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 85 calls for leagues of all shapes and sizes. Of those 85 calls, 10 were declared inactive or injured during play, causing them to miss their projection (early in the game). Subtracting those players, we’re left with 75 “adjusted” calls.
Of those, 55 were correct (matched, beat, or were within a slim margin of their projections on Yahoo and MFL), and 20 were incorrect (didn’t match or beat their projections and weren’t even close), giving us 73% accuracy for Week 3.
Of those 55 correct calls, 26 were “massive hits” (doubled, tripled, or more than their projections), giving us a 47% massive-hit rate on correct calls for Week 3.
We are 74% accurate overall for the season, with 38% 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
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.
A huge shout-out to the couple of readers who have commented here and on Twitter with info/updates/articles I may have missed during the week that will affect our calls in this article. 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.
It will be next week before the return to the traditional outlook format; I forgot that wide receiver targets and passing yards-per-game rankings aren’t immediately updated after the games. It takes a few days, and I need at least a 3-game sample size to trust those rankings for our outlook section.
For 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.
Steelers at Browns
Outlook: The early total for this AFC North battle sits at just 38.5 points with Pittsburgh favored by a field goal on the road. Neither passing offense has looked all that great to begin the season. Cleveland is in the bottom half of the league in wide receiver targets, while Pittsburgh is in the middle of the pack in this ranking.
The defenses are definitely the “better” of the two units for both of these teams, and Vegas thinks this will be a defensive struggle. Who am I to argue with Vegas? It will be “deeper leagues only” for this one, but I’m sure we’ll have a corner or two (Jalen Ramsey) that should produce despite the bad matchup.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Jalen Ramsey (S/CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps as a safety/slot corner, with only a handful at deep safety last week. He is mistakenly designated as a corner in Yahoo (cheat code).
UPDATE: Ramsey broke his wrist last week and is questionable for the game against Cleveland. He wants to play, and his utilization and playing time are literal perfection. I’d still start him if he can go, but it’s definitely risky! Buyer beware!
Jamel Dean (CB): SOLID; he played 85% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Asante Samuel Jr (CB): SOLID. With Porter Jr now traded to Dallas, Samuel Jr should get the start as a full-time outside corner this week.
All others (CB): SIT. Brandin Echols and Daylen Everett combined for just over 50% of snaps, but neither has enough playing time or value for our purposes as of yet.
Cleveland Browns
Denzel Ward (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Tyson Campbell/Mekhi Blackmon (CB): Campbell was inactive last week due to a knee injury. Blackmon replaced him and played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week. If Campbell can go, he would be a risky (reinjury) SOLID as a full-time outside corner, and Blackmon would only be an option if he’s inactive again.
Myles Harden (CB): SOLID. He played 77% of snaps as the slot corner last week. Pittsburgh is in the top 10 in 11-person usage this season, so Harden should play as much, if not more, this week.
Colts at Commanders
Outlook: The early total for this battle in Washington is 46.5 points, with Indy favored by a field goal on the road. Indy’s passing attack ranks in the bottom third of the league in passing yards per game, and, surprisingly, Washington looked pretty good throwing the ball last week.
Washington was 2nd overall in wide receiver targets heading into Week 3, and Mariota continued that trend with another 24-plus wide receiver targets last week. We can fire up our Indy corners in leagues of all sizes, but medium-to-deep leagues probably make more sense for our Washington corners.
Indianapolis Colts
Chavarious Ward (CB): SOLID. He played 96% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Sauce Gardner (CB): SOLID. He played 90% of snaps as an outside corner last week. Sauce faced the fewest targets last week, as is tradition, with just 4 compared to 5 and 6 for Ward and Walley, respectively. Opposing teams continue to try to avoid him whenever possible.
Justin Walley (CB): SOLID. He played 59% of snaps as the slot corner last week. Washington is a top-10 team in 11-personnel usage, so Walley should have acceptable playing time this week.
Washington Commanders
Quan Martin (S/CB): IDEAL, if Nick Cross is inactive. SOLID, medium to deeper leagues, if Cross can play. Martin saw a huge uptick in snaps with Cross inactive last week, but when he’s not covering someone else’s starting role, he’s typically been around 30-65% of snaps any given week as a deep safety mistakenly designated a corner in Yahoo.
Amik Robertson (CB): IDEAL. He played 97% of snaps as an outside corner and has doubled and twice-tripled his projection to start the season. It makes no sense, but we’ll ride the hot hand for now.
Rasul Douglas (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. Rasul shot up to 67% of snaps as an outside corner last week and is trending in the right direction. We’ve seen him be a very productive IDP corner in seasons past, but for now he’s just a deep-league option.
Mike Sainristil (CB): SIT. He plummeted to just 38% of snaps last week. This appears to be more about his 28.8 PFF grade and less about how much 11 personnel the Seahawks played last week. Sit him for now, and we’ll keep an eye on it.
Titans at Ravens
Outlook: The early total for this AFC battle in Baltimore is 43.5 points, with the Ravens favored by 11.5 points at home. The Titans’ passing attack is still dead on arrival, as they were 2nd-worst in the league in yards per game heading into last week and certainly didn’t improve much against New York. They are in the middle of the pack among wide receiver targets, but that doesn’t really matter, as Cam Ward is completing only 18 passes per game, with about half of those going to tight ends or running backs.
Conversely, Baltimore is in the top half of the league for passing yards per game but one of the worst teams for wide receiver targets. Beyond that, they probably won’t end up in a negative game script against Tennessee and shouldn’t need to pass all that much to begin with in this matchup. It will be “deeper leagues only” across the board for this one.
Tennessee Titans
Cor’Dale Flott (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Alontae Taylor (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Marcus Harris (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played just 53% of snaps as the slot corner last week and should play even fewer snaps this week against the 26th-ranked team in 11-personnel usage (Baltimore).
Baltimore Ravens
Marlon Glizzy Gobbler Humphrey (CB): IDEAL. This matchup stinks to high heaven, but the Gobbler has now smashed his projection for 12 straight games, dating back to last season. He is on a hot streak the likes of which we haven’t seen since Antoine Winfield Sr. (look up his cornerback production sometime if you want to see the GOAT of IDP cornerbacks).
Nate Wiggins (CB): SOLID. He played 93% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
All others (CB): SIT. We still don’t have a clear 3rd corner option here in Baltimore. But I’ll let you know the moment we do.
Patriots at Bills
Outlook: The early total for this battle in the land of Buffalo wings sits at 48.5 points, with Buffalo favored by a touchdown at home. We can fire up our New England corners in leagues of all sizes against one of the league's best offenses, which is at home and undefeated. The return of DJ Moore last week also added fuel to their wide receiver targets fire, so we should have plenty to eat for Carlton Davis and company this week.
For the reverse, the New England passing attack still appears to be swirling the toilet, but they’ll probably end up in a negative gamescript here and will need to throw the ball. I lean “deeper leagues only” for our Buffalo corners, and until we see Drake Maye wake up, that’s what we’ll be going with against New England.
New England Patriots
Carlton Davis (CB): SOLID. He played 87% of snaps as an outside corner, and then sat a bit early due to the blowout.
Christian Gonzalez (CB): SOLID. He played 83% of snaps as an outside corner, then sat out the rest due to the blowout.
Marcus Jones (CB): SOLID, medium to deeper leagues if your league has return yards; deeper leagues only if not. He played 58% of snaps last week and would likely play even less against the 29th-ranked team in 11-personnel usage this week. His punt returns can help offset some of that missing playing time, though.
Buffalo Bills
Maxwell Hairston (CB): SOLID. He played 81% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Christian Benford/Davison Igbinosun (CB): SOLID if healthy for Benford; he exited last week with an injury but is a full-time outside corner. It appears that Igsbinosun replaced him, but we don’t need to chase that, not against this crappy New England passing attack. If it’s not a healthy Benford, just skip it.
Dee Alford (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 52% of snaps as the slot corner last week. He will likely play even less this week against the 18th-overall team, with 11-personnel usage.
Jets at Bears
Outlook: The early total for this showdown in the “Windy City” sits at just 42.5 points with Chicago favored by a field goal at home. Case Keenum actually looked great under center for Chicago last week, giving us around 25 wide receiver targets and plenty of completions. We can fire up our New York corners in medium- to deep-league settings and feel pretty good about it.
For the reverse, Geno Smith was slinging it in Detroit last week but had only 16 wide receiver targets, as their tight ends did most of the damage in the passing game. We can fire up our Chicago corners in deeper leagues only, as this New York passing attack is down Adonai Mitchell and will need to feed breakout star Kenyon Sadiq after his performance last week.
New York Jets
Azareyeh Thomas (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Brandon Stephens (CB): SOLID. He played 96% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Jarvis Brownlee (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 52% of snaps as the slot corner last week. He may play a bit less this week against a Chicago team that’s in the bottom third of the league in 11-personnel usage.
D’Angelo Ponds (CB): SIT. The displacement we were worried about from that Sports Illustrated article last week didn’t happen. But I wouldn’t be surprised if it does at some point this season. Cornerback is the least stable IDP position by a ton, and displacements due to poor play occur all the time. We try to catch them ahead of time if possible, but most of the time we find out afterward, since none of us are privy to these teams’ defensive coordinators' strategies.
Chicago Bears
Cam Lewis (S/CB): SIT. He injured his leg and left the game last week after 76% of snaps as the slot corner. He is mistakenly designated as a corner in Yahoo. With Kyler Gordon also clearing the PUP this week, we’re in for some major movement in this secondary. If it’s not Jaylon Johnson or Muhammed, it isn’t safe this week.
Jaylon Johnson (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Malik Muhammed (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week. The injury to Lewis and the demotion of Stevenson make it clear that this secondary is in flux at the moment; we’ll keep an eye on it and see what next week brings.
Tyrique Stevenson (CB): SIT. He was down to just 8% of snaps last week, seemingly out of nowhere, and was declared healthy. We’ll sit him for now and see what this week brings. More to be revealed.
Kyler Gordon (CB): SIT. He was activated off the PUP this week but is unlikely to play this week or have a major role immediately. Beyond that, I always wait to see at least a week’s worth of snaps and alignment before making a call on a corner either way.
Jaguars at Bengals
Outlook: This showdown of AFC contenders with explosive offenses sits at a massive 49.5 points, with Cincy favored by a field goal at home. Both teams are in the middle of the pack for passing yards per game. Both teams were in the top ten for wide receiver targets last season, and Cincy remains in that group this season with Jacksonville in the top half of the league.
This looks fantastic across the board. Two competent quarterbacks slinging it to their loaded wide receiver corps, a high over/under, a low spread, and plenty of historical data that tells us this is the place to farm cornerback IDP points in Week 4. We can fire up everyone with a pulse for this one.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Travis Hunter (WR/CB): SOLID. He played 71% of snaps as an outside corner last week. He had just a few snaps on offense yet again, but has been making more plays on defense this season, which is something, at least.
Jarrian Jones (CB): SOLID. He played 73% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Jourdan Lewis (CB): SOLID. He played 65% of snaps as the slot corner last week. He might see reduced playing time this week against a Cincy team that ranks in the bottom half of the league in 11-personnel usage.
Montaric Brown (CB): SOLID, much deeper leagues only. He played just 47% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Cincinnati Bengals
Jalen Davis/Tacario Davis (CB): SOLID if healthy for Jalen Davis; SOLID in deeper leagues only and risky for Tacario Davis. Jalen was injured last week, and Tacario appeared to sub in for him. If Jalen could play, he’d be the slot corner against a Jacksonville team that’s in the back half of the league in 11-personnel usage but has a fantastic passing attack. Tacario’s role would likely be different, and he’d only have value if Jalen is inactive this week; SIT otherwise.
UPDATE: Jalen Davis went to IR this week; it appears that Tacario is good to go as his replacement, but I doubt his utilization will be the same.
Dax Hill (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week, with only half of them coming from outside corner. The rest were from the slot or box, which is fantastic.
DJ Turner (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Cowboys at Texans
Outlook: The early total for this battle in Houston sits at 46.5 points with Houston favored by a field goal at home. We can fire up Lassiter and company in an ideal matchup against one of the best passing attacks in the league that is currently in the middle of the pack for wide receiver targets, but that’s before the 29 wide receiver targets they logged last week against Baltimore are added to the mix and those rankings are updated.
For the reverse, this Houston offense looks anemic, and without Nico Collins we’ve seen a drastic reduction in how involved their wide receiver corps is each week. Houston was down to around 14 wide receiver targets last week, and I don’t want to fire up any Dallas corners anywhere but “deeper leagues only” unless Collins can return to the lineup this week. If that’s the case, upgrade our Dallas corners to “medium to deeper leagues”.
Dallas Cowboys
DaRon Bland (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Cobie Durant/Shavon Revel (CB): Durant was inactive last week, so Revel played 67% of snaps as an outside corner. Durant would be SOLID as a full-time outside corner if he can play this week; Revel would be SOLID in deeper leagues playing the same role but apparently for fewer snaps if Durant is inactive again.
Joey Porter Jr (CB): SIT. He was just traded to Dallas, but is unlikely to immediately start and get full playing time.
All others (CB): SIT. There was a hodgepodge of random corners covering the rest of the snaps last week, and Caleb Downs continues to work as the primary slot corner, but is designated as a safety everywhere.
Houston Texans
Kamari Lassiter (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week and smashed his projection. He was the overall No. 1 cornerback in most IDP leagues last season (depending on scoring).
Derek Stingley (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Jalen Pitre (S/CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps as the slot corner with some bonus box snaps last week.
Cardinals at Giants
Outlook: The early total for this battle in the “Big Apple” sits at 43.5 points with New York favored by a field goal at home. We can fire up our corners on both sides in deeper leagues only, as Arizona was the 3rd worst team in the league for wide receiver targets before last week, and New York only attempted 22 passes, with 12 of them heading to their wide receiver corps last week as Harbaugh tried to rein in Jameis Winston and prevent his traditional 2-4 interceptions per start.
JJ McCarthy was signed by the Giants earlier today, 9/28/26, but it’s highly unlikely he’ll get the start this week. That’s probably a couple of weeks out, as he’ll need to adjust to their system and learn the offense first, so we’ll plan on Jameis under center this week.
Arizona was behind San Francisco all of last week, so we did see Brisset attempt 52 passes, with 25 of those going to their wide receiver corps. But that’s absolutely an outlier; we rarely see that many attempts, and surely Arizona doesn’t want to have to be throwing the ball 52 times against New York this week.
Arizona Cardinals
Max Melton (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Denzel Burke (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Garrett Williams (CB): SIT. He played only 35% of snaps last week at slot corner and should play even less this week against the 27th-ranked team, with 11 personnel usage.
Will Johnson (CB): Johnson was sent to IR this week after sitting out the game against the Seahawks. The above-listed corners should be our options for the foreseeable future, as Johnson is done for the season.
New York Giants
Deonte Banks/Colton Hood (CB): Banks was inactive last week, but would be SOLID as a full-time outside corner if he can play this week. Colton Hood started in his place last week and played 95% of snaps as an outside corner; he would be a SOLID option if Banks is inactive again this week.
Greg Newsome (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Andru Phillips (CB): SOLID. He played 81% of snaps at slot corner last week and should see similar playing time this week against the 12th-ranked team in 11-personnel usage.
Rams at Eagles
Outlook: The early total for this battle in Philly is 45.5 points, with Los Angeles favored by a field goal on the road. We can fire up DeJean and company in an ideal matchup against a Los Angeles team that is in the middle of the pack for wide receiver targets, but it will be even better if Puka Nacua (and his 10 or so additional wide receiver targets) can play this week. Demote our Philly corners to “medium to deeper leagues” if Nacua is inactive again.
UPDATE: Nacua appears likely to play this week, and if so, we’ve got an ideal setup for our Philly corners.
For our Los Angeles corners, medium-to-deeper leagues should be about right, as Philly is in the middle of the pack for wide receiver targets. Let’s hope we get a shootout and a back-and-forth affair, as we have many talented cornerback options for this one.
Los Angeles Rams
Trent McDuffie (CB): IDEAL. He played 98% of snaps last week, with about half at outside corner and the rest in the slot or box. He has not been under projection yet this season and has two “massive hit” games as well.
Jaylen Watson (CB): SOLID if healthy. He was injured last week but is a full-time outside corner when healthy.
Emmanuel Forbes (CB): SIT. He was the Watson replacement last week, but we don’t need to chase it against a Philly team that was looking horrible in the wide receiver targets department until they were forced to shower Devonta Smith and Wicks with targets in a successful last-ditch effort to beat Tennessee in Week 2.
Josh Wallace (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He was up to 86% of snaps as an outside corner last week, up from around 60% of snaps the week prior. We’ve seen some fluctuation in his playing time, so we’ll play it safe for now, and Philly doesn’t target their wide receivers all that much to begin with.
Philadelphia Eagles
Cooper DeJean (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week and lined up all over the place. This included snaps at free safety, many in the slot, and over 40% of his total snaps coming from the box.
Quinyon Mitchell (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Tariq Woolen (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Packers at Buccaneers
Outlook: The early total for this battle in Tampa Bay is 42.5 points, with Green Bay favored by a field goal on the road. We can fire up our Tampa Bay corners in leagues of all sizes against this one-dimensional Green Bay offense that simply cannot run the ball and is leading the league in wide receiver targets as a result.
For the reverse, we can fire up Keisean Nixon and company in deeper leagues against a Tampa Bay team that is in the middle of the pack for both passing yards per game and wide receiver targets. They’ve looked sluggish offensively to start the season, and Baker Mayfield will now miss a few games with a dislocated thumb. With a backup under center, we should play it safe for now and either skip our Green Bay corners this week or use them only in deeper leagues, expecting less production than in normal weeks.
Green Bay Packers
Keisean Nixon (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Brandon Cisse (CB): SOLID, much deeper leagues only. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Zyon McCollum (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Jacob Parrish (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Keionte Scott (CB): IDEAL. He played 57% of snaps as the slot corner last week and gets the number one team in the league for wide receiver targets this week. Green Bay also happens to be the 11th-ranked team in 11-personnel usage, so we should see more snaps for Scott this week as well.
Dolphins at Vikings
Outlook: The early total for this showdown in Minnesota sits at just 41.5 points with Minnesota favored by 10.5 points at home. It will be “deeper leagues only” for our Minnesota corners against one of the worst passing offenses in the league.
For our Miami corners, the return of Kyler Murray last week resulted in a win, but offensively looked similar to what we were seeing with Wentz under center. Minnesota had just 15 completions on 29 attempts, with just 15 of those targets going to their wide receiver corps. Hopefully, Kyler can get some traction and return Justin Jefferson and company to elite fantasy assets and give them enough targets for our purposes down the road; it’s not now, though.
Miami Dolphins
Jason Marshall (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 67% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Chris Johnson (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes, just short of IDEAL (that could be considered a Kyler Murray joke). He played 100% of snaps last week with only half of his total snaps coming from outside corner; the rest came from the slot or box.
Juju Brents (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 69% of snaps, nice, as an outside corner last week.
Minnesota Vikings
Josh Metellus (S/CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps as a deep safety with a nice chunk of box/slot snaps last week. He is mistakenly designated as a corner in Yahoo.
Byron Murphy (CB): IDEAL. He stunk up the joint last week, but still played 97% of snaps, with only 47% of them coming from outside corner; the rest came from the slot or box. His usage remains elite, and we’ve seen fantastic production from him for years and in the first two games this season. This position group in particular will have “stinkers” more often than most. It happens on offense in fantasy football as well; it’s just part of the game.
Isaiah Rogers (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 94% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
James Pierre (CB): SIT. He played just 40% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Chiefs at Raiders
Outlook: The early total for this battle between undefeated AFC West teams is 46.5 points, with Kansas City favored by 5.5 points on the road. Cousins was slinging it last week, but with 13 targets just to Bowers and just a smattering to everyone else/his wide receivers, it will be “deeper leagues only” for our Kansas City corners this week.
For the reverse, Mahomes needed only around 15 wide receiver targets last week, as the “Ken Bone Walker” trend of running the show offensively continued for yet another week. Kansas City has not been behind and has not needed to utilize their wide receivers to win so far this season. I don’t see why that won’t continue this week (deeper leagues only for our Las Vegas corners).
Kansas City Chiefs
Mansoor Delane/Kristian Fulton (CB): Continue to SIT them both. It was back to Delane getting the start last week with 98% of snaps as Fulton disappeared off the face of the planet. It was exactly the reverse of that the week prior. This slot remains in flux; we’ll give it another week or two before setting anything in stone. Real talk, it’s probably Delane this week. But if I’m wrong about that, I’ll hear about it, so I’m playing this one safe.
L’Jarius Sneed (CB): SOLID. He played 72% of snaps as the slot corner last week, but is facing the worst team in the league in 11-personnel usage, so his playing time may take a dive this week.
Nohl Williams (CB): SOLID. He played 93% of snaps as an outside corner this week.
Las Vegas Raiders
Treydan Stukes (S/CB): SOLID if healthy. He is a deep safety who’s mistakenly listed as a corner on Yahoo. He was inactive last week, and his replacement is a safety-everywhere, so it’s not even worth discussing.
Eric Stokes (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Hezekiah Masses (CB): SOLID, somewhat risky. He has displaced Darien Porter as a starting full-time (100% of snaps last week) outside corner, but that’s anything but set in stone from these eyeballs. Rookies have traditionally had a short leash, but it looks good for now!
Taron Johnson (CB): SOLID. He played 95% of snaps as the slot corner last week, but could see fewer snaps against the 23rd-ranked team for 11 personnel usage this week.
Darien Porter (CB): SIT. It appears that Masses has displaced him as a starter.
Chargers at Seahawks
Outlook: The early total for this West Coast battle is 43.5 points, with Seattle favored by a touchdown at home. With Darnold back under center, Seattle had 25 or so wide receiver targets last week, and more importantly, targeted wide receivers not named “JSN”. We should have enough to eat here for our Los Angeles corners in medium- to deep-league settings.
For the reverse, the Los Angeles passing attack still looked bad last week but did give us around 19 wide receiver targets. Medium-to-deeper leagues also make sense for our Seattle corners this week, with the potential for a much better matchup if Justin Herbert wakes up.
Los Angeles Chargers
Elijah Molden (S/CB): SIT. It’s not a bad idea to add him as an option for upcoming bye weeks in Yahoo leagues. He played some safety in Week 1 but has been inactive since then with a hamstring injury. We could have a possible cheat-code scenario when he returns to the lineup; we need to see what that looks like first, though.
Tarheeb Still (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes, just short of IDEAL due to the matchup. He played 95% of snaps last week, with the majority coming from outside corner, but over 35% came from the slot or box.
Cam Hart (CB): SOLID. He played 84% of snaps as an outside corner with a nice chunk of box snaps as added value.
All others (CB): SIT. Donte Jackson and a hodgepodge of other corners had snaps last week, but none played more than 27% of snaps. Jackson was injured, but his replacement wasn’t immediately apparent. We’ll keep an eye on it and hopefully have some clarity next week.
Seattle Seahawks
Nick Emmanwori/Nehemiah Pritchett (S/CB): SIT Pritchett and do whatever your heart desires for Emmanwori (cornerback, not safety corner). Emmanwori reinjured himself (hamstring) but was able to return to the game. He was at around 50% of snaps, and Pritchett played the other 50% in his absence. Pritchett only has value if Emmanwori is inactive, and this matchup isn’t good enough to “chase” it.
Devon Witherspoon (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week, with over 60% of them coming from the slot or box. He smashed his projection for the second straight game and remains an outstanding IDP cornerback option.
Josh Jobe (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Broncos at 49ers
Outlook: The outlook for this battle in the Bay sits at 46.5 points for the over/under, with San Francisco favored by a field goal at home. Both teams are in the bottom third of the league for wide receiver targets, and San Francisco is now the worst team in the league for this ranking.
That tracks, as all their wide receivers beyond Deebo are banged up and with CMC, they don’t need to throw all that much to begin with. It will be “deeper leagues only” for our Denver corners, but Riley Moss should be fine as the “lesser of all evils” effect continues to power his production.
For our San Francisco corners, medium- to deep-league should be fine. Denver usually gets behind early, then spams their wide receivers with targets as they desperately try to catch up in the second half of each game, so we should have something to eat for Stout and company this week.
Denver Broncos
Riley Moss (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week with a nice chunk of box snaps as added value. He faced 6 targets last week and has surpassed his projection in every game so far this season.
Patrick Surtain (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week and had an outlier game for production and targets, with 11 faced against the Rams. That is normally not the case at all, as anyone who’s read this article for a bit is well aware.
Ja’Quan McMillian (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 62% of snaps as the slot corner last week, but may play a bit less this week against a San Francisco team that is 30th overall for 11 personnel usage.
San Francisco 49ers
Marques Sigle (S/CB): SOLID/risky. He played 83% of snaps last week as a deep safety that Yahoo mistakenly designated as a corner. Malik Mustafa stole around 20% of snaps at deep safety, and those snaps came directly from Sigle. We could be seeing a slow-motion displacement, or it could have been just a one-week occurrence. Time will tell. But for now, we’ll back off Sigle a bit.
Deommodore Lenoir (CB): SOLID. He played 82% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Renardo Green (CB): SOLID. He played 89% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Upton Stout (CB): SOLID. He played 62% of snaps as the slot corner last week. We should see similar playing time this week against a Denver team that is 17th overall for 11 personnel usage.
Lions at Panthers
Outlook: The early total for this battle in Carolina sits at a massive 49.5 points, with Detroit favored by a field goal on the road. These teams were 4th and 3rd overall, respectively, for wide receiver targets going into last week, and not much has happened that should change that. We can fire up all our normal cornerback options in leagues of all sizes and hope for a shootout that Vegas thinks we’re getting with that total and spread.
We should back off our Detroit corners a bit if we see later this week that Jalen Coker isn’t looking likely to play. Losing him would result in losing the 9 or so targets a week he gets as a stud wide receiver for the Panthers.
Detroit Lions
Christian Izien (S/CB): IDEAL. He played 97% of snaps as a starting box safety last week and is mistakenly designated as a corner in Yahoo. He should hold down this role and value for the next couple of games until Detroit has their bye week. After the bye, Branch, Joseph, or both should return, and we’ll re-evaluate once we see the new-look secondary.
Roger McCreary (CB): SOLID, could be IDEAL, risky! He played 97% of snaps last week, with most of them coming from the slot. He was playing less than a quarter of the overall snaps just a game ago, so this is definitely not set in stone. Add him now; if you’re feeling lucky, fire him up this week, but if he can hold down this role as a slot corner with that playing time, we’ll be cooking with propane here shortly.
DJ Reed (CB): SOLID. He played 93% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Rock Ya-Sin (CB): SIT. He was apparently demoted as part of a secondary shake-up last week and played only 19% of snaps.
Carolina Panthers
Mike Jackson (CB): SIT. He is a full-time outside corner but was injured last week. Akayleb Evans appears to be his replacement, but I’m not chasing it in a week where we have no byes, and everyone is available for us to stream.
UPDATE: He was sent to IR this week; it appears the injury was worse than originally anticipated.
Will Lee (CB): SOLID. He is apparently now a full-time starter at outside corner and is getting a nice chunk of slot snaps as well. With Horn heading to IR for at least 4 weeks, and likely a ton longer, Lee will have a solid role for at least the next month.
Jaycee Horn (CB): SIT. He suffered a torn quad late in the game last week and will be on IR for the foreseeable future.
Akayleb Evans (CB): SIT. He will only have value if both Jackson and Horn are inactive, and as we’ve only seen it once, I trust it zero percent. He’s been a career backup; I’ve been typing that name in this article for years now.
UPDATE: With both Horn and Mike Jackson now on IR, there’s a good chance Evans will be another full-time outside corner. We’ve only seen it once, though, so it’s risky to pursue this. I’m skipping it, personally.
Falcons at Saints
Outlook: The early total for this NFC South showdown is 46.5 points, with New Orleans favored by a field goal at home. We can fire up our Atlanta corners in leagues of all sizes against one of the league's best passing attacks to start the season. New Orleans was also leading the league in offensive plays run per game heading into last week, which is added value for our Atlanta corners.
In the reverse, Penix helped this Atlanta passing attack look exponentially better last week, but they still mostly targeted Drake London or “no one at all” among their wide receivers. Still, it’s an improvement for sure. Medium to deep leagues for our New Orleans corners sound about right.
Atlanta Falcons
Billy Bowman Jr. (CB): IDEAL. He played 65% of snaps last week at slot corner and is finally healthy and available to us. This week, he gets the No. 3-ranked team for 11-personnel usage and one of the league’s finest passing attacks.
CJ Henderson (CB): IDEAL. He played 95% of snaps as an outside corner last week and was picked on as the “weak link” in the Atlanta cornerback corps. He faced 11 freaking targets and should see similar action this week against this spectacular New Orleans passing attack.
Mike Hughes (CB): SOLID. He played 84% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
New Orleans Saints
Kool-Aid McKinstry (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Quincy Riley (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Jonas Sanker (S): Sanker played slot corner for the Saints but is a safety everywhere.
My Favorite Matchups: Week 4
Jaguars vs Bengals, either side
Texans corners vs Dallas Cowboys
Eagles corners vs Los Angeles Rams
Bucs corners vs Green Bay Packers
Falcons corners vs New Orleans Saints
Week 4 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) and 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):
Jalen Ramsey (if healthy)
Quan Martin (as long as Nick Cross is inactive), Amik Robertson
Marlon Glizzy Gobbler Humphrey (12 games in a row over projection now)
Dax Hill
Kamari Lassiter, Jalen Pitre
Trent McDuffie, Cooper DeJean
Keionte Scott
Josh Metellus, Byron Murphy
Devon Witherspoon
Riley Moss
Christian Izien
Billy Bowman, CJ Henderson
SOLID (matchup or playing time isn’t perfect, best used in medium to deeper leagues; these are “safe” options):
Jamel Dean, Asante Samuel Jr, Denzel Ward, Tyson Campbell/Mekhi Blackmon, Myles Harden
Chavarious Ward, Sauce Gardner, Justin Walley, Rasul Douglas
Cor’Dale Flott, Alontae Taylor, Marcus Harris, Nate Wiggins
Carlton Davis, Marcus Jones, Christian Gonzalez, Maxwell Hairston, Dee Alford, Christian Benford
Azareyeh Thomas, Brandon Stephens, Jarvis Brownlee, Jaylon Johnson, Malik Muhammed
Travis Hunter, Jarrian Jones, Montaric Brown, Jourdan Lewis, DJ Turner, Tacario Davis
DaRon Bland, Cobie Durant/Shavon Revel, Derek Stingley
Max Melton, Denzel Burke, Deonte Banks/Colton Hood, Greg Newsome, Andru Phillips
Jaylen Watson, Josh Wallace, Quinyon Mitchell, Tariq Woolen
Keisean Nixon, Brandon Cisse, Zyon McCollum, Jacob Parrish
Jason Marshall, Chris Johnson, Juju Brents, Isaiah Rogers
L’Jarius Sneed, Nohl Williams, Treydan Stukes, Eric Stokes, Hezekiah Masses, Taron Johnson
Tarheeb Still, Cam Hart, Josh Jobe
Patrick Surtain, JaQuan McMillian, Marques Sigle, Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, Upton Stout
Roger McCreary, DJ Reed, Will Lee
Mike Hughes, Koolaid McKinstry, Quincy Riley
TRAPS (sit these players):
Mike Sainristil
D’Angelo Ponds, Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon
Garrett Williams
Emmanuel Forbes
James Pierre
Mansor Delane, Kristian Fulton
Darien Porter
Elijah Molden, Donte Jackson, Nehemiah Pritchett
Rock Ya-Sin, Mike Jackson, Jaycee Horn, Akayleb Evans
Joey Porter Jr
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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