Johny The Greek's Cornerback Corner: Week 4

Who are the best and worst CB streaming options for Week 4?

Welcome to Johny the Greek’s Cornerback Corner, the only place (that I know of) across the entirety of the planet where we track every single IDP cornerback option every week all season long. If they’ve got a pulse and log snaps we’ll have a start/sit call on them and what league size/format they make the most sense in for all 96 plus starting cornerbacks across the entire NFL every week this season.

Last week I made 69 different start/sit calls and was over 80% accuracy for the second week in a row.

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Of the 69 calls I made last week, 11 were declared inactive or injured during play. We don’t count acts of God here, so subtracting those players we’re left with 58 adjusted calls. Of those, 49 were correct (matched, beat, or were within a slim margin of their projection on Yahoo and MFL), and 9 were incorrect (didn’t match or beat projection and weren’t even close), giving us an 84% accuracy for week 3.

Of those 49 correct calls, 20 of them were “massive hits” (more than doubled or even tripled their projection), giving us a 40% massive hit rate on correct calls for Week 3. We sit at 82% accuracy overall for the season with 43% of all correct calls ending up as “massive hits.”

Week 1: 77% accuracy, 40% massive hit rate

Week 2: 86% accuracy, 50% massive hit rate

Week 3: 84% accuracy, 40% massive hit rate

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Cornerback Corner: Week 4

Lions at Packers

Outlook: Las Vegas has this one (early line) at 46 for an over/under and with this being a divisional matchup we could be in for anything. What we do know is that this Lions offense has been humming since week 1 so all our Packers cornerback options are in a nice spot in this one. Hopefully, Jaire Alexander can return from injury to participate, this is a great setup for our Packers options.

For the reverse, I think we’ll be OK starting our Lions corners in deeper leagues. Jordan Love has been up and down this season but has shown that he’s a true competitor and will keep throwing no matter what, the comeback against the Saints last week at least shows us that. After a slow start, Love completed over 20 passes to close out that game to wide receiver options that may improve if that unit can get healthy for this game.

Detroit Lions

Brian Branch (CB/S): Branch played 100% of snaps last week with Chauncey Gardner Johnson done for the season and Kerby Joseph inactive, he’s typically played around 80% of snaps weekly this season. He is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues.

Jerry Jacobs/Emmanuel Moseley (CB): Moseley if healthy, Jacobs if not. I’d start either option (you have to track this one) as a CB4 in deeper leagues due to the Packers not attempting a ton of passes each week. Jacobs played 99% of snaps last week while Moseley was inactive and injured.

Cameron Sutton (CB): Sutton played 100% of snaps last week, he’s a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues.

Green Bay Packers

Jaire Alexander (CB): Jaire was inactive due to injury last week but if he can play he’s a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues.

Rasul Douglas (CB): Rasul played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB2 in leagues of all sizes this week.

Keisean Nixon (CB): Nixon played 74% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB3 in deeper leagues if your league has return yards, otherwise he’s still an option but the lack of ideal playing time makes him like a CB4 in those deeper leagues.

Corey Ballentine/Carrington Valentine (CB): These two cornerbacks split the role in the replacement of Alexander like a pair of booty cheeks, who was inactive last week, and neither played enough to be a legitimate option if Jaire Alexander is inactive again this week. Sit for both.

Falcons at Jaguars

Outlook: Despite the decent over/under of 45.5, which is an early line, this one looks pretty straightforward. The Falcons passing attack has been essentially nonexistent this season with Ritter completing under 20 passes per game. Even with that negative game script last week he only completed 21 passes on 38 attempts so the ceiling for our Jags corners isn’t ideal. The Falcons run first and pass last, deeper leagues only for any Jags this week.

For the reverse, we have to assume that Trevor Lawrence and company figure it out at some point this season. They are too loaded with talent not to. Lawrence completed 27 passes last week and is averaging about 25 completions per game which gives our Falcons corners a nice floor in medium to deeper leagues. We know this Jags passing attack is capable of much more but we just haven’t seen it yet this season so we’ll approach with caution.

It looks like we’ve got deeper leagues only here as well and let’s hope that this Jaguars passing attack (and offense in general) can turn things around soon. This was one of the better passing attacks in the league and was supposed to be a great place to stream corner against this season.

Atlanta Falcons

AJ Terrell (CB): Terrell played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB2 in leagues of all sizes this week.

Dee Alford (CB): Alford played 91% of snaps last week and is a start this week as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues.

Jeff Okudah (CB): Okudah was eased back into things playing only 16% of snaps in his first game action this season last week. He remains a sit until his playing time returns to normal.

Tre Flowers (CB): As Okudah’s snaps increase, Tre Flowers’ snaps will decrease, he’s also a sit while this specific cornerback slot is in flux.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Tyson Campbell (CB): Campbell played 98% of snaps last week and can excel in even the worst matchups but he’s only a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Darious Williams (CB): Williams played 86% of snaps last week and is a sit in most places this week but should play enough if you need him.

Tre Herndon (CB): Herndon only played 41% of snaps last week and is a sit this week.

Dolphins at Bills

Outlook: This is the one right here. With an over/under of 50 points, and the only negative factor that I can think of being possible weather conditions, we’ve got the best stream of the week it looks like. This Dolphins offense put up 70 points last week and the Bills are looking like they’ve got things figured out as well.

We’ve got two of the best passing quarterbacks in the league, tons of wide receiver talent, and two offenses that combined for over 100 points last week. Fire up everyone with a pulse. I’ll just help you figure out where each cornerback option makes sense but you don’t need me to tell you how good this matchup looks.

Miami Dolphins

Kader Kohou (CB): Kohou played 74% of snaps last week before resting due to the blowout, he’s a start as a CB1 in leagues of all sizes this week.

Xavien Howard (CB): Howard played 76% of snaps before resting due to the blowout, he is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week.

Eli Apple/Justin Bethel (CB): Eli Apple only played 6% of snaps before suffering a concussion last week, Justin Bethel came in for him and played 82% of snaps. Eli Apple will play if healthy, if not then Bethel is a sneaky option as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week. Apple would also be a CB4 in deeper leagues if he can go.

Buffalo Bills

Christian Benford (CB): Benford played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB2 in leagues of all sizes this week.

Taron Johnson (CB): Taron Johnson played 87% of snaps last week then sat once the game was in hand. He’s a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week.

Tre’Davious White (CB): White also played 87% of snaps and then sat last week. He’s a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues as well.

Vikings at Panthers

Outlook: With an over/under of 44 Vegas is predicting some points in this one but not as many as I’d expect to see. This probably comes down to whether Andy Dalton is at the helm again this week or not among other factors. He had north of 25 completions with over 300 yards passing against the Seahawks and could really give us some value in regards to our Vikings corners in deeper leagues. The passing offense looked completely different with him steering the ship.

For the reverse, we are locked and loaded for our Panthers corners against this excellent Vikings passing attack which is averaging (under Cousins) over 30 completed passes a game. We’ll determine which Carolina starters make sense for what kind of league but the question itself has an answer and it’s yes, we are starting our Panthers corners this week.

Minnesota Vikings

Byron Murphy (CB): Murphy played 94% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues against Bryce Young and a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues against Andy Dalton.

Akayleb Evans (CB): Evans played 91% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues against Bryce Young and a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues against Andy Dalton.

Josh Metellus (CB/S): If you can play Metellus as a corner it’s because your league hosting site is screwed up, absolutely take advantage of that and plus him into a CB3 slot in medium to deeper leagues. He played 95% of snaps last week and is averaging about 7 combined tackles per game.

No significant third CB option

Carolina Panthers

Donte Jackson (CB): Donte Jackson played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB2 in leagues of all sizes this week.

Jeremy Chinn (CB/S): Chinn only played 77% of snaps last week despite the Panthers secondary being absolutely shredded with injury. Make it make sense! He’s a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues.

Troy Hill/CJ Henderson (CB): Henderson was either demoted or injured without it hitting the news since he only played 13% of snaps last week while Hill played 85%. Update, Henderson was injured. Hill will start in place of him if he’s inactive this week. Start whichever one is playing as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues.

Broncos at Bears

Outlook: We’ve got another mediocre over/under here at 44.5 and an outdoors game in the Windy City so things are already looking shaky. Russel Wilson has been better so far this season but is still completing South of 23 passes a game so any Bears corners should probably be started only in deeper leagues.

As for the reverse, I’m still trying to decide which one of Justin Fields’ 11 completions last week I enjoyed the most. He’s averaging well under 20 completed passes per game and it doesn’t look to be getting better even with DJ Moore out there to help. I would sit my Broncos corners in the vast majority of leagues this week as they’ll likely need splash plays for any kind of noteworthy production and that’s always a bad bet.

We’ve got our early candidate for the worst stream of the week here with these two!

Denver Broncos

Patrick Surtain (CB): Surtain played 100% of snaps as usual last week but this is a truly horrendous matchup, I’d only start him as a CB4 in deeper leagues.

Damari Mathis (CB): Mathis also played 100% of snaps last week but is a sit for me against this horrible Bears passing attack, he will play enough if you need him though.

Essang Bassey (CB): Bassey played 66% of snaps last week and is a sit due to matchup and lack of ideal playing time.

Chicago Bears

Jaylon Johnson/Terrell Smith (CB): Johnson was injured last week but plays almost every snap when healthy, he’d be a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues if he can play. Smith was his replacement apparently and would also be an option this week if Johnson can’t go but a riskier one so I’d only start him as a CB4 in deeper leagues if that were the case.

Greg Stroman (CB): Stroman only played 64% of snaps due to blowout rest last week but should be a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week, if Jaylon Johnson remains out that should improve his playing time. And Kyler Gordon is out so Stroman remains an option due to having a pulse and being alive and on the Bears roster as a cornerback currently.

Tyrique Stevenson (CB): Stevenson only played 29% of snaps last week due to illness, which is code for he was trying out for Big Dump or Big Vomit Premium I would guess. Ask your commissioner about these exciting new formats for next season! Regardless he should be fine for this week and would be a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues.

Ravens at Browns

Outlook: The early line for this game is 44 points even, it’s outdoors in Cleveland where weather can always be a concern. Despite the offseason hype, Lamar Jackson is still only completing fewer than 23 passes per game and still appears to favor his tight ends and running backs instead of his wide receivers. That kind of tendency favors opposing linebackers and safeties more than cornerbacks so we should start any Browns options only in deeper leagues.

For the reverse, while DeShaun Watson was much better last week he’s still averaging just over 20 completed passes per game for the season. This is still a run-first-pass-last team and this matchup overall has a “black and blue affair” feeling written all over it. I’d go with deeper leagues only for any Ravens corners as well, unless, of course, Marlon Humphrey can finally return to the field.

Baltimore Ravens

Marlon Humphrey (CB): Assuming he can play this week I’d start him as a CB2 in leagues of all sizes, he would almost assuredly play 100% of snaps and is one of the best overall IDP cornerbacks out there.

Brandon Stephens (CB/S): Stephens played 100% of snaps last week and is a safety with cornerback designation in some places, regardless he’s been fairly productive. I’d start him as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Ronald Darby (CB): Darby only played 65% of snaps last week and this matchup isn’t anywhere close enough for us to start him with that little playing time, sit him this week.

Rock Ya-Sin (CB): Ya-Sin only played 35% of snaps last week and is an obvious sit this week.

Cleveland Browns

Martin Emerson (CB): Emerson played 96% of snaps last week and is only a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Denzel Ward (CB): Ward played 92% of snaps last week and is only a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Greg Newsome/Cameron Mitchell (CB): Newsome was inactive due to an injury last week, Mitchell replaced him and played 71% of snaps. Neither would be a start this week (sit them both) due to a bad matchup, possible reinjury risk for Newsome, and lack of ideal playing time for Mitchell.

Steelers at Texans

Outlook: Las Vegas really thinks we’re going to get a stinker with this one, just 40 points total for the over/under despite this being indoors in Houston. I tend to agree. Despite the fact that CJ Stroud has quietly averaged over 25 completed passes per game this season the feeling is that this Steelers defense is something he’s never seen before and will be his undoing this week. I can understand completely, deeper leagues only for any Steelers corners due to no likely passes-completed floor.

For the reverse, our Texans options would be OK in deeper leagues but Kenny Picket hasn’t exactly been special either this season. If we exclude his outlier performance in week 1 where the Steelers were down early and had to pass all game long he’s only averaging about 15 completed passes per game. This means our Texans corners should probably only be considered in deeper leagues as well. We’ve got our second stinker of the week.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Patrick Peterson (CB): Peterson played 99% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week.

Levi Wallace (CB): Wallace played 93% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Joey Porter Jr (CB): Porter only played 38% of snaps last week as he slowly displaces Chandon Sullivan as the third corner here in Pittsburgh. He’s not there yet, though. Sit for now, maybe pick him up for later if you’ve got a deep bench he is slowly climbing towards acceptable playing time.

Houston Texans

Derek Stingley/Shaq Griffin (CB): With Stingley inactive last week it was Shaq Griffin who replaced him and played 95% of snaps. If Stingley is healthy he would play and be a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues, same deal with Griffin if Stingley is inactive again this week.

Steven Nelson (CB): Nelson played 95% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

No significant third CB option

Rams at Colts

Outlook: With an over/under of 46, Las Vegas is thinking we’ll get some points here and I tend to agree. Whether the Colts have had Richardson or Minshew under center they’ve been feisty regardless, and the Rams have been a pleasant surprise as well. This one is indoors away from Mother Nature and neither defense is dominant enough to completely shut down the other team. This feels like a back-and-forth game with plenty of production for our relevant cornerback options on either team.

I could be completely wrong here but this one just feels good. To be safe we’ll assign the relevant corners to their correct league formats as is tradition but I for one will have plenty of Kenny Moore going in week 4.

Los Angeles Rams

Derion Kendrick (CB): Kendrick played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Akhello Witherspoon (CB): Witherspoon played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Cobie Durant (CB): Durant played 79% of snaps last week and has been much more productive since week 1, I’d start him as a CB4 plus in deeper leagues this week just because the playing time is still suspect.

Indianapolis Colts

Kenny Moore (CB): Moore played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB2 in leagues of all sizes this week.

Dallis Flowers (CB): Flowers also played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week.

Juju Brents (CB): The rookie played 74% of snaps last week and displaced Baker Jr. as the third cornerback in Indianapolis. He’s a sit currently as this cornerback slot is in flux, let’s see what happens this week and we’ll go from there.

Darrell Baker Jr (CB): Baker Jr was a healthy scratch last week and has been displaced by Juju Brents as the third cornerback, this is anything but set in stone though. The rookie could struggle mightily and we’d be right back to where we started so let’s give it a week or two and adjust from there.

Bucs at Saints

Outlook: We’ve got a 40.5 over/under for this indoor affair in New Orleans. It does feel likely as the Saints defense has been good enough all season to hold all their opponents to under 20 points each and every game. And for as good as the Bucs have been it’s still Baker Mayfield under center, not the second coming of Kurt Warner.

There are absolutely some great and relevant cornerback options on both of these teams but we should probably use them in deeper leagues this week as the signs point towards a likely defensive struggle.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Carlton Davis/Zyon McCollum (CB): Davis if he’s healthy, McCollum if Carlton is inactive. McCollum played 100% of snaps last week and would be a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues, same for Carlton if he can play. He’s capable of much more than that but reinjury risk and the possibility of them easing him back into the lineup limit our ceiling.

Jamel Dean (CB): Dean only played 48% of snaps last week before exiting with a shoulder injury, he’s a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues if he can play this week. His immediate replacement wasn’t apparent from the information I found so I’d skip trying to find his backup if he’s inactive, the matchup isn’t worth the trouble.

Dee Delaney (CB): Delaney only played 30% of snaps last week and is a sit this week due to a lack of good playing time.

New Orleans Saints

Alontae Taylor (CB): Taylor played 100% of snaps this week and is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week. Lattimore should be on Mike Evans, whether it’s Adebo or Taylor on Godwin is the iffy part.

Marshon Lattimore (CB): Lattimore played 96% of snaps last week and is always a start, this week as a CB2 in leagues of all sizes.

Paulson Adebo/Isaac Yiadom (CB): Adebo was inactive last week and Yiadom replaced him and played 80% of snaps, if Adebo can play he would be a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues but Yiadom didn’t play nearly as much as Adebo normally does so I’d sit him if Adebo is inactive again and Yiadom gets the start.

Commanders at Eagles

Outlook: Las Vegas has this one at 44.5 for the over/under and it’s another outdoor game in Philly. For me, this comes down to whether we see the Commanders from the first two weeks of the season or the Commanders that (under Howell) threw four interceptions and suffered nine sacks last week. Against this excellent Eagles team and defense in particular I’m betting we see more of the week 3 Sam Howell so any Eagles corners should be deeper leagues only. The passes-completed floor we need may not be there this week for them.

As for our Commanders’ options, we can fire them up again for the second week in a row as they face yet another powerhouse passing offense and take advantage of another ideal week for cornerback streaming.

Washington Commanders

Benjamin St. Juste (CB): St. Juste played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues, same reasoning as below with Fuller.

Kendall Fuller (CB): Fuller played 99% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues just in case we get the “running Eagles” offense this week.

Emmanuel Forbes (CB): Forbes only played 41% of snaps last week, part of that was blowout rest but part of it has been true all season long. He’s been productive but the playing time has been an issue, he’s a start as a CB4 in much deeper leagues this week only.

Philadelphia Eagles

Darius Slay (CB): Slay played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week.

James Bradberry (CB): Bradberry returned from injury and played 98% of snaps last week, he’s a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Josh Jobe (CB): With Avonte Maddox done for the season, Josh Jobe looks to be the third cornerback going forward now that we’ve seen Bradberry and Slay on the field with him. He played 57% of snaps last week and is a sit this week due to a lack of ideal playing time.

Bengals at Titans

Outlook: Las Vegas is worried about Joe Burrow just as much as the rest of us apparently, their early line of 43 (over/under) is indicative of either a Bengals passing attack led by an injured quarterback or led by a backup quarterback. Our cornerback streams depend on that information just as much as the lines in Vegas do.

If Burrow looks OK and can play I’d fire up our Titans options in most places and hope that we get the old Bengals again. If he’s hobbled or it’s a backup quarterback we demote our options accordingly. For our Bengals corners, we can sit them completely against a Titans passing attack that completes fewer than 18 passes per game. The floor we need for good cornerback streaming from Ryan Tannehill and company simply does not exist.

Cincinnati Bengals

Cam Taylor Britt (CB): Britt played 100% of snaps last week and is a start only in much deeper leagues as a CB4 this week due to the matchup.

Mike Hilton (CB): Hilton played 100% of snaps last week and is a sit for me but will play enough if you need him, this matchup is truly horrific.

Chidobe Awuzie (CB): Awuzie played 78% of snaps last week and had an injury that forced him out for a bit, he’s a sit this week due to the matchup and possible reinjury risk.

Tennessee Titans

Roger McCreary (CB): McCreary played 83% of snaps last week and got some rest once the game was clearly over. He’s a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week, demote to CB4 if needed, see below (Bunting note). The option is yours, my friends, I think we get a taste of the old Bengals and I’m firing him up as a CB3 personally.

Sean Murphy Bunting (CB): Bunting played 86% of snaps last week and got some rest once the game was in hand, he typically plays almost every snap. He’s a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues if you think we’re getting the old Bengals offense, demote to CB4 in deeper leagues if not.

Kristian Fulton (CB): After missing week 2 for injury, Fulton returned and played 94% of snaps last week. He’s a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues due to reinjury risk and fluctuation between him and Molden.

Elijah Molden (CB): Molden was down to 28% of snaps this week as Fulton returned to the lineup and reclaimed his starting spot. Molden is a sit until further notice.

Raiders at Chargers

Outlook: With a 50.5 over/under we’ve got another possible shootout here. And while it’s not indoors it is in Los Angeles so weather shouldn’t be a huge concern. The Raiders have excellent wide receivers led by a veteran quarterback and the Chargers defense really isn’t that good. Fire up our Chargers options in a pretty good matchup for week 4. Obviously, demote our Chargers corners accordingly if Jimmy Beautiful can’t play this week.

For the reverse, we know exactly what we have with Justin Herbert and company, our Raiders corners are among the best options that exist this week. Everyone from Nate Hobbs to Jakorian Bennett will have value with this excellent passing attack across from them in week 4.

Las Vegas Raiders

Marcus Peters (CB): Peters played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week.

Jakorian Bennett (CB): Bennett played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week.

Nate Hobbs (CB): Hobbs only played 82% last week and I can’t find anything saying why, the game script is the most likely answer. The Steelers only completed 16 passes and ran the ball plenty, Hobbs should see much more action this week against the pass-happy Chargers. He remains an automatic weekly start as a CB1.

Los Angeles Chargers

Michael Davis (CB): After seeing his snaps plummet off the face of the earth in week 2, Davis was back to 100% of snaps last week as this cornerback corps remains a dumpster fire beyond Samuel Jr. He should be a start with that playing time this week but I’m going to say as a CB4 in deeper leagues to minimize risk.

Asante Samuel Jr (CB): Samuel Jr. played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week.

Ja’Sir Taylor (CB): Taylor displaced JC Jackson and played 82% of snaps last week, this specific cornerback slot is clearly in flux so we should sit both Taylor and Jackson until we get some clarity to avoid taking a zero.

JC Jackson (CB): Jackson was a healthy scratch last week and was displaced by Ja’Sir Taylor, more to be revealed. This third cornerback slot is up in the air currently, sit Jackson this week (obviously).

Patriots at Cowboys

Outlook: The early over/under for this game is 43 points which indicates a lower-scoring affair, the game is indoors in Dallas so weather won’t be a factor. Mac Jones is quietly averaging 27 passes per game completed and has gone over 30 completions twice so far this season. Our Cowboys corners will have value this week.

For the reverse, our Patriots options are also in a great spot to take advantage of Dak Prescott’s tendency to throw the ball to the wrong team and the Cowboys’ willingness to abandon their excellent run game and start throwing tons of passes at a moment’s notice. This is a pretty good game to stream all around.

What will probably happen though is Belichick and the Patriots will run the ball right down our throat so tread carefully with Gilmore and company, just because Mac Jones has been solid to start the season doesn’t mean he won’t return to old form or the Patriots will stop passing so much.

New England Patriots

Jonathan Jones (CB): Jones was inactive again last week but if he can play this week I’d start him as a CB4 in deeper leagues just in case they ease him back into the lineup.

Christian Gonzalez (CB): Gonzalez played 98% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB2 in leagues of all sizes this week.

Myles Bryant (CB): Bryant played 98% of snaps with Jonathan Jones out and Marcus Jones on IR, if Jones is out again this week then Bryant would have some good value as a start, CB3 in medium to deeper leagues. Demote him to CB4 in deeper leagues if Jones can play.

Marcus Jones (CB): Jones was officially placed on IR last week and will be out of action for at least a month, sit.

Dallas Cowboys

Stephon Gilmore (CB): Gilmore played 98% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week.

Daron Bland (CB): Bland played 97% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Jourdan Lewis (CB): Lewis played 56% of snaps in his first healthy game this season and is a sit this week due to matchup and lack of ideal playing time.

Trevon Diggs (CB): Diggs is done for the season, sit going forward.

Cardinals at 49ers

Outlook: Despite the Cardinals looking really good through three weeks and stunning the Cowboys last week, Vegas has this one at a 41 over/under with the 49ers -14.5. For those of you who aren’t degenerates, that means all the smartest gamblers using the latest supercomputers have agreed that their best guess for this game is that the Niners absolutely destroy the Cardinals by North of two touchdowns.

Our 49ers corners may not see the floor we need for them to have a great game, just like last week against the Giants where there was a similar setup. I’d demote them to deeper leagues only this week with this in mind. For our Cardinals corners, we have some value but San Francisco may not need to pass much to put this one away. I’d be hesitant to start Wilson or Clark in shallower leagues.

And while Ward or Lenoir could see value if/when the Cardinals are forced into a negative game script and have to abandon the run and throw every down we can’t count on that. San Francisco is more than capable of dominating time of possession in this one by spending 40 minutes on offense and winning the game that way. That would kill the value for our 49ers corners as well. Avoiding danger is just as important as taking advantage of ideal situations.

Arizona Cardinals

Marco Wilson (CB): Wilson played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues.

Kei’Trel Clark (CB): Clark played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

No significant third CB option

San Francisco 49ers

Chavarious Ward (CB): Ward played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Deommodore Lenoir (CB): Lenoir played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Isaiah Oliver (CB): Oliver only played 68% of snaps last week and is a sit due to the matchup and less-than-ideal playing time.

Chiefs at Jets

Outlook: Las Vegas has this one at 43.5 over/under and it’s outdoors in New York which is a windy stadium, I’ve attended several games there. The Chiefs don’t really target their wide receivers and the Jets are unable to target their wide receivers due to their starting quarterback. What would have been a great stream a few weeks ago is now just a “deeper leagues only” affair that I’ll lay out the options for but likely won’t have anyone going from in my own leagues.

For reference, the Chiefs are currently 9th in the league for 2023 wide receiver targets but that ranking is bloated and dangerous (just like my lower intestines after Taco Bell) due to that week 1 outlier game where Kelce was inactive and they only targeted wide receivers. The Jets are dead last in the league this season for wide receiver targets and have over 60 fewer than the league leaders in this category (Minnesota).

Kansas City Chiefs

L’Jarius Sneed (CB): Sneed only played 82% of snaps due to the blowout last week and is only a start as a CB4 due to this matchup.

Trent McDuffie (CB): McDuffie also only played 82% of snaps last week, same reasons, and is also on a CB4 in deep leagues this week due to the matchup.

Jaylen Watson (CB): Watson played 57% of snaps last week and is a sit due to the matchup and poor playing time.

New York Jets

DJ Reed (CB): Reed played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week.

Sauce Gardner (CB): Sauce played 100% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week.

Michael Carter (CB): Carter only played 65% of snaps last week but typically plays around 80%, he’s a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Seahawks at Giants

Outlook: Despite the 45 over/under this game may not feature as many completions as we’d like upon further inspection. This is another outdoor night game in New York and while Geno Smith has talented wide receivers everywhere, he’s been up and down in terms of his floor this season. He’s fluctuated wildly from just 16 completed passes up to 32 in week 2 and back to 23 last week, in short, he’s been all over the place. I’d feel pretty good about Adoree Jackson but beyond that, it should be deeper leagues only for any Giants cornerbacks due to this factor.

For the reverse, we still have some good factors working in the favor of Devon Witherspoon but the rest of the Seahawks’ cornerback corps is in flux and this matchup against a quarterback completing less than 22 passes per game isn’t nearly good enough to chase them down. If it’s not Witherspoon or a fully healthy Woolen we should sit our Seahawks corners this week.

Seattle Seahawks

Devon Witherspoon (CB): Witherspoon played 100% of snaps last week and between his draft capital and the injuries to the other starters here he should play enough this week to have value. I’d start him as a CB4 in deeper leagues that could have a much nicer day than implied with that call. He’s a rookie and was targeted often in both games he’s played so far this year. Unfortunately, the Giants don’t pass much to begin with so his ceiling is limited this week.

Tariq Woolen/Artie Burns/Michael Jackson/Coby Bryant (CB): Beyond Witherspoon, we have a gigantic mess with this cornerback corps. Woolen is banged up, I can’t find any clarity on whether Artie Burns was the Coby Bryant or Tariq Woolen replacement, and beyond that there are too many chefs in the kitchen. I think we can trust that Witherspoon will get the snaps this week, beyond that I’m sitting everyone while we figure this out. The matchup isn’t worth the headache. It would be another thing if the 1999 Rams were lined up across from Seattle this week but it’s Daniel Jones and the Giants’ “passing attack.”

New York Giants

Adoree Jackson (CB): Jackson played 96% of snaps last week and is a start as a CB2 in leagues of all sizes this week.

Tre Hawkins (CB): Hawkins played 67% of snaps last week but should play more against a more pass-happy team than the 49ers. I’d start him as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Deonte Banks (CB): Banks only played 52% of snaps last week but could be a decent start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Have no idea what any of that was?

I’d recommend that you read the Week 1 edition of The Cornerback Corner. I intentionally made that one as detailed as humanly possible and explained nearly every aspect of cornerback streaming, what factors we look for, and why. There’s also a language key in that edition and every call (start or sit) is explained in detail using the factors we look to each week. Consider this the “primer” for the rest of the season if any of this reads like hieroglyphics.

Want a faster version?

Check out the audio version of this article in The IDP After Show feed for a quick rundown of every week’s best and worst games to stream from plus my favorite streams of each week. I’ll be highlighting all the most important information from this article in a quick and easily digestible audio podcast that should run around 20-30 minutes.

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Additional Resources & Contact Information

Reminder! These are only suggestions, your responsibility for your lineup is yours and yours alone. However, with that being said, these are the same moves I’m making myself in my double-digit amount of redraft leagues and another 20 or so dynasty leagues so we sink or swim together. Remember to check inactives before kickoff to prevent any surprise zeroes.

We make the best decisions we can with the information we have available at the time and after that, it’s in the hands of the fantasy gods. I’ve averaged approximately 72% accuracy matching or beating projections since I started writing this article series four seasons ago. I want to win just as badly as you do so I promise you I’ll do everything in my power to make sure these suggestions are solid.

There will be a weekly transparency thread before each week’s cornerback streaming calls where I review the previous week’s results. If I’m in a slump you’ll know it. This is year 20 of IDP for me and a normal season should put me well past 40 titles and 60 plus 2nd/3rd place finishes across redraft and dynasty plus a ton more in best ball, DFS, eliminators, salary cap, etc. You’re in good hands here at the Cornerback Corner, as this is not my first rodeo.

For additional IDP resources please see idpguys.org and footballguys.com. For weekly in-season waivers and playing time reports/podcast, please see my work with @TheIDPTipster on the SGPN network. Gary (IDP Tipster) also does an article series there utilizing his start/sit charts, which are a great resource for your non-cornerback start/sit decisions.

For any questions/comments, to discuss specific cornerback streams, or to talk IDP in general, hit up my Twitter, @OrangeMan3142, or email Johnysmack3141@yahoo.com. Good luck this week and let’s go get those titles!