Johny The Greek's Cornerback Corner: Week 15
What are the best CB options for IDP fantasy football leagues in Week 15?
Welcome back to the Cornerback Corner! As is tradition, we’ll start with transparency and get right into this week’s calls.
Last week, I made 78 calls for leagues of all shapes and sizes. Of those 78 calls, 6 were declared inactive or were injured during play, which caused them to miss their projection (early in the game). Subtracting those players, we’re left with 72 “adjusted” calls.
Of those, 55 were correct (matched, beat, or were within a slim margin of their projection on Yahoo and MFL), and 17 were incorrect (didn’t match or beat projection and weren’t even close), giving us 76% accuracy for Week 14.
Of those 55 correct calls, 22 were “massive hits” (doubled, tripled, or more, their projection), giving us a 40% massive hit rate on correct calls for Week 14.
We are 72% accurate overall for the season, with 38% of all correct calls ending up as “massive hits.”
Week 1: 72% accuracy, 41% massive hit rate
Week 2: 73% accuracy, 46% massive hit rate
Week 3: 65% accuracy, 45% massive hit rate
Week 4: 73% accuracy, 36% massive hit rate
Week 5: 75% accuracy, 32% massive hit rate
Week 6: 67% accuracy, 34% massive hit rate
Week 7: 75% accuracy, 38% massive hit rate
Week 8: 75% accuracy, 30% massive hit rate
Week 9: 76% accuracy, 32% massive hit rate
Week 10: 72% accuracy, 36% massive hit rate
Week 11: 75% accuracy, 43% massive hit rate
Week 12: 66% accuracy, 43% massive hit rate
Week 13: 74% accuracy, 35% massive hit rate
Week 14: 76% accuracy, 40% massive hit rate
Please see THIS if you need a primer in cornerback streaming or what’s being discussed in this article (for new readers).
Alignment & utilization metrics are sourced from PFF.com, an outstanding resource for all things fantasy football-related.
To this point in the season, these teams use 11 personnel (3 WR sets) the least week-to-week (go from the bottom up on this list). Your opposing slot corners (Taron, Phillips, Alford, etc) will likely see a significant reduction in playing time against these teams. Thank you to sumersports.com for the information.
NEW for playoffs! See the bottom of the article for my favorite playoff matchups so you can grab the relevant corners off waivers early!
Falcons at Bucs
Outlook: The early total for the Thursday night game to kick off Week 15 is 44.5 points, with Tampa Bay favored by a touchdown at home. Both teams are in the middle of the pack for passing yards per game. Tampa Bay is a top-ten team for wide receiver targets, while Atlanta is in the middle of the pack once again.
We can fire up our Atlanta corners in an ideal matchup that could be even better if Mike Evans returns from IR, as has been reported. However, it will be “medium to deeper leagues” for our Tampa Bay corners, and we’ll lean towards the “deeper” part of that call if Drake London is inactive again.
Atlanta Falcons
AJ Terrell (CB): SOLID. He played 96% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Mike Hughes (CB): SOLID. He played 96% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Dee Alford (CB): IDEAL. He played just 55% of snaps last week as the slot corner, but that was expected as Seattle is ranked 30th (3rd worst) for 11 personnel usage across the league. Tampa Bay is ranked 5th, so Alford should play a ton more, and we all know those slot snaps are what we want for ideal cornerback production.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tykee Smith (S/CB): IDEAL if healthy. He only played 53% of snaps last week due to an injury he sustained, but he was able to return to the game late. His utilization continues to be fantastic (more than half of his snaps came from the box or slot). If Atlanta can create enough offense for him to eat his fill, he will do so.
Zyon McCollum (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Jamel Dean/Benjamin Morrison (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week. Morrison is his direct replacement.
Jacob Parrish (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 46% of snaps as the slot corner last week. See the link at the top of the article to help determine if he’ll play more or less each week based on the opponent.
Browns at Bears
Outlook: The early total for this battle in the Windy City sits at just 39.5 points with Chicago favored by a touchdown at home. Chicago is a top-ten team for passing yards per game, while Cleveland is the second-worst team in the league for this ranking. Chicago is also a top-ten team for wide receiver targets, while Cleveland is the 6th-worst team in the league for this ranking.
We can fire up Tyson Campbell and our Cleveland corners in an ideal matchup this week, but it will be “medium to deeper leagues” for our Chicago corners in Week 15.
Cleveland Browns
Denzel Ward (CB): SOLID if healthy. He played 66% of snaps as an outside corner last week, then departed with a calf injury. Sam Webb was his replacement. We’ve only seen that once, and it’s the fantasy playoffs, so we aren’t messing with that. SIT Webb if Ward can’t play this week.
Tyson Campbell (CB): IDEAL. He played 84% of snaps as an outside corner last week, but his utilization hasn’t mattered much this season as he’s only been under projection in two or three games total this year (depending on your scoring).
Myles Harden (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 68% of snaps as a slot corner last week.
Chicago Bears
Tyrique Stevenson (CB): SIT. He was inactive last week with a hip injury. If he can play this week, this particular matchup isn’t worth the risk of a reinjury. Beyond that, we don’t have any teams on bye this week, so we need to take fewer risks now that we have all our options available.
Kyler Gordon (CB): SIT. He suffered an injury just before kick-off last week and was inactive. We don’t need to chase him with this matchup. Cleveland has been better with completing passes to wide receivers with Sanders, but they still target their tight ends and running backs exponentially more than their wide receivers (overall).
Jaylon Johnson (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 66% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Nahshon Wright (CB): SOLID. He played 96% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Chauncey Gardner Johnson (S/CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week, with most of them coming from the box or slot. If your league site screwed up and made him a corner, you “set and forget” him.
Ravens at Bengals
Outlook: The early total for this AFC North showdown sits at a massive 51.5 points with Baltimore favored by a field goal on the road. Cincy is in the middle of the pack for passing yards per game, but is the third-best team in the league for wide receiver targets each week. Baltimore is in the bottom third of the league for passing yards per game and is the second-worst team for wide receiver targets each week.
We can fire up the Glizzy Gobbler and our Baltimore corners in an ideal matchup, but it will be “deeper leagues only” for our Cincy corners this week.
Baltimore Ravens
Marlon Humphrey (CB): IDEAL. He played 98% of snaps last week from the slot and outside corner. He has now been over projection in five games consecutively since announcing to the world that he’s a glizzy gobbler and plans to gobble 50 glizzies in 50 states. I had a glizzy with chili, cheese, and bacon last week in his honor.
Nate Wiggins (CB): SOLID. He played 94% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Chidobe Awuzie (CB): SIT. With both Wiggins and Humphrey healthy, Awuzie was down to just 21% of snaps played last week. He only has value if one of the two normal starters is inactive.
Cincinnati Bengals
Dax Hill (S/CB): IDEAL. He played 98% of snaps last week, most of them from the outside corner slot, but he also had a ton of box snaps as added value.
DJ Turner (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
All others (CB): SIT. We (once again this season) had a fluctuation in this cornerback corps in regards to the “third corner” spot last week. After it looked like DJ Ivey might be an option for us after Week 13, he was down to just 7% of snaps played in Week 14. This slot continues to be in flux and is not trustworthy.
Cardinals at Texans
Outlook: The early total for this battle in Houston is 42.5 points, with Houston favored by a touchdown at home. Both teams are in the middle of the pack for passing yards per game. Houston is a top-ten team for wide receiver targets, while Arizona is in the middle of the pack. Arizona used to be in the bottom third of the league for this ranking. Brissett continues to single-handedly improve that ranking every week he continues to get the start.
We can fire up our Arizona corners in an ideal matchup, and we’ll call it “medium to deeper leagues” for our Houston corners, but it could end up much better than that if we continue to get the kind of production we’ve been getting from Brissett.
Arizona Cardinals
Garrett Williams (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week, with the majority of them coming from the box or slot.
Will Johnson (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Max Melton/Denzel Burke (CB): SIT them both. Melton was inactive again last week, and Burke only played 54% of snaps as a replacement outside corner. This order of operations is probably fine (Melton is the starter, Burke is the direct replacement), but with the start of fantasy playoffs, I tend to back off anything “dangerous” like this. I don’t want to be the reason you lose your matchup.
Houston Texans
Jalen Pitre (S/CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week from the slot and box with only a small chunk coming from deep safety.
Derek Stingley (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Kamari Lassiter (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week as an outside corner, but also had a nice chunk of box snaps and has been extremely productive this entire season.
Jets at Jaguars
Outlook: The early total for this battle down South sits at 43.5 points with Jacksonville favored by 9.5 points at home. Jacksonville is among the middle of the pack for passing yards per game, while New York is the fifth-worst team in the league for this ranking. Jacksonville is also a top-ten team for wide receiver targets, while New York is the 4th-worst team in the league for this ranking.
We can fire up our New York options in an ideal matchup, but it will be “deeper leagues only” for our Jacksonville corners in Week 15.
New York Jets
Brandon Stephens (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Azareyeh Thomas (CB): SOLID. He played 90% of snaps last week, most of them from outside corner, but with a nice chunk of box snaps as well. He’s a sneaky good option that no one has heard of that’s in a great matchup this week and has box snaps (for those of you in those deep, dark, degenerate MFL leagues).
All others (CB): Jarvis Brownlee is now officially on IR, so we really don’t have to worry about him jamming things up anymore. No other corner played more than 23% of snaps for the Jets last week.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Montaric Brown (CB): SOLID. He played 94% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Greg Newsome (CB): SOLID, much deeper leagues only. He played just 68% of snaps as an outside corner last week, but also likely sat early due to the blowout.
Jarrian Jones/Jourdan Lewis (CB): SIT them both. The matchup stinks, and these two played 37% and 54% of snaps last week, respectively. I’ll keep an eye on it, but it is what it is for now.
Chargers at Chiefs
Outlook: The early total for this likely shootout is just 44.5 points with Kansas City favored by 4.5 points at home according to Vegas, but I think we could get more action than that. Both teams are in the top ten for passing yards per game. We have the first and tenth-overall teams here for wide receiver targets, respectively.
We can fire up everyone with a pulse who plays cornerback for this one. On paper, and likely in reality as well, we’ve got an ideal matchup across the board.
Los Angeles Chargers
Tarheeb Still (CB): SOLID. He played 78% of snaps last week from the slot and outside corner.
Cam Hart (CB): SOLID. He played 76% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Donte Jackson (CB): SOLID, much deeper leagues only. He played 56% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Elijah Molden (S/CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only, if healthy. He exited last week’s game with a hamstring injury. His immediate replacement does not have the corner designation. I would skip this; we don’t screw around during fantasy playoffs.
All others (CB): SIT. No other corner cleared 23% of snaps played last week.
Kansas City Chiefs
Trent McDuffie/Nohl Williams (CB): McDuffie was injured early last week. He would be SOLID as a full-time outside corner that gets occasional box/slot snaps if he can play this week. Williams was his replacement. I would SIT him if McDuffie is inactive. That’s my official recommendation, since I don’t want to be responsible for knocking you out of the fantasy playoffs if it doesn’t go as planned. However, this matchup is fantastic, so if McDuffie is inactive, do what you will with this information.
Jaylen Watson (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Chamarri Conner (S/CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week, with the majority coming from the slot or box.
Bills at Patriots
Outlook: The early total for this AFC East showdown is 47.5 points with New England favored by 1.5 points at home. Both teams are in the top ten for passing yards per game. Both teams are in the middle of the pack for wide receiver targets each week. We can fire up the usual suspects in medium to deeper leagues, and we should be looking good for this one.
Buffalo Bills
Taron Johnson (CB): SOLID. This would be IDEAL based on his utilization last week, but we can’t count on that against a Patriots team that is the 25th overall team for 11 personnel usage each game. Johnson played 98% of snaps from the slot, box, or as a blitzing attempt in Week 14.
Christian Benford (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Tre’Davious White (CB): SOLID, much deeper leagues only. He played 60% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Maxwell Hairston (CB): SIT. He only played 41% of snaps last week, which won’t cut it for the fantasy playoffs.
New England Patriots
Carlton Davis (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner the last time we saw him (bye last week).
Christian Gonzalez (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner the last time we saw him (bye last week).
Marcus Jones (CB): IDEAL. He played 75% of snaps, most of them from the slot or box, and returned a punt to the house in Week 14. He has been fantastic all season long.
Commanders at Giants
Outlook: The early total for this NFC East matchup in the Big Apple is 47.5 points, with Washington favored by a field goal on the road. Both teams are in the middle of the pack for passing yards per game. New York is also in the middle of the pack for wide receiver targets, but Washington is in the bottom third of the league for this ranking.
We can fire up our New York corners in deeper leagues only, with the exception of Paulson Adebo, who is essentially matchup-proof. And it will be “medium to deeper leagues” for our Washington corners in Week 15.
Washington Commanders
Will Harris (S/CB): SOLID, borderline ideal. He played 100% of snaps last week as a (mostly) box safety with some deep and slot snaps also. He is a starting safety that’s been incorrectly designated as a corner in Yahoo.
Quan Martin (S/CB): SOLID. He played 88% of snaps as a deep safety with some box/slot snaps last week. He is a starting safety who is incorrectly designated as a corner in Yahoo.
Mike Sainristil (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner and then sat due to the blowout last week.
Jonathan Jones (CB): SOLID. He played 79% of snaps as an outside corner and then sat due to the blowout.
All others (CB): SIT. No other corner cleared 45% of snaps last week for Washington.
New York Giants
Paulson Adebo (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner with some added box snaps in Week 13. He recorded 10 combined tackles in his first game back from IR. That’s par for the course for Adebo; he produces no matter the matchup most weeks.
Cor’Dale Flott (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner in Week 13 (bye last week).
Andru Phillips (CB): SOLID, much deeper leagues only. He played 58% of snaps from the slot in Week 13 (bye last week).
Raiders at Eagles
Outlook: The early total for this “get right” game and likely bloodbath is just 40.5 points with Philly favored by a massive 12.5 points at home and in desperate need of a win. Both teams are in the bottom third of the league for passing yards per game. And both teams are also in the bottom third of the league for wide receiver targets each week.
This one will be “deeper leagues only” across the board, with the notable exception of Cooper DeJean, who is usually matchup-proof.
Las Vegas Raiders
Eric Stokes (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only due to a lack of production this season. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Darien Porter (CB): SOLID, risky, deeper leagues only. He played 93% of snaps as an outside corner last week. He should be a full-time player now that Kyu Bly Kelly is gone, see below, but this Raiders team is swirling the toilet and could enter “let’s see what we’ve got for next season” territory any day now.
Kyu Blu Kelly/All others (CB): SIT. Kelly suffered a ruptured tendon and is done for the year. No other corner cleared 6% of snaps played last week.
Philadelphia Eagles
Quinyon Mitchell (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Cooper DeJean (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week, most of them from the slot or box.
Adoree Jackson (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 75% of snaps last week from outside corner and has been the starter for this slot in 4 of the last 5 games.
Packers at Broncos
Outlook: The early total for this heavyweight fight of Super Bowl hopefuls sits at 42.5 points with Green Bay favored by 1.5 points on the road. Both teams are just outside the top ten for passing yards per game. Denver is a top ten team for wide receiver targets, while Green Bay is in the bottom third of the league for this ranking.
We can fire up Keisean Nixon and our Green Bay options in an ideal matchup, but it will be “medium to deeper leagues” for Riley Moss and our Denver corners against this run-first Packers offense.
Green Bay Packers
Keisean Nixon (CB): IDEAL. He played 95% of snaps as an outside corner last week and shattered his projection once again. He’s only disappointed us in two games this entire season.
Carrington Valentine (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner last week, but hasn’t been very productive with those snaps this entire season.
Javon Bullard/Nate Hobbs (CB): SIT them both. Hobbs returned from injury last week and took about half of Bullard’s snaps with him. They played 37% and 14% of snaps, respectively, in Week 14.
Denver Broncos
Riley Moss (CB): SOLID. He played 92% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Patrick Surtain (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
JaQuan McMillian (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 68% of snaps as the slot corner last week.
Jahdae Barron/All others (CB): SIT. Barron only played 27% of snaps last week.
Lions at Rams
Outlook: The early total for this likely shootout is 50.5 points with Los Angeles favored by 4.5 points at home. Both teams are in the top ten for passing yards per game. Los Angeles is a top-five team for wide receiver targets, while Detroit is in the middle of the pack for this ranking.
This is definitely a better matchup for our Detroit corners than our Los Angeles corners, but not by much. We can fire up everyone with a pulse and hope we get the shootout that Vegas thinks we’re getting.
Detroit Lions
DJ Reed (CB): IDEAL. He played 98% of snaps last week as an outside corner with some bonus slot snaps.
Amik Robertson (CB): IDEAL. He played 97% of snaps last week, half of them from the slot and the other half as an outside corner.
Avonte Maddox (CB): SIT, but could be IDEAL. Maddox was the immediate replacement for Thomas Harper last week after he was injured. If Detroit sticks with that, then we’ve got a player who’s designated a corner basically everywhere that is playing a starting safety role. I don’t work for Detroit, so no idea if that will happen or not. This one is up to you all. This will get messy when Kerby Joseph returns, and if Thomas Harper can also play, then it gets really messy. Keep an eye on Detroit beat writers for updates on this situation. I’m not doing it, personally. Fantasy playoffs are not the time to screw around with stuff like this.
Los Angeles Rams
Emmanuel Forbes (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 74% of snaps as an outside corner last week and likely sat early due to the blowout.
Cobie Durant (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 71% of snaps as an outside corner last week and likely sat early due to the blowout.
Akhello Witherspoon/Darious Williams/All others (CB): SIT. Witherspoon saw snaps last week due to Williams being inactive, but only 58% played. Williams wasn’t seeing enough playing time to strike our fancy before that. This last slot has been in flux and hasn’t produced enough snaps for us to be interested in a while now.
Panthers at Saints
Outlook: The early total for this battle in the Bayou sits at 39.5 points with Carolina favored by a field goal on the road. Both teams are in the middle of the pack for passing yards per game. New Orleans is a top ten team for wide receiver targets, while Carolina is in the top third of the league for this ranking.
We can fire up all the usual suspects in medium to deeper leagues, but this has a good chance to be an ideal matchup across the board.
Carolina Panthers
Mike Jackson (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner in Week 13 (bye last week).
Jaycee Horn/Akayleb Evans (CB): SOLID if healthy. Horn was inactive due to a concussion in Week 13, but would be a nice option if he can play this week as a full-time outside corner. Evans is his replacement. I would not trust that (SIT HIM) with everything to gain or lose this week.
Chau Smith Wade (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He saw a bump in playing time up to 100% of snaps in Week 13 with Horn inactive, but typically plays around 60% of snaps as the slot corner.
New Orleans Saints
Alontae Taylor (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week from the slot or box, with just a handful of snaps coming from outside cornerback.
Koolaid McKinstry (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Quincy Riley (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 81% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Colts at Seahawks
Outlook: The early total for this battle on the West Coast sits at 46.5 points with Seattle favored by a field goal at home. Both teams are in the top ten for passing yards per game, and both teams are in the middle of the pack for wide receiver targets. We can fire up our Indianapolis corners in medium to deeper leagues, but we’ll play it safe and call it “deeper leagues only” for our Seattle corners against a backup quarterback now that Daniel Jones is injured and out.
Indianapolis Colts
Chavarious Ward (CB): SOLID if healthy. He played 95% of snaps as an outside corner last week. He ended up in concussion protocol after the game and is iffy to play this week. I would just skip it; the matchup isn’t all that great to begin with.
Sauce Gardner/Jaylon Jones/Mekhi Blackmon (CB): Sauce should be inactive. Jones and Blackmon combined to replace him last week and played 76% & 32% of snaps, respectively, to cover this outside corner slot. SIT them all. We don’t need to mess with a reinjury risk with Sauce, and this matchup isn’t good enough to trust a part-time outside corner.
Kenny Moore (CB): SOLID. He played 70% of snaps as the slot corner last week.
Seattle Seahawks
Nick Emmanwori (S/CB): IDEAL. He played 90% of snaps last week, all of which were either from the slot, box, or were a blitzing attempt.
Devon Witherspoon (CB): SOLID. He played 79% of snaps last week, mostly from outside but with a nice chunk of slot snaps as well. He sat early due to the blowout.
Josh Jobe (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 76% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Tariq Woolen (CB): SOLID, much deeper leagues only. He played 67% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Coby Bryant (S/CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps last week, most of them from deep safety, but also with some nice slot and box snaps. He is a starting safety who is incorrectly designated a corner in Yahoo.
Titans at 49ers
Outlook: The early total for this one is 44.5 points, with San Francisco favored by a massive 12.5 points at home. San Francisco is just outside the top ten for passing yards per game, while Tennessee is dead last in this category. Both teams are in the middle of the pack for wide receiver targets.
We can fire up our Tennessee corners in medium to deeper leagues, but it will be “deeper leagues only” for our San Francisco corners in Week 15.
Tennessee Titans
Darrell Baker Jr (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Marcus Harris (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
San Francisco 49ers
Deommodore Lenoir (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner in Week 13 (bye last week).
Renardo Green (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps as an outside corner in Week 13 (bye last week).
Upton Stout (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 60% of snaps from the slot in Week 13.
Vikings at Cowboys
Outlook: The early total for this battle in Jerry-World sits at 46.5 points with Dallas favored by a touchdown at home. Dallas averages the most passing yards per game, while Minnesota is the 4th-worst team for this ranking. Dallas has the second-most wide receiver targets, while Minnesota is in the middle of the pack for this ranking.
We can fire up our Minnesota corners in an ideal matchup, but it will be “deeper leagues only” for our Dallas corners as “9” continues to have issues completing passes (despite getting the win last week, he still only completed 16 passes and averages around 15 completions per game).
Minnesota Vikings
Josh Metellus (S/CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week from deep safety, the slot, or box. He is a starting safety that Yahoo has incorrectly designated as a corner.
Byron Murphy (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week as an outside corner with some bonus slot snaps.
Isaiah Rogers (CB): SOLID. He played 75% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Dallas Cowboys
DaRon Bland (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week with some bonus slot/box snaps as added value.
Trevon Diggs/Shavon Revel (CB): I would SIT them both. Diggs could return from IR this week; he’s a reinjury risk in a horrendous matchup if he does. Revel has been the other starter next to Bland for a couple of weeks now. He would be an option again if Diggs is inactive, but I trust it zero percent. Beyond Bland, this entire cornerback corps has been in flux all season long.
All others (CB): SIT. No other corner cleared 54% of snaps played last week, and it’s JJ McCarthy, not the 1999 Rams.
Dolphins at Steelers
Outlook: The early total for the Monday Night Football game to wrap up Week 15 sits at 43.5 points with Pittsburgh favored by a field goal at home. Both teams are in the bottom third of the league for passing yards per game. And both teams are in the bottom third of the league for wide receiver targets as well. It will be “deeper leagues only” across the board for this one.
Miami Dolphins
Jack Jones (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only due to the matchup. He played 72% of snaps as an outside corner last week and then sat due to the blowout.
Rasul Douglas (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only due to the matchup. He played 72% of snaps as an outside corner last week and then sat due to the blowout.
All others (CB): SIT. No other corner cleared 28% of snaps for Miami last week.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Jalen Ramsey (S/CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week as a starting deep safety with some bonus slot/box snaps. He is incorrectly designated as a cornerback on Yahoo.
Joey Porter Jr (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
James Pierre (CB): SOLID. He played 86% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
Brandin Echols (CB): SIT. He only played 41% of snaps as the slot corner last week, and it probably won’t be much better this week as Miami is the 4th worst team in the league for deploying 11 personnel.
Byes this week: None
My Favorite Matchups, Week 15:
Falcons corners vs Tampa Bay Bucs
Browns corners vs the Chicago Bears
Ravens corners vs Cincy
New York Jets corners vs Jacksonville
Chargers vs Chiefs, either side
Packers corners vs Denver
Lions vs Rams, either side
Vikings corners vs Dallas
Week 15 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):
Dee Alford, Tykee Smith
Tyson Campbell, Chauncey Gardner Johnson
Marlon Humphrey, Dax Hill
Garrett Williams, Jalen Pitre, Kamari Lassiter
Chamarri Conner
Marcus Jones
Paulson Adebo
Cooper DeJean
Keisean Nixon
DJ Reed, Amik Robertson
Alontae Taylor
Nick Emmanwori
Josh Metellus
SOLID (matchup or playing time isn’t perfect, best in medium to deeper leagues):
AJ Terrell, Mike Hughes, Zyon McCollum, Jamel Dean, Jacob Parrish
Denzel Ward, Myles Harden, Jaylon Johnson, Nahshon Wright
Nate Wiggins, DJ Turner
Will Johnson, Derek Stingley
Brandon Stephens, Azareyeh Thomas, Montaric Brown, Greg Newsome
Tarheeb Still, Cam Hart, Donte Jackson, Elijah Molden, Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson
Taron Johnson, Christian Benford, Tre’Davious White, Carlton Davis, Christian Gonzalez
Will Harris, Quan Martin, Mike Sainristil, Jonathan Jones, Cor’Dale Flott, Andru Phillips
Eric Stokes, Darien Porter, Quinyon Mitchell, Adoree Jackson
Carrington Valentine, Patrick Surtain, Riley Moss, JaQuan McMillian
Emmanuel Forbes, Cobie Durant
Mike Jackson, Jaycee Horn, Chau Smith Wade, Koolaid McKinstry, Quincy Riley
Chavarious Ward, Kenny Moore, Devon Witherspoon, Josh Jobe, Tariq Woolen, Coby Bryant
Darrell Baker Jr, Marcus Harris, Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, Upton Stout
Byron Murphy, Isaiah Rogers, DaRon Bland
Jack Jones, Rasul Douglas, Jalen Ramsey, Joey Porter Jr, James Pierre
TRAPS (sit these players):
Tyrique Stevenson, Kyler Gordon
Chidobe Awuzie, DJ Ivey
Max Melton, Denzel Burke
Jarvis Brownlee, Jarrian Jones, Jourdan Lewis
Nohl Williams
Maxwell Hairston
Kyu Blu Kelly
Javon Bullard, Nate Hobbs, Jahdae Barron
Avonte Maddox (see note in Lions blurb), Darious Williams, Akhello Witherspoon
Akayleb Evans
Sauce Gardner, Jaylon Jones, Mekhi Blackmon
Trevon Diggs, Shavon Revel
Brandin Echols
Fantasy Playoffs Best CB Matchups!
Week 16
Seattle corners vs the Los Angeles Rams
Packers corners vs Chicago
Panthers corners vs Tampa Bay
Chargers vs Cowboys, either side
Titans corners vs Chiefs
Dolphins corners vs Cincy
Broncos vs Jags, either side
Week 17
Commanders corners vs Dallas
Broncos vs Chiefs, either side
Colts corners vs Jacksonville
Miami corners vs Tampa Bay
49ers corners vs Chicago
Falcons corners vs the Rams
Cardinals corners vs Cincy
Texans corners vs the Chargers
Week 18
Lions corners vs Chicago
Browns corners vs Cincy
Chargers vs Denver, either side
Titans corners vs Jacksonville
Cardinals corners vs the Rams
Raiders corners vs the Chiefs
Giants corners vs Dallas
Panthers corners vs Tampa Bay
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! Go get those titles!