Johny the Greek's Cornerback Corner: Week 2

Who are the best and worst CB streaming options for Week 2?

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 58 different start/sit calls and did pretty well, especially considering Week 1 is the hardest week to predict since we’re guessing on many things. Many offseason depth charts were just straight out wrong in regards to some of the more “iffy” cornerback positions from these teams. Beyond that, offensive production across the league was horrendous and it was abundantly clear that most of these passing attacks are rusty.

Now we’ve seen some snaps and we’ve got a far better idea of what to expect going forward. I’ll also be able to make many more calls one way or the other now that many of the “iffy” situations we avoided last week are known to us.

Before we look at our Week 2 options, let’s do a little transparency so everyone can see how things turned out.

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Of the 58 calls I made last week, 4 were declared inactive or injured during play. We don’t count acts of God here, so subtracting those players we’re left with 54 adjusted calls. Of those, 42 were correct (matched, beat, or were within a slim margin of their projection on Yahoo and MFL), and 12 were incorrect (didn’t match or beat projection and weren’t even close), giving us a 77% accuracy for week 1.

Of those 42 correct calls, 17 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 1.

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

Many passing offenses started slowly across the entire league last week, some of them we expected to (Atlanta, Baltimore, Giants), and some we didn’t (Cincy, Dallas, Jets). Those who have shown they are capable of completing passes historically will get the benefit of the doubt from me regarding these calls for Week 2. The others will have to prove they can complete passes consistently before we look to them for ideal cornerback streaming for our opposing corners.

Offensive production across the league should improve as these teams get into game shape and find their in-season form. Despite the horrible passing offense in Week 1, we ended up with a ton of good cornerback streams. The only downside is many of them were in somewhat unexpected places and many were from splash plays which are hard to achieve consistently. As offensive production improves, so shall cornerback production.

Better days to come, I had some bad streams myself but was bailed out in many places by the likes of Marco Wilson, Carlton Davis, DJ Reed, and Nate Hobbs who were responsible for multiple wins across my 30-plus leagues in Week 1. Remember: it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and we’re looking to put ourselves in the best position to score points every week all season long. By doing so we’ll have better outcomes than our league-mates, this has been proven by data (see @DJKelltown on Twitter) and my own eyeballs for the last 15-plus years.

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Cornerback Corner: Week 2

Vikings at Eagles

Outlook: The Thursday night matchup this week is easily one of the best options for all of Week 2, as many different positive factors come together for us in Philadelphia. With an over/under of 49 (these are early lines, for the record, since I have to start writing this Sunday night of Week 1), two excellent quarterbacks, and a plethora of talented wide receivers and tight ends we’ve got the makings of a shootout.

On top of that, these teams targeted their wide receivers second and ninth respectively in the league last season. The only slight negative factor is that this one is outdoors in Philly so the weather could be an issue. With this being early September, I think anything other than a monsoon won’t slow down these two powerful offenses. And the other slight negative factor here is this is a Thursday night game. Traditionally, we get the worst football during these games every week.

None of that is stopping me from firing up the relevant cornerback options in this one. The other factors are just too good to ignore.

Minnesota Vikings

Byron Murphy (CB): Start as a CB2 in leagues of all sizes. He played 100% of snaps in Week 1.

Camryn Bynum (CB/S): Start as a CB3 plus in deeper leagues if he has the correct designation. He played 99% of snaps in Week 1.

Akayleb Evans (CB): Start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues. He played 91% of snaps in Week 1.

All other options (CB): Sit due to lack of ideal playing time. If Josh Metellus somehow has a CB designation in your league, he’s not a bad CB4-type option in deeper leagues, playing 84% of snaps in Week 1.

Philadelphia Eagles

James Bradberry (CB): Sit, in concussion protocol and it’s a short week, he won’t play. Beat writers suggest Kelee Ringo or Josh Jobe will be the replacement but I’d skip them both and just stream elsewhere to avoid guessing wrong and eating a zero.

Darius Slay (CB): Start as a CB1 in leagues of all sizes, he played 100% of snaps in Week 1 and will likely be chasing Justin Jefferson around all game.

Avonte Maddox (CB): Start as a CB3 plus in medium to deeper leagues. He played 89% of snaps in Week 1.

Packers at Falcons

Outlook: Two traditionally very unimpressive passing attacks face off indoors in Atlanta with an over/under of 41 points. Las Vegas thinks we’re in for a boring affair and who am I to argue with Vegas?

We’ve discussed the Falcons’ poor rating in regards to targeting their wide receivers last season and we’re unlikely to see a massive shift in their offensive strategy in Week 2. Beyond that, those of us with eyeballs who saw any of Desmond Ritter’s performance last week know why I’m shying away from Jaire Alexander and company unless in deeper leagues.

However, the Packers’ passing offense looked pretty good last week and may get a bump if Watson can return. This could give AJ Terrell and company some value here. I’m probably not touching this one myself but we’ll list the relevant cornerback options for each defense and where they make the most sense to start if you need to stream from this matchup.

Green Bay Packers

Rasul Douglas (CB): Rasul can excel no matter the matchup as his box score from last week against a horrendous Bears’ passing attack demonstrated. He played 100% of snaps and remained on the field in garbage time even as Jaire Alexander and others sat on the bench. Desmond Ritter just doesn’t complete passes, though, so I’d only start Rasul as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week.

Jaire Alexander (CB): Jaire sat as soon as the game was in hand and ended the day with 76% of snaps played. He’ll likely need a splash play to produce and we know that’s never a great bet. Start as a CB4 in deeper leagues due to talent and ideal playing time (if the game remains close) though.

Keisean Nixon (CB): Definitely start him if your league has return yards. Beyond that, he’s a sit due to his 77% of snaps last week. That likely won’t improve much even if this is a closer game combined with the bad matchup. He’s going to be a great option this season just not this week.

Atlanta Falcons

Jeff Okudah (CB): I’m sitting him even if he’s active. While he’s “trending in the right direction,” the first game back can always be a trap. They could ease him back into things and we don’t end up getting the snaps we need.

Tre Flowers (CB): Start as a CB4 in deeper leagues only if Okudah is inactive, otherwise sit. Flowers played 100% of snaps as an injury replacement for Okudah in Week 1.

AJ Terrell (CB): Start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues. Terrell played 100% of snaps in Week 1.

Dee Alford (CB): I’m starting Alford in leagues where you get return yards as a CB4 due to the high likelihood he plays the least of all Falcons corners as he did in Week 1. He did play 94% of snaps, however, and split punt return duties so there’s value to be had in the right kind of league format. However, in most league formats, he’s a sit this week.

Raiders at Bills

Outlook: While this matchup is outdoors, we’re still early in September, so barring an unexpected blizzard or monsoon, we’re looking OK there. Vegas has this one at 48 for an over/under so we should see plenty of offense and we’ve got veteran quarterbacks and wide receiver talent on both sides.

These teams target their wide receivers often with a 12th and 8th overall ranking from last season for these 11th and 7th-ranked passing offenses from 2022/23. Everything looks really good here for a decent shootout and plenty of the positive factors we like to see in cornerback streaming. I’ll be targeting this matchup quite a bit in my lineups for Week 2, especially after we saw what Nate Hobbs was capable of in a bad streaming situation last week, with a good setup here in Buffalo the sky is the limit for him.

Las Vegas Raiders

Marcus Peters (CB): Start as a CB3 plus in medium to deeper leagues, he played 100% of snaps in week 1.

Nate Hobbs (CB): Start as a CB1 in leagues of all sizes every week he is on this side of the dirt, he played 94% of snaps in Week 1.

Jakorian Bennett (CB): This may be the sneaky play of the week right here, no one knows who this guy is including me until just now. He played 100% of snaps in Week 1 and has a beautiful matchup. I’d start him as a CB2 plus in medium to deeper leagues and hope he gets picked on again like he was in Week 1.

Buffalo Bills

Christian Benford (CB): It was Benford who emerged from the scrum with Kair Elam and Dane Jackson as the third CB here in Buffalo. He played 100% of snaps in Week 1 and makes a nice CB3 plus in deeper leagues this week as a start.

Tre’Davious White (CB): White played every snap last week and makes a nice CB4 in deeper leagues as a start this week.

Taron Johnson (CB): Taron surprisingly only played 69% of snaps in Week 1 and barely registered any stats at all. Part of that was losing Rodgers as the opposing quarterback. Zach Wilson only completed 14 passes the entire game, and part was the game script he encountered (turnover fest, knife fight defensive struggle, not a shootout) and part of it was this cut in playing time. He played every snap last year every week so I have no idea what gives. For now, he’s a CB4 in much deeper leagues and we’ll continue to monitor.

Ravens at Bengals

Outlook: This one is pretty straightforward. This is a good week for our Ravens corners as a top ten passing offense that is also top ten in regards to targeting their incredibly talented wide receivers (2022/23) welcomes them to Cincy. Vegas has this at a 47.5 over/under, so we should see plenty of offense. Beyond that, Joe Burrow should bounce back from his Week 1 subpar performance unless we get another monsoon in Cincy this week.

For the reverse, however, we’ve talked about this Ravens passing attack before. They were dead last in regards to targeting their wide receivers last season and were the 28th-ranked passing attack in the league last year. Nothing Baltimore did in Week 1 did anything to change that in my mind one bit in regards to this. And Cincy will be fine; it was just a slow start for Burrow and company.

All systems are go for our Ravens corners but we should sit our Bengals options unless in much deeper leagues.

Baltimore Ravens

Ronald Darby (CB): With Marlon Humphrey inactive and Marcus Williams going down with a multi-month injury, we can expect and have already seen some shenanigans with this secondary. For the moment Ronald Darby appears to be a good option. If Humphrey is active this week, that could alter this somewhat but that’s the risk we take. Darby played 90% of the snaps in Week 1. I’d start him as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues due to matchup and decent playing time.

Marlon Humphrey (CB): Humphrey “has a shot” to play in Week 2. If he does, he’s automatically a start as a CB1 in leagues of all sizes due to historical production and playing time combined with this excellent matchup. Keep an eye on those inactives though, that’s part of the deal chasing these guys returning from injury.

Brandon Stephens (CB/S): Assuming Stephens has the correct designation for this to be a possibility in your league of merit. He played 100% of snaps last week and should be locked in for the duration of the Marcus Williams injury. I’d start him as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues.

Rock Ya-Sin (CB): Sit. Despite being listed as a starter on every offseason depth chart I could get my hands on, he only played 10% of snaps in Week 1 and doesn’t appear to be injured. Blast him out of the airlock!

Cincinnati Bengals

Cam Taylor Britt (CB): Britt played 99% of snaps last week, so he’ll play enough if you need it. I’d start him as a CB4 plus in much deeper leagues but he’s a sit in most places due to the matchup.

Mike Hilton (CB): Hilton only played 74% last week but this was likely due to the blowout and getting some rest once it was clear the game was over. I’m sitting him due to matchup and historical production as a Bengal.

Chidobe Awuzie (CB): Awuzie only played 58% of snaps last week and appears to have been demoted to the third CB slot where he’s splitting time with DJ Turner, but we can’t know for sure due to the blowout and starters getting benched late. Regardless, he’s a sit this week due to the matchup.

Seahawks at Lions

Outlook: Two very good passing attacks that both targeted their wide receivers in the better half of the league last season play indoors away from mother nature at Ford Field with an over/under of 51.5 freaking points! This may be the best matchup of Week 2 and I will absolutely be streaming some corners from this matchup. I would recommend you do the same.

And while the Seahawks were unimpressive last week, that was also a divisional game and I think they should bounce back nicely against an opponent that gets into shootouts pretty often.

Seattle Seahawks

Tariq Woolen (CB): Woolen played 100% of snaps in Week 1 and is a great option in this matchup. I’d start him as a CB2 in leagues of all sizes.

Coby Bryant (CB): Bryant logged 79% of snaps in Week 1 before it appeared some starters got to rest as the game was out of hand. He was a great option last season but has never been an “every snap” guy. The matchup is great, though, so I’d start him as a CB3 plus in deeper leagues.

Tre Brown (CB): Brown is the least set in stone of these options with Devon Witherspoon or Michael Jackson ready to displace him at a moment’s notice, especially after this secondary was torched last week by a Cooper Kupp-less Rams team. It’s risky starting him but the matchup is great, I’d start him as a CB4 plus in deeper leagues to minimize that risk. He did play 75% of snaps last week before sitting due to blowout rest.

Detroit Lions

Jerry Jacobs/Emmanuel Moseley (CB): This one will be determined later in the week. Keep an eye on Twitter and beat writer reports to see which one starts here. Jacobs was the injury replacement and played 100% of snaps in Week 1 while Moseley was inactive. I’d start whichever one plays as a CB4 in deeper leagues to minimize the risk of shenanigans and take advantage of this solid matchup.

Cameron Sutton (CB): Despite putting up zero statistics of any kind in Week 1, Sutton did play 100% of snaps. His empty box score had more to do with the Chiefs’ “wide receivers” than anything else. He’s in a great matchup and played every snap last week. I’d roll the dice on him again as a CB3 plus in deeper leagues.

Brian Branch (CB/S): Branch only played 68% of snaps in Week 1 and the pick-six he had is not something we’re going to see every week—or maybe at all again this season. He still looked good though! I’d start him as a CB4 plus in deeper leagues due to a lack of ideal playing time.

Colts at Texans

Outlook: The Texans’ passing attack looked really bad in Week 1 but may improve against a more suspect defense. And while Anthony Richardson was better than expected in Week 1, it’s only a matter of time before he’s injured with that play style.

With an over/under of 40.5, Las Vegas thinks that we’re looking at a defensive struggle here. It will be indoors, which helps, but with two rookie quarterbacks and really only one premier wide receiver in Michael Pittman between these two teams we shouldn’t expect many fireworks. I’ll be avoiding this one personally but we’ll list the relevant options for you degenerates as is tradition.

Indianapolis Colts

Dallis Flowers (CB): Flowers played 99% of snaps in Week 1 but this is a horrendous matchup, so he’s a sit for me this week.

Kenny Moore (CB): Kenny played 97% of snaps in Week 1 and let us down in a great matchup, but he’s been excellent for years. A bad week now and again is par for the course in the land of cornerbacks. I’d start him as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues, and if you think that’s crazy, go check Pro Football Reference for his stats going back to the start of his career. He’ll be fine.

Darrell Baker Jr (CB): Baker only played 69% of snaps and struggled mightily, he’s at risk for getting displaced already according to reports I read and this matchup is not good regardless. He’s a sit in Week 2.

Houston Texans

Derek Stingley (CB): Stingley played 100% of snaps in Week 1 and makes for a fine CB3 in medium to deeper leagues as a start.

Steven Nelson (CB): Nelson also played 100% of snaps in Week 1 and secured an interception for us in a less-than-ideal matchup. He also makes for a nice CB3 in medium to deeper leagues.

Tavierre Thomas (CB): Thomas however only played 62% of snaps last week and is a sit for me due to lack of ideal playing time and the matchup not being good enough to overpower that factor.

Chiefs at Jaguars

Outlook: We saw what this Chiefs offense looked like when they were forced to target their warm-body wide receivers last week and it was anything but pretty. A healthy Travis Kelce likely means more production for the Jags linebackers and safeties than their cornerbacks, so in general, this matchup is just OK for our Jacksonville options. We need to remember that despite the Chiefs passing attack being one of the best in the league last season, they only targeted their wide receivers 21st in the league overall. Last week showed us why. It’s not “Skyy Moore SZN” and probably won’t ever be.

As for the reverse, we have a Jags passing attack that was top ten in both overall passing rank and in targeting their talented and plentiful wide receivers last year. On top of that, we’ve got an over/under of 50.5, which is beautiful, and we got a ton of excellent production from the Sneed/McDuffie duo last week against a similarly ranked (22/23’) passing attack. We’re locked and loaded for our Chiefs corners and we’ll tread with caution in regards to Tyson Campbell and company (even though it didn’t seem to matter much to Campbell last week—the man is that good).

Kansas City Chiefs

L’Jarius Sneed (CB): Sneed may not have the same role that made him the CB1 overall for all of IDP last year to start this season, but he still hit his projection in most places and played 100% of snaps. He’s a start as a CB1 in leagues of all sizes against this excellent Jags passing attack.

Trent McDuffie (CB): McDuffie appears to have taken over the massively productive role that Sneed benefitted from last year. He played 100% of snaps in Week 1 and had a huge box score. He’s a start as a CB1 in leagues of all sizes.

Joshua Williams (CB): It would appear that Jaylen Watson has been displaced by Williams as the third CB at the moment. He only played 56% of snaps in Week 1 and didn’t do much with them at all, but the matchup is correct if you want to give it a go. I’m sitting him in Week 2 though.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Darious Williams (CB): Williams played 100% of snaps in Week 1 and makes for a decent CB4 in deeper leagues (start). He has the playing time and the matchup is pretty good assuming the Chiefs wide receivers can catch something this week.

Tyson Campbell (CB): Campbell played 99% of snaps last week and had a massive game in a less-than-ideal setup, he’s always a good option and makes for a nice CB2 in leagues of all sizes as a start this week.

Tre Herndon (CB): Herndon only played 68% of snaps in Week 1 and is a sit for me in Week 2 due to lack of the kind of playing time we want and the Chiefs’ inability to complete passes to their wide receiver corps.

Bears at Bucs

Outlook: With an over/under of 44 points, Vegas is predicting a lower-scoring affair, and last week showed us that the Bears are still the Bears and not the 2007 Patriots in regards to their passing offense.

It’s possible that the Bears’ passing attack is perhaps better with DJ Moore but is still lightyears away from being in the same solar system as what we’re looking for in regards to a setup for ideal cornerback streaming. As for the Bucs, they looked pretty good with Baker Mayfield under center, so our Bears corners should have some value in the right kind of league.

Overall, this is about half of a decent matchup and we’ll make those cornerback calls accordingly with this in mind.

Chicago Bears

Tyrique Stevenson (CB): Stevenson may have benefitted from the Kyler Gordon injury in regards to his playing time with 100% of snaps in Week 1 as a rookie. Either way, he should be OK this week to play a ton as Kyler doesn’t feel likely to play with the hand injury from what I read. He’s a start as a CB3 plus in medium to deeper leagues due to matchup.

Jaylon Johnson (CB): Johnson played 100% of snaps in Week 1 and makes for a decent start as a CB3 plus in medium to deeper leagues this week.

Kyler Gordon (CB): Gordon was only able to play 45% of snaps before exiting the Week 1 game due to a hand injury. I’d sit him this week to avoid a re-injury risk. Even if he plays, this matchup isn’t worth the possible headache.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Carlton Davis (CB): Carlton is capable of blowing up any time any week and played 100% of snaps in Week 1. However, this matchup is garbage, so he’s only a start as a CB3 plus in medium to deeper leagues.

Jamel Dean (CB): Dean played 98% of snaps in Week 1 and is a sit for this week due to the matchup and the fact that he’s not Carlton Davis.

No significant third CB option.

Chargers at Titans

Outlook: Despite the decent 46.5 over/under in this matchup, I think this is pretty straightforward. We can fire up our Titans’ corners against this excellent Chargers passing attack that was: A) top five in the league in both passing offense and targeting wide receivers last season and B) is led by a pro bowl quarterback throwing to his C) Pro Bowl receivers and a Bro Bowl running back out of the backfield.

But for Asante Samuel Jr., Michael Davis, and company, this week is a clear sit against a bad Titans passing attack that may not have gotten better even with the addition of DeAndre Hopkins. They’re still a run-and-play defense team not the greatest show on turf. There will be plenty of nice matchups for our Chargers corners coming down the line, especially in their loaded division, but for this week we’ll skip them.

Los Angeles Chargers

Michael Davis (CB): Davis played 100% of snaps in Week 1 but this matchup is not good at all, so he’s a sit for me in Week 2.

Asante Samuel Jr (CB): Samuel only played 76% of snaps in Week 1 and is even more of a sit due to that factor plus the bad matchup.

JC Jackson (CB): Jackson has won the third CB job for now but only played 66% of snaps in Week 1 and is definitely a sit with this matchup plus the less-than-ideal playing time.

Tennessee Titans

Sean Murphy Bunting (CB): Bunting played 100% of snaps in Week 1 and is a start as a CB2 in leagues of all sizes for this solid matchup.

Roger McCreary (CB): McCreary had a quiet Week 1 but played 88% of snaps and is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues for this matchup, which is excellent.

Kristian Fulton/Elijah Molden (CB): Fulton suffered a hamstring injury and Molden came in last week for the final 75% of snaps from what I can gather so you’ll have to stay on top of this one to get it right. Whichever one plays is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues due to matchup overriding the headache of tracking this situation.

Giants at Cardinals

Outlook: The Giants likely won’t need to pass all that much to blow the doors off a Cardinals team rolling out a backup quarterback at home in Week 2. Arizona is clearly heading for a multi-year rebuild and will be lucky to win a handful of games this season. I fully expect the Giants to dominate time of possession, win handily, and that the majority of the 38 expected over/under points end up on their side of the scoreboard. They need to after last week.

The Cardinals’ corners may have some value due to availability being the best ability. There’s a version of this game where they spend 40 minutes on defense that’s not too far from reality in all likelihood. But as for our Giants corners, this week feels like an obvious sit with better days to come.

New York Giants

Adoree Jackson (CB): Jackson played 91% of snaps in Week 1 and sat at the end when this one was truly over. He’s only a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues due to this bad matchup.

Tre Hawkins (CB): Hawkins played 88% of snaps in Week 1 but is a sit this week due to matchup.

Deonte Banks (CB): Banks only played 43% of snaps in Week 1. Part of that was Dallas splitting cheeks but it could also be we won’t get the playing time we want here. Regardless, the matchup is bad and the playing time is bad, so he’s a sit in Week 2.

Arizona Cardinals

Marco Wilson (CB): Wilson played 100% of snaps in Week 1 and cruised right past his projection as expected. The matchup isn’t great in Week 2 but he’s still a start as a CB3 plus in medium to deeper leagues.

Kei’Trel Clark (CB): Clark played 100% of snaps in Week 1 but didn’t do much with them. He’s a start but only as a CB4 plus in much deeper leagues due to good playing time plus the strong likelihood the Giants dominate time of possession.

Antonio Hamilton (CB): Hamilton did not end up winning a starting job here in Arizona and only played 7% of snaps in Week 1. He’s a sit, and feel free to blast him out the airlock into space like I have.

49ers at Rams

Outlook: The Rams without Cooper Kupp were actually pretty impressive in regards to their passing attack in Week 1. With an over/under of 42 points, Vegas is predicting a low-scoring game and it’s likely most of those points will be scored by the 49ers.

Our Rams options will have some value since it’s likely they’ll be on the field quite a bit in this one and we know the 49ers have some talented wide receiver options. However, San Francisco is just as happy running the ball and slowly choking the life out of a team, though, so it will be deeper leagues only for our Rams.

For our 49ers corners, we may have some value as well, as it looked like Matthew Stafford was anything but cooked last week against Seattle. This could be a nice place for some deeper league cornerback streams.

San Francisco 49ers

Deommodore Lenoir (CB): Lenoir played 87% of snaps before sitting due to the blowout and is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week.

Chavarious Ward (CB): Ward played 81% of snaps before resting with the other starters due to the blowout. He’s a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week.

Ambry Thomas/Isaiah Oliver (CB): These two split the remaining CB role down the middle like butt cheeks, and with neither having ideal playing time, we’ll sit them both until we see a clear winner we can start with some confidence every week.

Los Angeles Rams

Derion Kendrick (CB): Kendrick played 92% of snaps in Week 1 and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues in Week 2.

Akhello Witherspoon (CB): Witherspoon played 92% of snaps in Week 1, and like Kendrick, it’s implied he’d play all of them in a closer game. He’s a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Cobie Durant (CB): Durant only played 78% of snaps in Week 1, and despite taking over the “Joker” role from Jalen Ramsey, it’s clear the talent level is nowhere close to what Ramsey brought to that role. He’s a sit in Week 2 until we see some production. He didn’t do a thing last week and the playing time isn’t great either.

Jets at Cowboys

Outlook: We’ve got half of a good matchup now that Aaron Rodgers is done for the season. Zach Wilson just doesn’t give off the vibe that he’s completing 30 passes a week for some reason. We may end up with another defensive struggle here despite the early line hovering around 46 points from Vegas. Keep in mind, that was before the Rodgers injury and should go down over the course of the week I’d expect.

If I had to bet on it, I’d say the Jet’s defense keeps them in this game, and instead of a pretty good matchup between two veteran quarterbacks with a healthy amount of pass-catching talent, we instead get a knife fight. There’s still value here for our corners, just not as much as a few days ago.

New York Jets

DJ Reed (CB): We saw exactly what I was talking about last week: Reed, who played 100% of snaps, was the beneficiary of tons of action late-game as the Bills avoided Sauce Gardner like the plague. His box score reflected this and he’s in a great situation to do it again this week. He’s a start as a CB1 in leagues of all sizes.

Sauce Gardner (CB): Sauce played 100% of snaps in Week 1 and you could actually see the Bills avoid throwing his way in real-time at the end of that game. He’s still a start even though he won’t get as much action as DJ Reed. He’s a CB2 in leagues of all sizes.

Michael Carter (CB): Carter played 81% of snaps in Week 1, which is about normal. He’s a start as a CB4 plus in the deepest of leagues due to the fact that Dallas could throw a couple of picks and reign in the leash and start running the ball like they should at some point. That could kill our completed or even attempted passes floor here and limit his possible production.

Dallas Cowboys

Daron Bland/Jourdan Lewis (CB): With Zach Wilson on the other side, it’s likely not even worth tracking if Lewis will be healthy enough to play this week. I’d just sit both and stream elsewhere.

Trevon Diggs (CB): Diggs played 77% of snaps in Week 1 then rested due to a blowout. He’s a start as a CB4 in the deepest of leagues due to a bad matchup this week.

Stephon Gilmore (CB): Gilmore played 77% of snaps before resting in Week 1. He’s only a start as a CB4 plus in the deepest of leagues due to matchup. He’ll play every snap if it’s close.

Commanders at Broncos

Outlook: Two middle-of-the-pack passing attacks face off in Denver with an over/under of 41.5, which indicates a defensive struggle. There is some wide receiver talent on either team but with both landing in the bottom half of the league for targeting those wide receivers last season and neither passing offense being anything special either we’ve got the makings of a mediocre matchup for streaming corner purposes.

We can start the known options that play enough on either defense but it should probably be in deeper leagues only.

Washington Commanders

Benjamin St Juste (CB): St Juste played 100% of snaps in Week 1 and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Kendall Fuller (CB): Fuller played 100% of snaps in Week 1 and is a start as a CB3 plus in medium to deeper leagues. He’s done it before in worse setups than this.

Emmanuel Forbes (CB): Forbes only played 65% of snaps in Week 1 and Russell Wilson’s toilets are still on track to outduel him this season. He’s a sit in Week 2.

Denver Broncos

Patrick Surtain (CB): Surtain played 100% of snaps in Week 1 and is a start as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues this week.

Damari Mathis (CB): Mathis played 98% of snaps in Week 1 and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Essang Bassey (CB): Bassey only played 39% of snaps in a close game with plenty of attempted passes. He’s a sit until further notice with this information at hand.

Dolphins at Patriots

Outlook: This is a divisional showdown, so anything can happen. But the most likely outcome for this one is our Patriots corners have value against a top-five (2022/23) Miami passing attack that was 6th in targeting their wide receivers. With a 44.5 over/under, we’re not getting as many implied points as we want but there should be enough sustained offense for those Patriots corners.

As for the reverse, our Dolphins corners will be deeper league-only options against this Patriots passing attack that looked good last week but traditionally has not. We need to see it more than once to believe it.

Miami Dolphins

Kader Kohou (CB): Kohou played 98% of snaps in Week 1 and is a start as a CB3 plus in medium to deeper leagues this week.

Xavien Howard (CB): Howard played 98% of snaps in Week 1 and could always get an interception for us. He’s a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues this week.

Eli Apple (CB): Apple only played 74% of snaps in Week 1, and unless we expect Mac Jones to throw for 300 plus every week (I don’t), he’s a sit this week. The playing time ain’t great either.

New England Patriots

Christian Gonzalez (CB): Shockingly this rookie played 100% of snaps in Week 1. Your guess is as good as mine as to whether this is the new normal but I think not. Regardless, this is a great matchup, so I’d start him as a CB2 in leagues of all sizes. It’s absolutely a risk, though. I’m saying it now, so don’t be mad later if this doesn’t work out.

Marcus Jones (CB): Jones only played 36% of snaps in Week 1, which is wild. He’s a sit for now due to horrendous playing time.

Jonathan Jones (CB): Jones played his usual 80% of snaps in Week 1 and is a start as a CB2 in leagues of all sizes this week.

Myles Bryant (CB): Bryant played 67% of snaps in Week 1 and is a start only as a CB4 in deeper leagues due to likely incoming fluctuation that’s normal for all Patriots IDP options, and Bryant is a likely target for those shenanigans.

Saints at Panthers

Outlook: Las Vegas is setting us up for a stinker on Monday night football in Week 2 with a 42 over/under for this one. Our Saints options will likely be useless against a rookie quarterback in his second-ever start backed up by a shredded-with-injury wide receiver corps.

As for the reverse, our Panthers corners will definitely have some value against a veteran quarterback passing to his excellent wide receiver corps which includes Chris Olave and Michael Thomas among others. I’d fire up Donte Jackson and company and feel pretty good about it, but this week feels like a sit for Marshon Lattimore and company unless in a much deeper league format. Although Lattimore showed us all last week why he’s a streaming corner option we return to time and time again, as he excelled in a less-than-ideal setup against Tennessee.

New Orleans Saints

Paulson Adebo (CB): Adebo played 100% of snaps in Week 1 but this matchup is really bad. He’s a warm body that should play every snap if you need it, but I’m sitting him in Week 2.

Marshon Lattimore (CB): Lattimore played 95% of snaps in Week 1 and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues due to talent and playing time combined with historical production. The matchup is poop, though, so keep that in mind.

Alontae Taylor (CB): Taylor is currently on the outside looking in with his 68% of snaps played in Week 1. Bad playing time and a bad matchup make him a sit in Week 2.

Carolina Panthers

Jaycee Horn (CB): Horn is already injured and expected to be out multiple weeks, so sit him in Week 2.

Donte Jackson (CB): Jackson played 98% of snaps in Week 1 and is a start as a CB3 plus in medium to deeper leagues in Week 2.

CJ Henderson (CB): Henderson only logged 62% of snaps in Week 1 and is a sit in Week 2 due to a lack of ideal playing time, zero historical production, and an iffy talent level.

Jeremy Chinn (CB/S): Chinn only played 73% of snaps in Week 1, so even starting him as a cornerback, never mind a safety, is starting to get dangerous. I’d still start him as a CB3 in medium to deeper leagues due to the talent level this week though.

Browns at Steelers

Outlook: The last matchup of Week 2 is another implied defensive struggle with Vegas setting this over/under at 42.5. These two quarterbacks completed 47 passes between them last week and many of those were outside of normal game script passes forced to be attempted by Pittsburgh. All things being even this looks like two defensive-minded, run-and-play-defense-type teams so far.

For Denzel Ward and company, this Steelers passing attack which was 24th overall last season and middle of the pack for targeting their wide receivers will only give our Browns corners value in deeper leagues. They have the talent with George Pickens and to a lesser extent Diontae Johnson (if he can play after that hamstring injury, it’s not looking likely at the time of writing) but they’ve still got an inexperienced Kenny Pickett trying to get them the ball.

And for Patrick Peterson and the Steelers corners, we’ve got nothing special as well since Watson looked like the same guy we saw last season as the Browns still couldn’t complete a ton of passes in Week 1. It’s a mediocre matchup overall and any options should be in deeper leagues only.

Cleveland Browns

Greg Newsome (CB): Newsome played 98% of snaps in Week 1 and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues in Week 2.

Denzel Ward (CB): Ward played 95% of snaps in Week 1 and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues in Week 2.

Martin Emerson (CB): Emerson played 91% of snaps in Week 1 and did nothing with them at all, he’s a sit this week with the bad matchup and we’ll reevaluate when the next good matchup comes along.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Patrick Peterson (CB): Peterson played 99% of snaps in Week 1 and is a start as a CB4 in deeper leagues in Week 2.

Levi Wallace (CB): Wallace also played 99% of snaps in Week 1 but is a sit in Week 2 since he’s nowhere near as productive as Peterson and the matchup isn’t great at all.

No significant third CB option.

Have no idea what any of that was?

I’d recommend reading 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 that 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!