniels to checkdown throws in the process (as was the case in Weeks 1 and 2). With that said, if the Cardinals don't cheat a safety over the top of McLaurin every play he will beat that corner vertically and Daniels very rarely misses the throw when it's there. Luke McCaffrey might improve over the course of the year but has yet to show much of substance, and Noah Brown is kind of just a spaceholder.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Terry McLaurin, Luke McCaffrey, Noah Brown

San Francisco 49ers vs. New England Patriots

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS WIDE RECEIVERS

Brandon Aiyuk should normally get the better of even a standout corner like Christian Gonzalez, but Aiyuk has seemed a bit off-rhythm to this point, and I probably shouldn't just assume he would normally beat Gonzalez. Gonzalez could be in that Surtain tier soon enough, and Gonzalez has the traits to match any prototypical WR1 type like Aiyuk. Neither size nor speed are a way to get an advantage over Gonzalez, but just the same Aiyuk won't stay down forever. Whenever it clicks, Aiyuk will probably get to correcting his lagging 2024 stats almost regardless of the matchup. If Aiyuk can get looks at the undersized duo of Jonathan Jones and Marcus Jones then that would be better – Aiyuk is big enough to bully both. Jauan Jennings is definitely big enough to bully both Joneses as well, and that will be no small concern for the Patriots after Jennings' big Week 3 game against the Rams.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Brandon Aiyuk, Jauan Jennings (arguable Upgrade if Gonzalez shadows Aiyuk)

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS WIDE RECEIVERS

Charvarius Ward is tough to beat on the left, but if you can isolate Isaac Yiadom on the right you should be able to get something going on the boundary against San Francisco. Deommodore Lenoir would play ahead of Yiadom in two-wide sets, which the Patriots might need to invite upon themselves here given how much blocking assistance their offensive line needs. With a two-TE set you might just get Ward and Lenoir, neither of whom are obviously threatened at the moment by any of Ja'Lynn Polk, DeMario Douglas or K.J. Osborn.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: K.J. Osborn
Even: Ja'Lynn Polk, Demario Douglas

Los Angeles Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS WIDE RECEIVERS

Justin Herbert's bit of adding at least one new injury per week is rather challenging to manage as a fantasy investor, especially given that he was already trying to get a grip on a new system with lots of new personnel around him. Playing a polished Chiefs defense is probably not what Herbert or his receivers need right now, especially since the Chargers might be without both starting tackles. Quentin Johnston has had a few splash plays but has yet to carve out a consistent presence, which might or might not be related to Herbert's struggles. Joshua Palmer or Ladd McConkey need to emerge to give the Chargers a steady element to their passing game, but given the injury situations for the Chargers at QB and OT it's difficult to imagine how the Chiefs give up a whole lot in this one.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Ladd McConkey, Joshua Palmer, Quentin Johnston – arguable downgrade across the board for QB/OT injury reasons

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS WIDE RECEIVERS

Might this finally be a spot where the Chiefs passing game can get itself going? The Chiefs could really use a tune-up game to get themselves into a rhythm, and running up the score a bit on a division rival has to be tempting too. The Chargers are without Derwin James and might not have Joey Bosa either. Given that their corner personnel is dubious at best to begin with, even the Chiefs' shorthanded wideout rotation should be able to get open. Xavier Worthy is a fine bet to get open deep in this one, and maybe even a guy like Justin Watson can do something similar. Rashee Rice is set up very well either way, as he is almost all weeks.

Upgrade: Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Justin Watson

Las Vegas Raiders vs. Cleveland Browns

LAS VEGAS RAIDERS WIDE RECEIVERS

The Giants knew they wanted to go after Martin Emerson last week, and it's been a rough start to the season for the third-year corner. The Raiders would presumably much rather line up Davante Adams against Emerson rather than Denzel Ward, and unless the Browns start moving their corners around the Raiders should be able to line up exactly that. Greg Newsome in the slot is also much tougher to beat than Emerson, so the Raiders should try to find some way to keep the Browns in nickel defense and keep Adams on Emerson as much as possible. Then again, Jakobi Meyers should also have an advantage against Emerson, and Adams would understandably vouch for himself against either of Ward or Newsome.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Davante Adams (the more Emerson the better), Jakobi Meyers (see Adams)

CLEVELAND BROWNS WIDE RECEIVERS

Who knows what the explanation might be – a bum shoulder, the vengeance of God, whatever else – Deshaun Watson is completely toast now. That Amari Cooper and Jerry Jeudy can put Jack Jones and Jakorian Bennett on skates doesn't necessarily mean anything with quarterback play as limited as Watson's. Nate Hobbs is the top Raiders corner, but you can usually avoid him by just staying out of the slot.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: Elijah Moore
Even: Amari Cooper (arguable Upgrade if not for QB), Jerry Jeudy (see Cooper)

Baltimore Ravens vs. Buffalo Bills

BALTIMORE RAVENS WIDE RECEIVERS

Baltimore put down Dallas almost exclusively with the run game, which is no doubt a model they'd like to repeat in any given week. The problem is that most defenses will defend the run better than Dallas did, and the Bills are almost certainly among them. That isn't to say the Ravens will find it much more fun to throw the ball – as is the case every year Sean McDermott has his secondary very well-coached, to the point that they reliably overachieve relative to the talent of their personnel. The Ravens are kind of the opposite as an offense – there's a certain way to maximize players like Zay Flowers and Rashod Bateman, but the Ravens more so try to jam them into a preexisting framework instead of building a framework around their respective abilities. Flowers should be able to cross up corners like Rasul Douglas and Christian Benford in man coverage, so the Bills will probably try to more so keep them off a little bit to keep Douglas/Benford in a pouncing position rather than one where they need to turn and run. Bateman is less threatening to either of Douglas or Benford. Nelson Agholor in the slot is usually a waste of time, though if Taron Johnson is out again the Bills will be short-handed in that part of the field.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Zay Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Nelson Agholor

BUFFALO BILLS WIDE RECEIVERS

Khalil Shakir is a good player but his numbers going back to even last year are patently unsustainable. Eventually his catch rate is going to go below 80 percent, and when it does the Bills will need to summon production from elsewhere to offset it. Curtis Samuel getting more snaps would be one easy way to do this, and there remains a strong chance Samuel is still not 100 percent healthy from his training camp turf toe injury. If Samuel cannot play more snaps, then there's only so much you can project for Keon Coleman, Mack Hollins or Marquez Valdes-Scantling to offset. Coleman is the only one of those three who projects for viable starter-level route running in the NFL, whereas Hollins and MVS are just blockers. Marlon Humphrey seemed to follow around CeeDee Lamb in Week 3, though it's not clear if the Ravens consider Shakir worth the same level of attention. Even if not, Shakir will probably still see a lot of Humphrey because the Ravens are settling on Nate Wiggins as their primary left corner and Brandon Stephens the main one on the right. It mostly looks challenging for the Bills wideouts.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, Curtis Samuel, Mack Hollins

Miami Dolphins vs. Tennessee Titans

MIAMI DOLPHINS WIDE RECEIVERS

Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are both way too much for Chidobe Awuzie, while L'Jarius Sneed ought to be a more challenging corner for the speedsters. The bigger problem than anything presented by the matchup is the fact that Miami's quarterback situation is a mess, with Tyler Huntley an upgrade over Skylar Thompson but still a mammoth downgrade from Tua Tagovailoa.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Tyreek Hill (arguable Downgrade for quarterback reasons), Jaylen Waddle (see Hill)

TENNESSEE TITANS WIDE RECEIVERS

Jalen Ramsey might shadow one of Calvin Ridley or DeAndre Hopkins, but given their co-No. 1 status the Dolphins might instead just leave Ramsey on one side, assuming that he'd always see one of them that way. If Kendall Fuller (concussion) is out then it leaves a big opportunity for whoever isn't covered by Ramsey.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Calvin Ridley (arguable Upgrade if Ramsey shadows Hopkins), DeAndre Hopkins (arguable Upgrade if Ramsey shadows Ridley)

Detroit Lions vs. Seattle Seahawks

DETROIT LIONS WIDE RECEIVERS

The Lions might be without standout center Frank Ragnow and/or Sam LaPorta, but the Seahawks are pretty beat up in their front seven. If guys like Boye Mafe, Leonard Williams and Byron Murphy are missing then the Seattle pass rush all of a sudden becomes rather toothless. Riq Woolen can match and exceed the vertical speed of Jameson Williams, but it's asking a lot of a corner to match Williams laterally or on double moves if the pass rush is giving Jared Goff all day to throw. Amon-Ra St. Brown versus Devon Witherspoon is in theory strength versus strength but again, if St. Brown has four seconds to get open he'll probably do it regardless of who the corner matchup is.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS WIDE RECEIVERS

D.K. Metcalf might be countered effectively by a guy like Carlton Davis on a short field, just because Davis is a bigger corner comfortable with playing press coverage, but like almost any corner Davis would be in a lot of trouble against Metcalf further than 10 or so yards downfield. By some contrast, the rookie Terrion Arnold is smallish and at risk of getting bullied by Metcalf in addition to outran by him. Arnold should be a more effective counter to Tyler Lockett, but if the Lions only line up Davis on the left and Arnold only on the left then it leaves Seattle free to match up whoever they want with Metcalf or/and Lockett. Indeed, Lockett would probably find it easier beating Davis downfield than the comparatively springy Arnold. Jaxon Smith-Njigba should mostly see Brian Branch, who might or might not be a challenging matchup for Smith-Njigba. For the 2023 versions of themselves you'd definitely give the advantage to Branch, but Smith-Njigba might be improving over the course of this year.

Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: D.K. Metcalf, Tyler Lockett, Jaxon Smith-Njigba