Johny The Greek's Cornerback Corner: Week 1
What are the best CB options for IDP fantasy football leagues in Week 1?
Welcome back to the Cornerback Corner! As is tradition, we’ll start with transparency and get right into this week’s calls.
Last season, I was approximately 75% accurate on these calls (matching or beating projection, Yahoo and MFL). I’m at around 72% accuracy lifetime for this article series. As the season progresses, you’ll be seeing last week’s total number of calls, how many were correct, how many were not, and how many were “massive hits” (doubled, tripled, or more, projection) in this section of the article. Click HERE to see an example of what this will look like from last season. More to be revealed, but this will be the “transparency and accuracy” section once we get moving here.
Please see THIS if you need a primer in cornerback streaming or what’s being discussed in this article (for new readers).
When I list the corners each week, it’s always STARTER/BACKUP/BACKUP in “depth chart/what we’ve seen” order if we’re dealing with an injured cornerback.
Any chunks of text in bold this week discuss the overall cornerback streaming strategy; there will be less of that going forward as new readers start to figure out what all of this is and why we discuss the things we discuss.
If you notice a player playing safety who is designated a corner in your league of merit, please feel free to comment below. I’ll update the article with that information so we all can share in the bounty of the designation mistakes from these league sites. Thank you!
Cowboys at Eagles
Outlook: The Thursday night game to kick off the season features an NFC East showdown and a likely shootout with the early total of 47.5 points, with Philly favored by 7.5 points. The Dallas defense looks to be horrendous this season, and the odds of them being in a negative game script early are high. This already looks good for our Philadelphia corners.
Dallas was the 11th best passing offense last season in YPG, while Philly was only 29th overall, which tracks with the season Saquon had last year. Dallas targeted their wide receivers the third most last season, while Philadelphia was 27th overall for this ranking. Philadelphia was the best time of possession offense last season, so that may help our Dallas corners, but in general, this matchup lines up much better for our Eagles’ corners than our Dallas corners.
Dallas Cowboys
Trevon Diggs (CB): The Dallas Morning News recently reported that Diggs appears likely to be available for Week 1. If he is active, then he would be a SOLID option that will play plenty, better used in deeper leagues due to the matchup.
DaRon Bland (CB): Bland will play every snap barring a blowout or injury and makes a SOLID option for Week 1, best used in medium to deeper leagues due to the matchup.
Kair Elam/CJ Goodwin (CB): There is some uncertainty on this final Dallas cornerback slot, and with the matchup itself being less than ideal, we can wait on this until Week 2 and some real snaps and data to go off of. SIT them both.
Philadelphia Eagles
Quinyon Mitchell (CB): SOLID, medium to deeper leagues only due to his lack of weekly production because he’s a real-life shutdown corner. The matchup looks great, but opposing teams still avoid him like the plague.
Cooper DeJean (CB): IDEAL, the matchup is perfect against a pass-happy Dallas team, and DeJean is in a great position to take advantage and produce tons of IDP points for us in Week 1.
Kelee Ringo/Adoree Jackson (CB): After checking the most recent news on this last cornerback slot, there is still not enough clarity for me to make a confident call here. SIT them both, and we’ll readjust in Week 2 after getting some real information.
Chiefs at Chargers
Outlook: The early over/under for this AFC West matchup sits at 45.5 points, which is acceptable. Los Angeles is getting a field goal for the spread. Both teams were in the middle of the pack for their passing offense last season in yards per game. Both teams were also among the middle of the pack for targeting their wide receivers last season. This is a fine matchup overall, not perfect by any means, but we can start the usual suspects here and feel pretty good about it.
Kansas City Chiefs
Trent McDuffie (CB): SOLID, he’ll play every snap barring an unexpected injury or a blowout either way. Best used in medium to deeper leagues due to the mediocre matchup.
Jaylen Watson (CB): SOLID, medium to deeper leagues. Watson has cleared concussion protocol and is cleared to play in Week 1. There was a ton of fluctuation in this cornerback corps last season beyond McDuffie, so despite this looking good from multiple different depth charts, we can’t be sure until we see snaps (it’s risky).
Kristian Fulton/Joshua Williams (CB): SIT them both; Fulton appears to have the edge here, according to what I read this morning, but we can’t be sure until we see real snaps. Nothing I was able to find gave complete clarity on this final cornerback slot.
Los Angeles Chargers
Donte Jackson (CB): SOLID, best used in medium to deeper leagues due to the imperfect matchup.
Cam Hart (CB): SOLID, best used in medium to deeper leagues due to the matchup.
Tarheeb Still (CB): SOLID, same setup as the other two corners. All depth charts and news sources I consulted for the Chargers agreed on these three as the starting corners for this week. I can’t guarantee that, though.
Personally, I am going with “the most solid options humanly possible” for my Week 1 corners. The worst thing that can happen to us in Week 1 is starting a corner that doesn’t end up playing because we’re not going off real data in Week 1. Even if it means settling for a worse matchup or a less productive cornerback, it pays to play it safe when it comes to our Week 1 cornerback starts. From Week 2 onwards, it will get a lot easier as the snaps themselves will give us accurate information to work off of.
Buccaneers at Falcons
Outlook: The early total for this NFC South matchup sits at 46.5 points with Tampa Bay favored by 2.5 points. The Bucs were the third-best passing offense last season and have only added stellar wide receiver talent since then. Atlanta had a different quarterback under center for the vast majority of last season, so we can forgo their passing rankings completely. Tampa Bay was within the top third of the league for targeting its wide receivers last season.
I like the Atlanta side of this matchup a ton. Going up against the Tampa Bay passing attack led to many IDP points for us last season. For the reverse, it depends on your opinion of Michael Penix. I think he’ll be fine, and he did show us a good amount of wide receiver targets in the three games he played last season. Officially, we’ll call it mediocre overall.
Tampa Bay was also the third-best time of possession offense last season. This adds a bit more value to our Atlanta corners for Week 1.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Zyon McCollum (CB): SOLID, medium to deeper leagues, he should play every snap barring a blowout or injury.
Jamel Dean (CB): SOLID, medium to deeper leagues, he should play every snap barring a blowout or injury.
Jacob Parrish (CB): SIT, while the depth charts and news I’ve consulted all point towards Parrish getting the start in Week 1, we’ve historically seen rookie cornerbacks take a while to get up to the amount of playing time we need to stream them effectively. We can wait on this; it’s Michael Penix, not Kurt Warner from 1999.
Atlanta Falcons
AJ Terrell (CB): SOLID, should play every snap barring a blowout or injury, great matchup, just shy of IDEAL.
Mike Hughes (CB): SOLID, should play every snap barring a blowout or injury, great matchup, just shy of IDEAL.
Billy Bowman/Dee Alford (CB): SIT them both; recent reports have indicated that Alford has been benched in favor of Bowman. We can’t know this for sure or know if they’re splitting the role until we actually see it. And while there have been multiple reports indicating that Bowman will get the start, this slot itself maxed out around 60-70% of snaps last season, and we’ve seen time and time again that rookie corners are typically eased into the lineup. Add Bowman now for later if you have the bench space. If he is the starter for this slot all season, we’ve seen how productive the role itself is here in Atlanta.
And you could probably just start Bowman this week and get away with it, but I’d never recommend something that dangerous for Week 1, one of the few weeks of the season that doesn’t have any byes and far fewer injury issues than usual. We have all our options; let’s use those instead of going with something risky. There will be plenty of time for taking risks and smoke/mirrors later this season.
Bengals at Browns
Outlook: With an early total of 47.5 points and Cincy favored by 5.5 points, we have a decent setup to begin with in this AFC North showdown. The Cincy defense has traditionally been Swiss cheese, and we know Flacco is getting the start for Cleveland; that’s even better. The Bengals were the best passing attack in the league last year in yards per game, while Cleveland was within the worst third of the league for this ranking, but also suffered mightily with starts from DTR, among others.
Both teams were within the top ten for targeting their wide receivers last year, and with Flacco under center for Cleveland, I have zero doubt that will be an issue for our Cincy corners in Week 1. This is a great matchup across the board on paper. We can start every cornerback that makes sense, with a slight nod towards our Cleveland corners having the better matchup overall.
Cincinnati Bengals
DJ Turner (CB): SOLID, medium to deeper leagues; he has an undisclosed injury that I couldn’t find any information about. Personally, I would only use him in the deepest and darkest of leagues with this in mind. Since we can go with “all solid options” in Week 1, we really should, and this isn’t completely solid with this injury news.
Cam Taylor Britt (CB): SOLID, medium to deeper leagues, he should play every snap barring injury or a blowout either way.
Dax Hill (CB/S): SOLID, medium to deeper leagues, he should play every snap barring injury or a blowout either way. There is some uncertainty as to Hill's role and playing time going into Week 1, but every depth chart I consulted agreed he will have some kind of role immediately (it could be risky, though).
Cleveland Browns
Denzel Ward (CB): IDEAL, he should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout either way. The matchup is perfect, and Ward is excellent.
Greg Newsome (CB): SOLID, his shoulder injury appears to no longer be a concern as he feels “amazing” heading into Week 1. He’s best used in medium to deeper leagues despite the great matchup, as he’s never had stellar production.
Cameron Mitchell/All others (CB): SIT. Browns Nation and other analysts for the team have commented on how bad Mitchell has looked in camp recently, but the depth charts I’ve consulted all seem to agree he will be the third starter here. We’ll SIT him for Week 1 and readjust after seeing some real information; it’s the best move despite the great matchup. If he does start, then gets torched by Higgins or Chase, and then is benched, we’re in deep trouble. It’s better to just wait on this and see what happens.
Dolphins at Colts
Outlook: The early over/under for this matchup sits at 47.5 points with Miami getting just half a point. That’s what we like to see. A higher total with a low spread points towards a back-and-forth affair and a shootout, exactly the kind of environment where our cornerbacks will flourish.
Miami was among the middle of the pack for passing offense (YPG) last season, while Indianapolis was within the worst third of the league. Indy was a top ten team for targeting their wide receivers, while Miami was within the worst third of the league for this ranking in 2024. A healthy (for now) Tua and Waddle should help out a bit, and with Danny Dimes under center instead of Anthony Richardson, we do have a pretty decent matchup here overall.
Miami was the fourth-best time of possession team offensively last season, so that’s another slight bonus factor for our Indianapolis corners in this matchup.
Miami Dolphins
Rasul Douglas (CB): SOLID, best used in deeper leagues due to going up against Danny Dimes, but should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout either way. Douglas is historically a great producer as well.
Storm Duck (CB): SOLID, should play every snap barring an injury or blowout either way. Best used in deeper leagues due to the matchup.
Jason Marshall (CB): SIT, despite all the depth charts and news agreeing that Marshall will be the third corner here in Miami, we know it takes rookies a minute to get up to the playing time we’re looking for, and the opponent is Daniel Jones, not Peyton Manning. We can wait on this for a week and not lose any sleep over it.
Indianapolis Colts
Chavarious Ward (CB): SOLID, should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Jaylon Jones (CB): SOLID, should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Kenny Moore (CB): SOLID, should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Panthers at Jaguars
Outlook: The early total for this one is 46.5 points with Carolina getting 3.5 points on the road, which looks pretty good to start with. Neither defense was all that great last season, so the possibility of a shootout is there for this one.
Both teams were within the worst third of the league for passing yards per game last season. Jacksonville was within the middle of the pack for targeting their wide receivers last season, while Carolina was within the top third of the league.
This matchup is mediocre on paper, with a chance to be great if the stars align. Between Bryce Young catching fire at the back end of last season and the return of Trevor Lawrence to the lineup (with some shiny new weapons), we may have a situation where the rankings are stale and these passing attacks are better than advertised.
Carolina Panthers
Mike Jackson (CB): SOLID. He should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Jaycee Horn (CB): SOLID. He should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Chau Smith Wade (CB): SIT, he topped out at 71% of snaps last season and only crossed 50% of snaps six times in all of 2024. The playing time is not great historically, the production was average at best, and the matchup isn’t ideal. We can skip this.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Jarrian Jones (CB): SIT. The depth charts and news sources I’ve consulted all point towards Jones as a starter to begin the season, but we haven’t seen it in reality yet. He should be fine for Week 1, but I can’t guarantee that. I will have zero shares of Jarrian Jones going in Week 1 personally. Beyond that, this is the slot that Travis Hunter is the most likely to mess with when he plays his cornerback snaps.
Tyson Campbell (CB): SOLID. He should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Jourdan Lewis (CB): SOLID. He should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Travis Hunter (CB/WR): IDEAL, if your league scores both IDP and offensive points. It’s just a question of whether he’s in your WR or CB slot. Even if he doesn’t play much or any cornerback, at the minimum, we’ll be getting his wide receiver points in a cornerback slot. That is beyond ideal. If your league only scores IDP points, then I would SIT him in Week 1, as we’re unsure if he’ll play enough cornerback snaps to give us the kind of production we’re looking for.
Raiders at Patriots
Outlook: We’ve got a lower total and a possible defensive struggle here with just 43.5 points for the total with Las Vegas getting 2.5 points on the road. The Raiders have a new quarterback under center, so we can ignore their 2024 passing rankings, which were not great to begin with. New England was the worst passing offense in yards per game last season, and targeted their wide receivers the 28th most in the league in 2024, which is also less than ideal.
I won’t have anyone going from this matchup besides Carlton Davis and Christian Gonzalez (if healthy) in my deeper dynasty leagues. There are better matchups to target in Week 1.
Las Vegas Raiders
Eric Stokes (CB): SOLID, much deeper leagues only due to the matchup and uncertainty in this cornerback corps.
Darien Porter/Kelly Kyu Blu (CB): SIT them both, beyond Stokes, the depth charts and offseason news sources disagree on who will be starting in every other cornerback slot from what I’ve read. Thankfully, the Raiders are playing the Patriots in Week 1 and not the 1981 San Diego Chargers, so we can skip this and still sleep well at night. We’ll see what happens and readjust in Week 2.
Darnay Holmes (CB): SIT, same reasoning as above.
New England Patriots
Christian Gonzalez (CB): SOLID if healthy, he did not practice today (Monday, 9/1/25), and the team declined to specify a return date timeline for his hamstring injury in recent press conferences. If he can’t play, then we can skip whoever the backup is; this isn’t a matchup we need to chase.
Carlton Davis (CB): SOLID. He should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Marcus Jones (CB): SOLID. He should play plenty of snaps barring an injury or a blowout. If your league also scores punt and kick returns, then there is a chance for added value here. Jones returned 26 punts for almost 400 return yards last season and is listed as the current punt returner for the team.
Cardinals at Saints
Outlook: We’ve got another lower total at just 42.5 points here, and Arizona is favored by 6.5 points. The New Orleans offense has a new quarterback under center, so we’ll be ignoring last season’s pass rankings for them. Arizona was in the middle of the pack for passing yards per game last season, but only targeted their wide receivers the 29th most across the league. That’s not what we’re looking for.
Between the recent tendency we’ve seen from Arizona to be a “run first” offense and their lack of wide receiver targets last season, this setup doesn’t look great for our New Orleans corners. And for the reverse, I won’t have any Arizona corners going up against Spencer Rattler and a team that was the second worst across the league for targeting wide receivers last season (with a similar level of quarterback talent).
This one is a skip for me, but we’ll list the relevant cornerback options below as is tradition.
Arizona Cardinals
Will Johnson (CB): SIT. The rookie has great draft capital, but we’ve historically seen rookies take a few weeks to get up to the kind of playing time we find acceptable, and the matchup itself is not great at all.
Max Melton (CB): SIT, he’s probably fine if you need a warm body in much deeper leagues, but the matchup is not ideal, and his playing time and production from last season were anything but eye-watering.
Garrett Williams (CB): SOLID, much deeper leagues only due to the matchup. Williams at least played a bunch last season and had some decent weeks of production.
New Orleans Saints
Isaac Yiadom (CB): SOLID, much deeper leagues only due to the matchup. All the offseason news and depth charts I’ve consulted agree that Yiadom will be a starter; they disagree on which exact slot, though.
Koolaid McKinstry (CB): SOLID, much deeper leagues only due to the matchup, he’ll play every snap barring an injury or a blowout either way.
Alontae Taylor/Ugo Amadi (CB): SOLID, if healthy, Taylor is still nursing a groin injury and hasn’t practiced in weeks. Amadi would be his direct backup if he’s inactive. Taylor is slotted to play the STAR role for New Orleans. This role includes run defense, edge pressure, and plenty of slot snaps, according to beat writers. He would be a good start in medium to deeper leagues if he can play in Week 1.
Steelers at Jets
Outlook: We’ve got the lowest total of the week so far at just 38.5 points for the over/under with Pittsburgh favored by a field goal on the road. The Pittsburgh passing attack and its wide receiver targets ranking should improve drastically with Aaron Rodgers now under center. Rodgers averaged just under 22 completions per game last season as a Jet and targeted his wide receivers early and often. Our New York corners are in a good spot for Week 1.
For the reverse, we also have a new quarterback under center for the Jets, and he’s been anything but a completion machine during his career. Justin Fields averaged just 12.8 completed passes per game in his one full season we’ve seen from him, and just over 17 completions per game last season with the Steelers. None of that is good for our Pittsburgh cornerbacks in this matchup, who may have to rely on splash plays for any production in this kind of setup.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Darius Slay (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only due to the matchup; he should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Joey Porter Jr (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only due to the matchup; he should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Jalen Ramsey (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only due to the matchup; he should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
New York Jets
Sauce Gardner (CB): SOLID, he should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Brandon Stephens (CB): SOLID, he should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Michael Carter (CB): SIT, Carter saw drastically reduced playing time and production last year, and only crossed 50% of snaps played three times all of last season.
Giants at Commanders
Outlook: The early total for the NFC East matchup sits at 45.5 points with Washington favored by six points at home. The Commanders were among the middle of the pack for passing offense (YPG) last season, while New York was within the worst third of the league. The Giants had the second-most wide receiver targets last season (mostly behind Malik Nabers and his 170 targets), while Washington was in the middle of the pack for this ranking in 2024.
We’ve got decent value here overall, the usual suspects should be alright in medium to deeper leagues, and whoever ends up responsible for Nabers could be in for a huge box score when it’s all said and done.
New York Giants
Paulson Adebo (CB): SOLID, he should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Deonte Banks (CB): SOLID, he should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Andru Phillips (CB): SOLID, borderline IDEAL if his pre-snap alignment is similar to what we saw last season. He should play plenty of snaps, and only the matchup is holding him back from the perfect setup in Week 1.
Washington Commanders
Tre Amos/Jonathan Jones (CB): SIT them both; everything I’ve read points towards Amos getting the start immediately and making an impact right out of the gate, but we can wait on that with this matchup. It’s exceedingly rare to see a rookie play full snaps immediately at cornerback, so I need to see this before I believe it, and it’s Russel Wilson, not Dan Marino, so we can skip this and feel alright about it.
Marshon Lattimore (CB): SOLID, he should play most or every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Mike Sainristil (CB): IDEAL, between his production last season, where he’s set to line up this season, and the roles and responsibilities of his specific slot, there’s a ton to love here. Even without the perfect matchup, Sainristil may be good enough to overpower that negative factor.
Quan Martin (CB/S): SOLID, he should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout, and is a safety incorrectly designated a cornerback in Yahoo and perhaps elsewhere.
Will Harris (S): SOLID, he is designated (incorrectly) a cornerback in Yahoo, possible cheat code situation, Week 2 will tell us more on this.
Titans at Broncos
Outlook: The early total for this mile-high showdown sits at 42.5 points with Denver favored by 7.5 points at home. Denver was among the middle of the pack for passing yards per game last season, while Tennessee was within the worst third of the league. Denver targeted their wide receivers the 9th most of any team last season, while Tennessee was within the worst third of the league in 2024.
This one is pretty straightforward. We can fire up everyone with a pulse against the dink and dunk machine, Bo Nix, but it will be “deeper leagues only” against a rookie quarterback in his first-ever start on the road with only one legitimate pass-catching option (Ridley) while up against a very good defense.
Tennessee Titans
L’Jarius Sneed (CB): SOLID, would be IDEAL except he’s coming off a quad injury that’s made his Week 1 debut somewhat in doubt. If he’s healthy, he’ll play every snap, and he has been very productive in past healthy seasons.
Jarvis Brownlee (CB): SOLID, he should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout, and is in a fantastic matchup overall.
Roger McCreary (CB): SOLID, medium to deeper leagues due to his playing time ceiling being around 88% of snaps last season and an average of around 70% of snaps played each week in 2024.
Denver Broncos
Patrick Surtain (CB): SOLID, medium to deeper leagues only due to the matchup; he should play every snap barring an injury or blowout.
Riley Moss (CB): SOLID, medium to deeper leagues only due to the matchup; he should play every snap barring an injury or blowout.
Jahdae Barron/JaQuan McMillian (CB): SIT them both. Different depth charts and beat writer sources have differing opinions on who will start the season in this specific cornerback slot. What’s clear is that it will be Barron’s slot at some point; we just don’t know if that’s Week 1, and this isn’t a matchup we need to chase to begin with. We’ll readjust in Week 2.
49ers at Seahawks
Outlook: The early total for this NFC West showdown sits at 43.5 points with San Francisco favored by a field goal. San Francisco was the 4th best passing offense last season in yards per game, but is shredded with injury at the wide receiver position currently. Seattle was the 8th best passing offense (YPG) last season, but has a new quarterback under center. Seattle had a top ten ranking for wide receiver targets last season, while San Francisco was within the middle of the pack.
We can start the usual suspects here, but this would have been a much better setup last season. With Aiyuk out and Jennings nursing a calf injury, we’ll get a depleted San Francisco passing attack this week, and who knows how it will go for Sam Darnold with his new team and offense. More to be revealed, we’ll play this one a bit more conservatively with all these factors in mind.
San Francisco 49ers
Deommodore Lenoir (CB): SOLID, he should play every snap barring an injury or blowout.
Renardo Green (CB): SOLID, he should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Upton Stout (CB): SIT, a rookie third-round cornerback in this kind of setup with all these unknown variables, isn’t something we need to pursue for Week 1. We’ll see what the snaps say and readjust for Week 2.
Seattle Seahawks
Devon Witherspoon (CB): IDEAL, it doesn’t matter who the opponent is or what the setup is, Witherspoon is a coin flip to have a massive game any given Sunday, he’s that good. He should play every snap.
Tariq Woolen (CB): SOLID, best used in deeper leagues due to the matchup, he should play plenty of snaps barring an injury or blowout.
Josh Jobe (CB): SIT, Jobe only crossed 80% of snaps once all of last season and had 8 games of 70% of snaps played or fewer in 2024. We can wait on this; they’re up against a San Francisco team that will probably run the ball and throw to Kittle far more than usual this week, and that’s not a great setup for us to begin with.
Coby Bryant (S): SOLID, Bryant is listed as a cornerback in Yahoo while playing safety.
Lions at Packers
Outlook: The total for this NFC North showdown sits at 46.5 points with Green Bay favored by a field goal. The Lions were the second-best passing offense in yards per game last season, while Green Bay was within the top third of the league. Both teams were among the middle of the pack for targeting their wide receivers in 2024.
We can fire up the usual suspects here and feel pretty good about it, with a slight nod towards our Green Bay corners going up against this stellar Detroit offense.
Detroit Lions
Terrion Arnold (CB): SOLID, he should play every snap barring an injury or blowout.
DJ Reed (CB): SOLID, he should play every snap barring an injury or blowout.
Amik Robertson (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only due to a lack of history and data for him as a starter (he only started two games last season, and just a handful in all his seasons prior).
Green Bay Packers
Keisean Nixon (CB): IDEAL, he will play every snap, is massively productive, and adds even more value if your league also scores return yards.
Nate Hobbs (CB): SOLID, if healthy, Hobbs was “getting close to a return” as of today (Monday) and has always been an excellent producer when healthy. The matchup is correct if he can go for Week 1. He would be IDEAL if I could be sure he’s actually healthy, that’s how good he’s been historically.
Javon Bullard (CB/S): SOLID, he should play every snap barring an injury or a blowout.
Texans at Rams
Outlook: We’ve got a lower total at just 43.5 points with Houston getting a field goal on the road for this matchup. The Rams were the 10th-best passing offense in yards per game last season, while Houston was within the middle of the pack. Los Angeles targeted their wide receivers the most of any team in the league last season, while Houston was within the top third of the league for this ranking in 2024.
This one all hinges on the health of Stafford in my mind. If he can play, then we have an ideal setup for our Houston corners. For the reverse, our Los Angeles corners are in a pretty good setup overall, although not perfect.
Houston Texans
Derek Stingley (CB): SOLID, borderline IDEAL, he should play every snap barring an injury or blowout. Demote him to deeper leagues only if Stafford ends up being inactive.
Kamari Lassiter (CB): SOLID, borderline IDEAL, he should play every snap barring an injury or blowout. Demote him to deeper leagues only if Stafford ends up being inactive.
Jalen Pitre (CB/S): SOLID, borderline IDEAL, he should play every snap barring an injury or blowout. Demote him to deeper leagues only if Stafford ends up being inactive. Pitre will very likely only be a safety in your league of merit; many sites haven’t caught onto the position change yet, unfortunately.
Los Angeles Rams
Darious Williams (CB): SOLID, he should play every snap barring an injury or blowout.
Akhello Witherspoon (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only due to massive fluctuation in his role and playing time last season (it’s dangerous, I’d just look elsewhere).
Cobie Durant (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only due to massive fluctuation in his role and playing time last season (it’s dangerous, I’d just look elsewhere).
Ravens at Bills
Outlook: We’ve got a massive 50.5 points for the total in this rematch of the classic game we got in the playoffs last season. Baltimore is getting 1.5 points, so it’s essentially a toss-up. Baltimore was the 7th best passing offense in yards per game last season, but they only targeted their wide receivers sparingly, just 30th overall for 2024. Buffalo was the 9th best passing offense (YPG) last season, but targeted their wide receivers towards the worst third of the league in 2024.
We’ve got some offsetting factors here, but in general, this matchup features two of the best offenses in the game at the moment. We’ll fire up everyone with a pulse and hope we get the shootout and back-and-forth affair that Vegas thinks we’re getting.
Baltimore Ravens
Nate Wiggins (CB): SOLID, he should play close to every snap barring an injury or blowout.
Jaire Alexander (CB): SIT, he’s still not practicing as of Monday of Week 1, and this is par for the course with him, unfortunately. I have no idea who his direct replacement is at the moment, but we’ll know soon enough. He’s a sit and readjust in Week 2 for now.
Marlon Humphrey (CB): IDEAL, the matchup may not be perfect (it’s still really good), but Humphrey will play every snap and has had a massively productive career. He is always a good bet for a huge game on any given Sunday.
Buffalo Bills
Tre’Davious White (CB): SOLID, if healthy, he’s a true question mark heading into Week 1, but should play most snaps if he can go. I’d probably just skip it if it were my team.
Christian Benford (CB): SOLID, he will play every snap barring an injury or blowout, and had a very productive 2024 campaign.
Taron Johnson (CB): IDEAL, his role and responsibilities pretty much ensure great playing time and production no matter the matchup, and the matchup isn’t half bad at all for him in Week 1.
Vikings at Bears
Outlook: The total for this NFC North showdown sits at 44.5 points with Minnesota favored by 1.5 points. The Vikings were the 6th best passing offense last season in yards per game, but have a new, inexperienced quarterback under center. Chicago was the second-worst overall passing attack last season (YPG). Chicago was a top-ten team for targeting their wide receivers last season, while Minnesota was within the middle of the pack overall.
We can fire up our normal Minnesota corners against a passing attack that targeted their wide receivers early and often all of last season and feel pretty good about it. For the reverse, we should be cautious with our Chicago corners against a second-year quarterback who’s really playing his rookie season with the injury that caused him to miss all of 2024. We have no idea how that’s going to go.
Minnesota Vikings
Byron Murphy (CB): IDEAL, he will play every snap barring an injury or blowout, and is coming off of an incredible 2024 campaign. Murphy is one of the most productive and consistent IDP cornerback options on the planet.
Jeff Okudah/Isiah Rogers (CB): SIT them both; offseason depth charts can’t agree on anything beyond Byron Murphy being a starter. If I guess wrong on this, you maybe start someone who doesn’t end up playing and get a zero. With that in mind, I won’t be guessing. Sit them both and we’ll readjust in Week 2 after getting some real information.
Tavierre Thomas (CB): SIT, same reasoning as above.
Josh Metellus (S): IDEAL, he is incorrectly designated as a cornerback in Yahoo while playing starting safety, that’s a cheat code.
Chicago Bears
Tyrique Stevenson (CB): SOLID, he should play every snap barring an injury or blowout, best used in medium to deeper leagues with this matchup in mind.
Jaylon Johnson (CB): SOLID, same reasoning and league size call as above.
Kyler Gordon (CB): SOLID, leagues of all sizes due to his likely role, responsibilities, and alignment heading into this season. He may not play as much as the other two, but he should produce quite a bit.
Byes this week: None
My Favorite Matchups, Week 1:
The Eagles’ side of Eagles/Cowboys (Philly Corners)
The Falcons’ side of Bucs/Falcons (Atlanta Corners)
The Browns’ side of Browns/Bengals (Cleveland Corners)
The Titans’ side of Titans/Broncos (Tennessee Corners)
The Texans’ side of Texans/Rams, if Stafford plays (Houston Corners)
Both sides of Ravens/Bills, possible/probable shootout
Week 1 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):
Cooper DeJean
Denzel Ward
Travis Hunter
Mike Sainristil
Devon Witherspoon
Keisean Nixon
Marlon Humphrey, Taron Johnson
Byron Murphy, Josh Metellus
SOLID (matchup or playing time isn’t perfect, best in medium to deeper leagues):
Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland, Quinyon Mitchell
Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson, Donte Jackson, Cam Hart, Tarheeb Still
Zyon McCollum, Jamel Dean, AJ Terrell, Mike Hughes
DJ Turner, Cam Taylor Britt, Dax Hill, Greg Newsome
Rasul Douglas, Storm Duck, Chavarious Ward, Kenny Moore, Jaylon Jones
Mike Jackson, Jaycee Horn, Tyson Campbell, Jourdan Lewis
Eric Stokes, Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Marcus Jones
Garrett Williams, Isaac Yiadom, Koolaid McKinstry, Alontae Taylor/Ugo Amadi
Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, Joey Porter Jr, Sauce Gardner, Brandon Stephens
Paulson Adebo, Deonte Banks, Andru Phillips, Marshon Lattimore, Quan Martin, Will Harris
L’Jarius Sneed, Jarvis Brownlee, Roger McCreary, Patrick Surtain, Riley Moss
Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, Tariq Woolen, Coby Bryant
Terrion Arnold, DJ Reed, Amik Robertson, Nate Hobbs, Javon Bullard
Derek Stingley, Kamari Lassiter, Jalen Pitre, Darious Williams, Akhello Witherspoon, Cobie Durant
Nate Wiggins, Tre’Davious White, Christian Benford
Tyrique Stevenson, Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon
TRAPS (sit these players):
Kair Elam, CJ Goodwin, Kelee Ringo, Adoree Jackson
Kristian Fulton, Joshua Williams
Jacob Parrish, Billy Bowman, Dee Alford
Cameron Mitchell
Jason Marshall
Chau Smith Wade, Jarrian Jones
Darien Porter, Kelly Kyu Blu, Darnay Holmes
Will Johnson, Max Melton
Michael Carter
Trey Amos, Jonathan Jones
Jahdae Barron, Jaquan McMillian
Upton Stout, Josh Jobe
Jaire Alexander
Jeff Okudah, Isaiah Rogers, Tavierre Thomas
Reminder: these are only suggestions. Your lineup is your responsibility and yours alone. However, these are the same moves I’m making myself, 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!