Welcome back to the Cornerback Corner! As is tradition, we’ll start with transparency and then get right into this week’s calls.
Last week, I made 76 calls for leagues of all shapes and sizes. Of those 76 calls, 6 were declared inactive or injured during play, causing them to miss their projection. Subtracting those players (I’m not responsible for “acts of God”), we’re left with 70 “adjusted” calls.
Of those, 49 were correct (matched, beat, or were within a slim margin of their projections on Yahoo and MFL), and 21 were incorrect (didn’t match or beat their projections and weren’t even close), giving us 70% accuracy for Week 8.
Of those 49 correct calls, 18 were “massive hits” (doubled, tripled, or more than their projections), giving us a 36% massive-hit rate on correct calls for Week 8.
We are 73% accurate overall for the season, with 44% of all correct calls resulting in “massive hits.”
Week 1: 74% accuracy, 36% massive hit rate
Week 2: 75% accuracy, 32% massive hit rate
Week 3: 73% accuracy, 47% massive hit rate
Week 4: 77% accuracy, 51% massive hit rate
Week 5: 73% accuracy, 49% massive hit rate
Week 6: 77% accuracy, 56% massive hit rate
Week 7: 66% accuracy, 46% massive hit rate
Week 8: 70% accuracy, 36% massive hit rate
Please see THIS if you need a primer on cornerback streaming or what’s being discussed in this article (for new readers, a 20-minute audio podcast primer).
Please see the Week 1 edition of this article if you’re looking for more of my overall thought process. I intentionally included a ton of that information in the Week 1 edition for new readers.
Make sure to cross-reference the Cornerback Tackles Allowed charts for additional information that can help you narrow down the corners you want to stream each week. I tend to focus more on wide receiver targets, as we’re streaming for passes defended as well as combined tackles each week, but this is fantastic and helpful information to look at for your weekly streams as well.
Tracking 96-plus corners each week is always a challenge, and things will inevitably slip through the cracks. I will always welcome any updates or info you (the reader) may have spotted during the week if you don’t see that corresponding update in this article (if it looks like I missed it). We’re all in this together as degenerates that stream corner, and I’m definitely not perfect.
This season, these teams used 11-personnel (3 WR sets) the least week to week (go from the bottom up on this list). Your opposing slot corners (Marcus Jones, Ja’Quan McMillian, Andru Phillips, etc.) will likely see a significant reduction in playing time against these teams. Thank you to sumersports.com for the information.
Jaguars at Ravens
Outlook: The early total for the Thursday night game to kick off Week 9 sits at just 40.5 points, with Jacksonville favored by 10 points on the road. Jacksonville is in the middle of the pack for passing yards per game, and Baltimore is starting a 3rd-string quarterback, so we’re not streaming against them unless we’re desperate. Both teams are in the bottom third of the league for weekly wide receiver targets.
We’ve got an acceptable matchup for the Glizzy Gobbler and our Baltimore corners this week, but I’m personally skipping everyone beyond Hunter for our Jacksonville options this week. He has value with his occasional offensive points, but we may not have much to eat for our Jacksonville corners at all this week against whatever quarterback Baltimore rolls out in Week 9.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Travis Hunter (WR/CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. He played 80% of snaps as an outside corner last week, then sat out the blowout. He had 6 snaps on offense as well. We’re aiming for the home run here, either a pick on defense or a touchdown, or multiple catches for yards on offense. It’s just as likely we’ll get a stinker; buyer beware.
Jarrian Jones (CB): SIT. He only played 19% of snaps last week. We’ll keep an eye on it going forward.
Montaric Brown (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 88% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Jourdan Lewis (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 55% of snaps as the slot corner last week and could play even less this week against the 22nd-ranked team with 11 personnel.
Baltimore Ravens
Marlon Glizzy Gobbler Humphrey (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. He played 56% of snaps as an outside corner last week, then sat out the blowout.
Nate Wiggins (CB): SOLID. He played 64% of snaps as an outside corner last week, then sat out the blowout.
Bengals at Falcons
Outlook: The early total for this battle in Atlanta sits at a massive 52.5 points with Cincy favored by a field goal on the road. Cincy is now the league leader in passing yards per game, while Atlanta is in the middle of the pack. Cincy is also a top-ten team for weekly wide receiver targets, while Atlanta is, once again, in the middle of the pack.
We’ve got a decent medium-to-deep league matchup for our Cincy corners this week, and an ideal matchup for our Atlanta corners in Week 9.
Cincinnati Bengals
Dax Hill (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. He played 87% of snaps last week, most of them from outside corner, but with a nice chunk from the slot and box as added value.
DJ Turner (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 75% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Josh Newton (CB): SOLID, risky, deeper leagues only. He played 81% of snaps as the new slot corner last week, but we’ve only seen it once, and Atlanta is 21st overall for 11 personnel usage, so he should play less this week, regardless.
Atlanta Falcons
AJ Terrell (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
CJ Henderson (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week and has been red-hot for most of this season. The matchup is also correct for him this week, big time.
Mike Hughes (CB): SIT. He played only 13% of snaps as the slot corner last week, while Sydney Brown (who’s a safety everywhere) played the rest of the slot snaps for Atlanta.
Broncos at Panthers
Outlook: The early total for this one sits at 43.5 points, with Denver favored by a field goal on the road. Carolina is a top-ten team in passing yards per game, while Denver is in the bottom third of the league in this category. Carolina is also a top-ten team for weekly wide receiver targets, while Denver is in the middle of the pack.
We’ve got an acceptable medium-to-deep matchup for our Carolina corners this week, whoever they may be. And for our Denver corners, it’s an ideal matchup, and they are all healthy once more (the lesser-of-all-evils effect for Riley Moss should be back in effect).
Denver Broncos
Patrick Surtain (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Riley Moss (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week and faced the most targets in the passing game, as is tradition when Surtain is on the field with him (the lesser of two evils theory).
Ja’Quan McMillian (CB): SOLID. He played 80% of snaps as the slot corner last week and should play as much or more against the 12th-overall team in 11 personnel this week.
Carolina Panthers
Will Lee (CB): SOLID. He played 30% of snaps before leaving with a hamstring injury last week. He would be a full-time outside corner if he can play this week, and his replacement was a safety and would technically be the cornerback/safety/defensive back five on the Carolina depth chart, so we’re not chasing it.
Akayleb Evans/Marco Wilson (CB): Evans would be SOLID as a full-time outside corner if he can play this week. If he’s inactive, then Marco Wilson was his replacement last week, but this is risky (we’ve only seen it once, and he’s cornerback four on the depth chart), and the matchup doesn’t warrant chasing it.
Cowboys at Colts
Outlook: The early total for this battle in Indy sits at a massive 51.5 points with Dallas favored by a touchdown on the road. Dallas ranks in the top 10 in passing yards per game, while Indy sits in the bottom third of the league. Dallas leads the league in weekly wide receiver targets, while Indy is just outside the top-ten.
Neither defense could stop a toddler; the total is massive, the spread is fairly large, but we know Dallas is always a disaster waiting to happen. The most likely outcome for this one is a shootout, and with both teams in or near the top-ten for weekly wide receiver targets, we’ve got an ideal matchup across the board here, but clearly a better matchup for our Indy corners, big picture.
Dallas Cowboys
DaRon Bland (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Joey Porter Jr. (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played just 44% of snaps as an outside corner last week, but was seeing acceptable playing time the week prior. I would only pursue this in the deepest leagues, given the fluctuations we’ve seen in his playing time since his arrival in Dallas. The matchup (Indy is in the top third of the league for weekly wide receiver targets) is the only reason I’d consider him this week.
Cobie Durant (CB): SOLID, risky. He played 64% of snaps as the slot corner last week and could be in for a similar role this week if Caleb Downs is inactive (which he probably will be; he’s in the concussion protocol). If Porter retains the slot role for this week, he’ll be up against the 16th-overall team for 11 personnel usage, so expect similar playing time; however, the role itself would be far more valuable than his usual outside corner role.
Indianapolis Colts
Chavarious Ward (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. He played 94% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Sauce Gardner (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. He played 94% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Justin Walley/Kenneth Harris (CB): IDEAL if healthy for Walley. SOLID, risky if he’s inactive and we get Harris as a backup. Dallas is the 5th-best team in the league in 11-personnel usage, so whoever gets the start in this slot corner role should play plenty. We’ve only seen Harris for a cup of coffee, though, so if it’s not Walley, it’s not set in stone.
Jets at Chiefs
Outlook: The early total for this one sits at 47.5 points, with Kansas City favored by 9.5 points at home. Kansas City is a top-ten team for passing yards per game, while New York is in the middle of the pack. New York is in the middle of the pack for weekly wide receiver targets, while Kansas City is in the bottom third of the league for this ranking.
We’ve got a “deeper leagues only” for our New York options against a team that is likely to try to get Ken Walker back on track this week, and “medium to deep” leagues should be fine for our Kansas City options in this setup.
New York Jets
Brandon Stephens (CB): SOLID. He played 95% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Azareyeh Thomas (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
D’Angelo Ponds/Jarvis Brownlee (CB): SIT them both. After it appeared we were finally getting the transition to Ponds as the starter, we’re back to square one this week as Ponds was only in for 1.6% of snaps, while Brownlee played 42% of snaps as the slot corner. This slot is in flux and not trustworthy, as these two split the slot corner role like a pair of huge, bouncing, oiled-up butt cheeks.
Kansas City Chiefs
Nohl Williams (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Chris Roland-Wallace (CB): SOLID, risky. He played 79% of snaps as the slot corner last week in place of Sneed, who was placed on IR. We’ve only seen it once, so it’s risky, but New York is the 11th-overall team in 11 personnel usage, so he should play plenty if he’s the slot corner again this week. He is a cornerback on Yahoo and MFL.
Mansor Delane (CB): SOLID if healthy. He was inactive last week, but is a full-time outside corner when healthy. Jadon Canady and a couple of warm-body safeties covered his absence last week; no one worth pursuing.
L’Jarius Sneed (CB): SIT. He went to IR last week.
Lions at Dolphins
Outlook: The early total for this battle in South Beach is 50.5 points, with Detroit favored by a touchdown on the road. Detroit is a top-10 team in passing yards per game, while Miami is the 3rd-worst team in the league in this category. Detroit is in the middle of the pack for weekly wide receiver targets, while Miami is in the bottom third of the league.
We can fire up Chris Johnson and our Miami options in leagues of all sizes against one of the league's finest passing offenses, but the Detroit wide receiver targets ranking keeps this just short of “ideal”. For our Detroit corners, deeper leagues only against this run-first Miami team, which is sparse on the “completions front” each week, should be about right.
Detroit Lions
DJ Reed (CB): SOLID. He played 79% of snaps as an outside corner last week, and no Detroit corner played more than 79% of snaps in that “black and blue” matchup against Minnesota.
Roger McCreary (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. This would be IDEAL in a better matchup. He played 77% of snaps last week, with those snaps pretty evenly split between the slot and outside corner.
Keith Abney (S/CB): SOLID and risky, but only if Branch is inactive. Branch is in the concussion protocol and is unlikely to play this week. The last time we saw his replacement, it was Abney, who is incorrectly designated as a cornerback on Yahoo. That was weeks ago that we saw this scenario, so buyer beware on this one. Abort the mission if Kerby Joseph is active; this is only an option if Branch is inactive.
Rock Ya-Sin (CB): SIT. He only played 45% of snaps as an outside corner last week; that won’t cut it in this matchup.
Miami Dolphins
Chris Johnson (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week and lined up at outside corner for half of them, with the rest divided between the slot and the box. That’s fantastic utilization, just like it’s been all season long.
Juju Brents (CB): SOLID. He played 83% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Jason Marshall (CB): SOLID, much deeper leagues only. He played 53% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Browns at Saints
Outlook: The early total for this Bayou battle sits at 42.5 points, with New Orleans favored by 1.5 points at home. Both teams are in the middle of the pack for passing yards per game. Both teams are also in the middle of the pack for weekly wide receiver targets, but New Orleans was top-ten before losing ground due to their bye week.
We can fire up our Cleveland options in leagues of all sizes, but it will be “medium to deep” leagues for our New Orleans corners in Week 9.
Cleveland Browns
Denzel Ward (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Tyson Campbell (CB): SOLID. He played 76% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Myles Harden (CB): IDEAL. He played 45% of snaps as the slot corner last week, but should play considerably more this week against the 4th-overall team with 11 personnel. The matchup is correct, and the playing time should be more than acceptable this week.
New Orleans Saints
Kool-Aid McKinstry (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner the last time we saw him (bye last week).
Quincy Riley (CB): SIT and blast out the nearest airlock into the cold, dark, unforgiving, vast emptiness of space. He was displaced by Martin Emerson, as I’ve been warning about for a few weeks now. Riley played only 4.7% of snaps in Week 7 and is healthy.
Martin Emerson (CB): SOLID, risky. He played 95% of snaps as an outside corner the last time we saw him (bye last week) and has displaced Riley after slowly chipping away at his starting snaps over the last month or so.
Giants at Eagles
Outlook: The early total for this NFC East matchup is just 39.5 points, with New York favored by a field goal on the road. New York is in the middle of the pack for passing yards per game, while Philly is in the bottom third of the league. Philly is a top-ten team for weekly wide receiver targets, while New York is in the middle of the pack for this ranking.
We can fire up our options on both sides in medium- to deep-league settings, and that should match the setup we have for this matchup.
New York Giants
Deonte Banks (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner the last time we saw him (bye last week).
Greg Newsome (CB): SIT. He did not play a single snap in Week 7 as Adebo returned from IR and immediately displaced him from the starting lineup. Adebo himself was displaced earlier this season, so I doubt we’re done here. No need to airlock him if you’ve got room on the bench; he’s just a few Adebo mistakes away from being a starter again, I would think.
Paulson Adebo (CB): SOLID, risky. He returned from IR and immediately played 100% of snaps as an outside corner in Week 7, displacing Greg Newsome. He was benched earlier this season, so this is tenuous at best.
Andru Phillips (CB): SOLID. He played 63% of snaps as the slot corner the last time we saw him (bye last week) and should play as much or more against the 2nd-best team in the league with 11 personnel this week.
Philadelphia Eagles
Cooper DeJean (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week, most of them from the slot, and the rest from either deep safety, the box, or the defensive line. His utilization remains perfect, and he’s been very productive this season, as is tradition.
Quinyon Mitchell (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Tariq Woolen (CB): SOLID. He played 96% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Rams at Commanders
Outlook: The early total for this showdown in Washington is 47.5 points, with Los Angeles favored by 5.5 points on the road. Los Angeles is a top-ten team in passing yards per game, while Washington is in the bottom third of the league in this category. Los Angeles is also a top-ten team for weekly wide receiver targets, while Washington is now in the middle of the pack for this ranking, but was a top-ten team before their bye week caused them to lose ground.
We can fire up both sets of corners in an ideal matchup, but our Washington corners have the better matchup on paper.
Los Angeles Rams
Trent McDuffie (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. He played 80% of snaps as an outside corner, with a nice bonus chunk of slot snaps last week, and then sat late in the blowout.
Jaylen Watson (CB): SOLID. He played 67% of snaps as an outside corner last week and then sat late in the blowout.
Joshua Wallace (CB): SOLID. He played 67% of snaps as an outside corner last week and then sat late in the blowout.
Washington Commanders
Quan Martin (CB): SIT. He played just 46% of snaps as a deep safety last week and is incorrectly designated as a cornerback on Yahoo. That’s technically enough playing time for some production, especially in this matchup and with that role, but I’m hesitant to recommend a guy who plays fewer than half the total snaps unless you’re in a much deeper league and truly desperate.
Rasul Douglas (CB): SIT. He saw his playing time plummet to just 46% of snaps as an outside corner last week. Part of that could be sitting late due to the blowout, but his snaps have been decreasing over the past few weeks anyway, so better safe than sorry.
Amik Robertson (CB): IDEAL. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner with a nice chunk of bonus slot snaps last week. He’s been fantastic all season, and the matchup is correct.
Trey Amos (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes, risky. He played 87% of snaps as an outside corner last week, but did so out of nowhere. This cornerback corps is clearly in flux, and has been for most of the season. This is a moving target, so pursuing this stream could be risky. The only reason I’d consider it is due to the (excellent) matchup.
Mike Sainristil/All others (CB): SIT. They’re still nowhere close to playing enough to be an option for us.
Texans at Chargers
Outlook: The early total for this battle in Los Angeles is 40.5 points, with Houston favored by 4.5 points on the road. Houston is a top-ten team for passing yards per game, while Los Angeles is in the bottom third of the league. Houston is in the middle of the pack for weekly wide receiver targets, while Los Angeles is in the bottom third of the league for this ranking.
Houston was a top-ten team for weekly wide receiver targets before their bye week. We can fire up our Los Angeles corners in leagues of all sizes this week, but it will be “deeper leagues only” for our Houston corners, minus Lassiter, who is essentially matchup-proof, or Pitre if he can play this week.
Houston Texans
Kamari Lassiter (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner the last time we saw him (bye last week) and has only been under projection in one game this entire season.
Derek Stingley (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner the last time we saw him (bye last week).
Jalen Pitre (S/CB): IDEAL if healthy. He is a full-time slot corner/safety hybrid when healthy, and is designated as a cornerback on some platforms, or at least was back in the day; I only play on Yahoo, MFL, Sleeper, and All-22 these days. His backup is a safety everywhere, so we don’t talk about him (cornerback corner, not safety corner).
Los Angeles Chargers
Cam Hart (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Elijah Molden (S/CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. He played 92% of snaps as a deep safety with some bonus box and slot snaps last week. He is incorrectly designated as a cornerback on Yahoo.
Tarheeb Still (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week, most of them coming from the box or slot, with the rest from outside corner. That’s fantastic utilization, and the matchup is pretty good as well.
Raiders at 49ers
Outlook: The early total for this Bay battle sits at a massive 52.5 points, with San Francisco favored by 10 points at home. San Francisco is in the top third of the league in passing yards per game, while Las Vegas is a top-ten team in this category. Both teams are in the bottom third of the league for weekly wide receiver targets.
We’ll split the difference between “neither team passes to their wide receivers” and “epic shootout with a massive total and two of the better offenses so far this season”, and go with “medium to deep” leagues for options on both sides in this one.
Las Vegas Raiders
Treydan Stukes (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. He played 100% of snaps as a deep safety, with a nice chunk of box snaps last week, and is incorrectly listed as a cornerback on Yahoo.
Eric Stokes (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Taron Johnson (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 65% of snaps as the slot corner last week, but should play even fewer snaps this week against the 31st-overall team, with 11 personnel usage.
Hezekiah Masses/Darien Porter/Jerod McCoy (CB): SIT them all. They played 45%, 2%, and 53% of snaps at outside corner last week, respectively. They are all splitting this last cornerback slot like a pair of huge, bouncing, oiled-up, powdered-up, butt cheeks. We only saw McCoy because Porter was injured, but it’s still a chaotic mess for this last slot; we’ll wait for some stability before making any recommendations.
San Francisco 49ers
Deommodore Lenoir (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner the last time we saw him (bye week last week), and had some bonus slot snaps to cover Stout's absence in Week 7.
Renardo Green (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner the last time we saw him (bye last week).
Upton Stout (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only, if healthy. He was active but didn’t play the last time San Francisco played (bye last week). He should be back after some time to recover during the bye week, but Las Vegas is dead last in the league in 11-personnel usage, so his opportunities would be capped this week regardless.
Marques Sigle (S/CB): SIT. But keep an eye on him and add him if you’ve got room on your bench; he should be close to being healthy and active again. When that happens, we’ll finally get an accurate read on whether he’s the other starting safety (incorrectly designated as a corner on Yahoo).
Packers at Patriots
Outlook: The early total for this battle in Foxboro is 46.5 points, with New England favored by a field goal at home. Green Bay averages the second-most passing yards per game, while New England ranks in the top third of the league in this category. Green Bay also averages the second-most wide receiver targets each week, while New England is in the middle of the pack for this ranking.
We can fire up Gonzo and company in an ideal matchup, but it will be “medium to deeper leagues” for Keisean Nixon and our Green Bay options this week.
Green Bay Packers
Keisean Nixon (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week, and has only been under projection in one game this entire season.
Brandon Cisse (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
New England Patriots
Christian Gonzalez (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Carlton Davis (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. He played 96% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Marcus Jones (CB): IDEAL. He played 61% of snaps as the slot corner last week, but should play considerably more this week against a pass-happy Green Bay team that ranks 8th overall in 11-personnel usage.
Cardinals at Seahawks
Outlook: The early total for this NFC West showdown sits at just 41.5 points with Seattle favored by 12.5 points at home and against a backup quarterback. Both teams are in the middle of the pack for passing yards per game. Both teams are in the top ten for weekly wide receiver targets, but there are caveats.
For Seattle, 53% of their wide receiver targets go to JSN, so whoever is responsible for him should be in for a busy day at the office; the other Arizona corners could be in for a stinker, though. And for Arizona, Minshew should be himself and sling it all over the place, but he’s also a career backup and could easily throw a few picks, end up benched, or lose the time-of-possession battle handily, leaving our Seattle corners with too little “to eat” this week.
On paper, this is an ideal matchup across the board; in reality, this is closer to “medium to deep” leagues for both sets of corners.
Arizona Cardinals
Garrett Williams (CB): SIT. He played just 10% of snaps last week. We’ll give it another week or two before deciding if this is just some tweaks in the secondary or if we can blast him out of the closest airlock.
Kalen King (CB): SIT. He was down to just 41% of snaps as a slot corner last week, and split the role with Williams.
Kei’Trel Clark (CB): SOLID. He played 82% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Denzel Burke (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 68% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Max Melton (CB): SIT. He played just 48% of snaps as an outside corner last week and is part of the fluctuations among the corners here beyond Burke and Clark.
Seattle Seahawks
Nick Emmanwori (S/CB): IDEAL. He played 91% of snaps last week and lined up all over the place. Most of his snaps came from the slot (Arizona is 9th overall in 11-personnel usage, so we’re looking good there), with the rest coming from the box or the defensive line.
Devon Witherspoon (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week with a nice chunk of slot and box snaps as added value.
Josh Jobe (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Bucs at Bears
Outlook: The early total for this Windy City battle sits at 47.5 points, with Chicago favored by a touchdown at home. Chicago is in the top third of the league for passing yards per game, while Tampa Bay is the worst team in the league for this ranking and completed ZERO passes last week. Both teams are in the middle of the pack for weekly wide receiver targets.
We can fire up our Tampa Bay corners, Jacob Parrish in particular (who is currently the overall IDP cornerback number one in many of my leagues), in leagues of all sizes against one of the best offenses in the league. But for our Chicago corners, deeper leagues only, and I would just skip it beyond Kyler Gordon (who can score off sacks and doesn’t need completed or attempted passes to hit his floor each week).
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Jacob Parrish (CB): IDEAL. He played 96% of snaps as an outside corner last week and is the overall IDP cornerback number one in many of my leagues to this point in the season. We ride the hot hand against one of the league's finest offenses.
Zyon McCollum (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Keionte Scott (CB): SOLID, medium to deeper leagues. He played 71% of snaps as the slot corner last week, but should see fewer snaps this week against the 26th-ranked team in 11 personnel in Chicago.
Chicago Bears
Cam Lewis (S/CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as a deep safety with some bonus box and slot snaps last week. He is incorrectly designated as a cornerback on Yahoo.
Malik Muhammed/Tyrique Stevenson (CB): Muhammed was inactive last week, but would be a SOLID option as a full-time outside corner if he can play this week. Stevenson backed him up and played 88% of snaps as an outside corner last week and only has value if Muhammed is inactive again this week.
Jaylon Johnson (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Kyler Gordon (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes, risky. He played 61% of snaps as the slot corner last week and should see similar or more playing time this week against the 7th-overall team in 11-personnel usage. Two issues, though: he didn’t land a sack last week; therefore, he put up a stinker. His production is entirely splash-play-powered; without those sacks, he’s got no tackle floor to speak of. And the second issue: Tampa Bay just doesn’t throw the ball. Even before that crazy game in the rain last week, Mayfield wasn’t completing any passes. Gordon’s opportunities could be severely limited this week if Tampa Bay rolls out a game plan similar to the ones we’ve seen in recent weeks (only running, rarely passing).
Bills at Vikings
Outlook: The Monday night game to close out Week 9 has an over/under of 45.5 points, with Buffalo favored by a field goal on the road. Buffalo ranks in the top third of the league in passing yards per game, while Minnesota ranks second-worst in this category. Buffalo is in the bottom third of the league for weekly wide receiver targets, while Minnesota is the second-worst team in the league for this ranking as well.
It will be “deeper leagues only” for our Buffalo corners, and medium-to-deep leagues for our Minnesota corners should be fine for Week 9.
Buffalo Bills
Christian Benford (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 88% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Davison Igbinosun (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 80% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Dee Alford/Te’Cory Couch (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. Alford was inactive last week but is the normal slot corner and would play around 40-60% of snaps, I would think, against the 18th-overall team in Buffalo, with 11 personnel usage. If he’s inactive, Couch becomes a risky option (we’ve only seen him once) as his replacement for the same role and playing time.
Maxwell Hairston (CB): SIT. He played only 31% of snaps last week, as Igbinosun has displaced him as the other outside corner starter.
Minnesota Vikings
Josh Metellus (S/CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps as a box safety with some deep safety, slot, and defensive line snaps last week. The utilization is fantastic, and the matchup is more than acceptable against one of the league's best offenses.
Byron Murphy Jr. (CB): SOLID. He played 80% of snaps as an outside corner last week. He’s lost some of his great utilization in recent weeks, but remains a consistent, veteran option that we know is capable of monster games for us on any given Sunday. Heck, he had one of those monster games just last week.
Isaiah Rodgers (CB): SOLID. He played 75% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
James Pierre (CB): SIT. He dropped to just 36% of snaps as an outside corner last week. If we see it again this week, then we can blast him into the unforgiving, lifeless void of space.
Byes this week: Pittsburgh, Tennessee
My Favorite Matchups, Week 9:
Atlanta corners versus Cincy
Indy corners versus Dallas
Cleveland corners versus New Orleans
Washington corners versus Los Angeles (Rams)
Los Angeles (Chargers) corners versus Houston
New England corners versus Green Bay
Week 9 Corners at a Glance:
These are not in any particular order or ranking; they are just divided into the sections you see below. I typically identify the best matchups (see above), then the best options within those matchups, to find my favorite streaming options each week.
*If you see player/player, that means starter/direct replacement*
IDEAL: (Our best options)
CJ Henderson
Riley Moss
Justin Walley
Chris Johnson
Myles Harden
Cooper DeJean
Amik Robertson
Kamari Lassiter, Jalen Pitre, Tarheeb Still
Marcus Jones
Nick Emmanwori, Devon Witherspoon
Jacob Parrish
Joshua Metellus
SOLID: (Matchup or some other factor isn’t perfect. These are generally “safe” options that play enough to get you some production)
Travis Hunter, Montaric Brown, Jourdan Lewis, Nate Wiggins, Marlon Glizzy Gobbler Humphrey
Dax Hill, DJ Turner, Josh Newton, AJ Terrell
Patrick Surtain, JaQuan McMillian, Will Lee, Akayleb Evans/Marco Wilson
DaRon Bland, Joey Porter Jr., Cobie Durant, Chavarious Ward, Sauce Gardner
Brandon Stephens, Azareyeh Thomas, Nohl Williams, Chris Roland-Wallace, Mansor Delane
DJ Reed, Roger McCreary, Juju Brents, Jason Marshall
Denzel Ward, Tyson Campbell, Koolaid McKinstry, Martin Emerson
Deonte Banks, Paulson Adebo, Andru Phillips, Quinyon Mitchell, Tariq Woolen
Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Joshua Wallace, Trey Amos
Darek Stingley, Cam Hart, Elijah Molden
Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, Upton Stout, Treydan Stukes, Eric Stokes, Taron Johnson
Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Keisean Nixon, Brandon Cisse
Josh Jobe, Kei’Trel Clarke, Denzel Burke
Zyon McCollum, Keionte Scott, Cam Lewis, Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Malik Muhammed/Tyrique Stevenson
Christian Benford, Davison Igbinosun, Dee Alford, Byron Murphy, Isaiah Rodgers
TRAPS: (Sit these players)
Jarrian Jones
Mike Hughes
Jarvis Brownlee, D’Angelo Ponds, L’Jarius Sneed
Rock Ya-Sin
Quincy Riley
Greg Newsome
Quan Martin, Rasul Douglas
Marques Sigle, Hezekiah Masses, Darien Porter, Jerod McCoy
Garrett Williams, Kalen King, Max Melton
Maxwell Hairston, James Pierre
Reminder: These are only suggestions. Your lineup is your responsibility and yours alone. However, I’m making the same moves, so we sink or swim together. Remember to check for inactive players before kickoff to prevent any surprise zeroes.
For any questions/comments, to discuss specific cornerback streams, or to talk IDP in general, hit up my Twitter or email me at Johnysmack3141@yahoo.com.
Thank you for reading, and good luck this week! Go get those titles!
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