Johny The Greek's Cornerback Corner: Week 6
What are the best CB options for IDP fantasy football leagues in Week 6?
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 80 calls for leagues of all shapes and sizes. Of those 80 calls, 11 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 69 “adjusted” calls.
Of those, 52 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 75% accuracy for Week 5.
Of those 52 correct calls, 17 were “massive hits” (doubled, tripled, or more, their projection), giving us a 32% massive hit rate on correct calls for Week 5.
We are 72% accurate overall for the season, with 40% 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
Please see THIS if you need a primer in cornerback streaming or what’s being discussed in this article (for new readers).
If you notice a player playing safety who is designated a corner in your league of merit, please feel free to comment below, and I’ll update the article with that information.
Alignment & utilization metrics are from PFF.com, which is an outstanding resource for all things fantasy football related.
Eagles at Giants
Outlook: The early total for the Thursday night game this week sits at 41.5 points with Philly favored by a touchdown on the road. Philadelphia currently has the second-worst passing offense in terms of yards per game, while New York is among the middle of the pack. Philly is the 4th-worst team for targeting their wide receivers, while New York is among the middle of the pack.
It will be “deeper leagues only” across the board for this one. New York has lost Nabers and is rolling out a rookie quarterback who hasn’t exactly been a completion machine so far, while Philly now has both starting wide receivers complaining about their lack of touches in the local media. None of those factors line up great for our purposes.
Philadelphia Eagles
Quinyon Mitchell (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside corner.
Cooper DeJean (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week and lined up all over the place. Only 10% of his snaps were from outside corner, so he’s seeing tons of “sweet spot” snaps each week. Beyond that, he hasn’t been under projection yet this season in many of my leagues.
Kelee Ringo/Adoree Jackson (CB): SIT them both. We were supposed to see Jackson with the majority of snaps from this cornerback slot last week after he was declared healthy. That is not what happened, as he was only in for 1.4% of snaps, and Ringo saw 83% while deployed as an outside corner. This slot is in flux; we’ll readjust after we see it another time or two.
New York Giants
Paulson Adebo (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside corner, but also had some bonus slot and box snaps.
Cor’Dale Flott (CB): SOLID. He played 89% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside corner with some bonus box snaps.
Andru Phillips (CB): SOLID. He played just 65% of snaps last week, but had ideal utilization with snaps from the box, slot, and even the occasional blitz. He would be IDEAL if the matchup were better. He suffered a hip injury that may have affected his playing time last week, but he is already back practicing this week (if only in a limited fashion).
Broncos at Jets
Outlook: The early total for this battle in the Big Apple sits at 43.5 points with Denver favored by a touchdown on the road. This one is pretty straightforward. We can fire up our New York corners with confidence against the Denver team that is among the middle of the pack for passing yards per game, but is 11th overall for wide receiver targets. The “dink and dunk” nature of the Denver passing attack will work in our favor here.
However, it will be “deeper leagues only” for Riley Moss and our Denver corners against a New York passing attack that is the 4th-worst across the league in yards per game and 3rd-worst in terms of weekly wide receiver targets (if it’s not Wilson, they aren’t getting a target).
Beyond that, Fields is only completing 17 passes per game so far this season, and has had an even worse average than that in past seasons where he’s been the starter. He’s not the kind of quarterback (pocket passer, dink and dunk machine) we like to start our corners against for the most part.
Denver Broncos
Patrick Surtain (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside cornerback.
Riley Moss (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside cornerback with some occasional box/slot snaps as well.
JaQuan McMillian (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played just 68% of snaps last week, but the vast majority of those were from the slot, which helps offset some of that bad playing time.
Jahdae Barron (CB): SIT. He only played 16% of snaps last week. It’s not there yet, but we’ll keep an eye on it.
New York Jets
Sauce Gardner (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside corner.
Brandon Stephens (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside corner.
Jarvis Brownlee/Michael Carter (CB): SIT them both. Carter was inactive last week, and Brownlee only played 11% of snaps. Carter is barely usable when he is healthy, and with the recent addition of Brownlee via trade, we could have some fluctuation going on for this slot.
Rams at Ravens
Outlook: The early total for this one sits at 44.5 points with Los Angeles favored by 5.5 points on the road. We can fire up whoever is healthy enough to play cornerback for Baltimore in an ideal matchup against this fantastic Los Angeles passing attack. They are the second-best yards per game passing offense, and also the second-best in terms of wide receiver targets at the time of writing.
For the reverse, it will be deeper leagues only against a backup quarterback and a Baltimore team that is far more likely to hand it off than pass it in Week 6.
Last week, Cooper Rush only completed 14 passes against that stout Houston defense. It doesn’t get much better this week with Los Angeles on the schedule. I would only roll out our Los Angeles corners in deeper leagues, if possible, based on the health and effectiveness of the Baltimore offense at this moment in time.
Los Angeles Rams
Cobie Durant (CB): SOLID. He played 94% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside cornerback.
Darious Williams (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 75% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside cornerback.
Emmanuel Forbes (CB): SIT. He only played 27% of snaps last week and has a history of benching/being displaced by other corners to begin with.
Quentin Lake (S/CB): IDEAL. This is where all the slot and box snaps are going each week.
Baltimore Ravens
Nate Wiggins (CB): SOLID. He played 75% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside cornerback.
Marlon Humphrey/Keyon Martin (CB): Humphrey was inactive last week. He would be IDEAL but risky if he can play this week. The matchup is spectacular, but his health is not (at the moment). If Humphrey is inactive, then Martin becomes a SOLID option; he deployed in the slot, box, or blitzed for all of his snaps last week. This cornerback slot itself is IDEAL for this matchup; we just haven’t seen the kind of production from Keyon that justifies that call.
Chidobe Awuzie/TJ Tampa (CB): Awuzie was inactive last week with a hamstring injury; Tampa appeared to be his replacement and played 85% of snaps and deployed as an outside corner. If Awuzie is healthy, he’s SOLID. If he’s inactive, then Tampa is a risky SOLID in deeper leagues.
Cowboys at Panthers
Outlook: The early total for this one sits at 47.5 points with Dallas favored by a field goal on the road. We can fire up our Carolina corners with confidence in an ideal matchup against this Dallas passing attack that is third overall in both yards per game and third overall for wide receiver targets at the time of writing. If we get CeeDee back, even better!
For the reverse, it will be “medium to deeper leagues” for our Dallas corners against this Carolina passing attack that is within the worst third of the league for passing yards per game, but is 8th overall for wide receiver targets at the time of writing.
Dallas Cowboys
Trevon Diggs (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps and was deployed as an outside cornerback.
DaRon Bland (CB): SOLID. He played 96% of snaps last week and lined up as an outside corner for most of his snaps, but also had 32% of his snaps come from the slot, which is added value.
Reddy Steward/Kair Elam (CB): SIT them both. Despite reports that Elam was getting benched, here he is at 42% of snaps last week, while Steward was only in for 32%. Both Diggs and Bland shot up to their normal snaps last week, so they look good at least. We’ll sit these two for now and keep an eye on them.
Carolina Panthers
Jaycee Horn (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside cornerback, but also had a nice chunk of box snaps.
Mike Jackson (CB): SOLID. He played 96% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside cornerback.
Chau Smith Wade/Corey Thornton (CB): Smith Wade was inactive last week. If he can play, then he would be SOLID as a slot corner against a spectacular Dallas passing offense. If he’s inactive again, then Thornton becomes a risky (we’ve only seen it once) SOLID for deeper leagues. If Smith Wade does play, this is exactly the kind of setup where we’ve seen him play more snaps than usual and have excellent production (against pass-happy offenses).
Cardinals at Colts
Outlook: The early total for this matchup sits at 47.5 points with Indy favored by a field goal at home. It will be “deeper leagues only” for our Indianapolis corners against this Arizona passing attack that is the 5th-worst for yards per game, and second-worst overall for wide receiver targets at the time of writing.
For the reverse, we can fire up our Arizona corners in medium to deeper leagues against this Indianapolis passing attack that is the 4th best for yards per game, and among the middle of the pack for wide receiver targets at the time of writing.
Arizona Cardinals
Max Melton (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only, if healthy. He was inactive last week with a hamstring injury. His direct replacement didn’t even play 15% of snaps, so we won’t mention it.
Will Johnson (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 82% of snaps as an outside cornerback last week in his first game back from injury since 2.
Kei’Trel Clark (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only, risky. He played 97% of snaps as an outside corner last week. This entire cornerback corps has been in flux since the preseason. I trust literally nothing here. I won’t have any of these guys going, personally.
Indianapolis Colts
Xavien Howard (CB): Sit/blast out the airlock. He retired last week.
Mekhi Blackmon (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only, risky (we’ve only seen it once). With Howard now retired, Blackmon played 100% of snaps last week and was lined up as an outside cornerback.
Chavarious Ward (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only due to the matchup. He played 80% of snaps as an outside corner and then sat due to the blowout last week.
Kenny Moore/Mike Hilton/Chris Lammons (CB): SIT them all (unless Kenny can play, he’s always a start, but it’s not looking likely for this week). With Kenny Moore inactive, we got Mike Hilton as the slot corner like we’ve been seeing. Now, Hilton is hurt, so we got Chris Lammons instead. If it’s not Kenny, we can skip it. This matchup isn’t worth the inception-levels of depth chart watching we need to pick the correct corner for this slot.
Seahawks at Jaguars
Outlook: The early total for this showdown down South sits at 45.5 points with Jacksonville favored by 1 point at home. This is an ideal matchup across the board, as we have both of these passing offenses either within the top third of the league or just outside of it.
But more importantly, Jacksonville is 5th overall for wide receiver targets at the time of writing, and we know that we’ll get enough to eat for our Jags corners as JSN and Kupp have seen plenty of targets each week to this point. This could end up being a shootout, and between the cornerback talent here and the tendencies of these two offenses, we should be looking good for the usual suspects in this matchup.
Seattle Seahawks
Josh Jobe (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside cornerback.
Tariq Woolen/Nehemiah Pritchett (CB): Woolen was concussed last week and will very likely be inactive this week. Pritchett was his replacement and would be a SOLID option in deeper leagues if Woolen is inactive this week. This is an outside corner slot.
Devon Witherspoon/Derion Kendrick (CB): With Witherspoon inactive last week, we saw Kendrick as the slot corner, but he only played 31% of snaps. So if it isn’t Witherspoon, we are not interested. Witherspoon would be IDEAL in this matchup if he can play, SIT Kendrick if he’s inactive again.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Jourdan Lewis (CB): SOLID. He still has the utilization and playing time to be IDEAL, but has had a couple of bad weeks of production recently. He was in for 100% of snaps last week and lined up all over the place, but mostly in the slot. Cornerback production is a circus to begin with; I’d still feel comfortable starting Lewis as an ideal option, even with the two bad weeks of production. He has the utilization to produce massive games on any given Sunday, and the majority of corners beyond him do not.
Tyson Campbell (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside cornerback. Update, SIT, he probably won't play his first week in Cleveland.
Travis Hunter (WR/CB): IDEAL. He played 39% of snaps as an outside corner and had a couple of tackles and a pass defense. On offense, he played 67% of the offensive snaps and had 3 targets for 3 catches with 64 yards. This is still a cheat code situation, and he remains a great option to start in a cornerback slot if you can each week.
All others (CB): SIT. No other corner saw anything North of 39% of snaps last week.
Chargers at Dolphins
Outlook: The early total for this AFC showdown sits at 45.5 points with Los Angeles favored by 5.5 points on the road. We can fire up our Miami corners with confidence in an ideal matchup against the 5th-best passing attack in yards per game, and the best team in the league for wide receiver targets at the time of writing.
For the reverse, it will be medium to deeper leagues for our Los Angeles corners against this Miami team that is among the middle of the pack for passing yards per game and within the top-third of the league for wide receiver targets. That ranking will likely take a hit going forward with no Tyreek Hill, so we’ll dial it back a bit.
Los Angeles Chargers
Tarheeb Still (CB): SOLID. He played 84% of snaps last week (early rest due to blowout) and was lined up in the box, slot, and at outside corner. His utilization remains excellent, the production is still spotty, though, as he’s only cleared his projection twice this season.
Cam Hart (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 61% of snaps last week as an outside corner but also had a nice chunk of box and slot snaps.
Donte Jackson (CB): SIT, he played just 50% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside corner.
Benjamin St Juste (CB): SIT, he played just 33% of snaps last week.
Miami Dolphins
Storm Duck/Rasul Douglas (CB): SIT Duck in his first game back since Week 1 (reinjury risk). If Duck is inactive again, then Rasul would be SOLID. Rasul played 98% of snaps last week and was lined up as an outside corner as he filled in for Duck once more.
Jack Jones (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps last week and was lined up as an outside corner.
All others (CB): SIT. No other corner cleared 33% of snaps played for Miami last week.
Browns at Steelers
Outlook: The early total for this likely defensive struggle sits at just 36.5 points with Pittsburgh favored by a touchdown at home. It will be “deeper leagues only” across the board for this one, as both teams are now within the worst third of the league for passing yards per game, and are either last (Pittsburgh) or within the worst third of the league (Cleveland) for wide receiver targets. This one has “defensive struggle and not a ton of passing offense” written all over it. Beyond Ramsey (if he’s healthy), I likely won’t have anyone going from this matchup.
Cleveland Browns
Denzel Ward (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps and was deployed as an outside cornerback last week.
Greg Newsome (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps and was deployed as an outside cornerback last week. Update, SIT, he probably won't play his first week in Jacksonville.
Myles Harden (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only, risky still.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Jalen Ramsey (CB): SOLID. He played 72% of snaps and picked up a slight injury in Week 4, but is healthy currently. He has been lining up all over the place, but the matchup is mediocre at best.
Darius Slay (CB): SOLID. He played 96% of snaps in Week 4 and was an outside corner.
Joey Porter Jr/Brandin Echols (CB): Porter was inactive the last time Pittsburgh had a game. With a bye week behind us, he might be healthy for this week. If that’s the case, I would SIT him since the reinjury risk is high (hamstring) and the matchup isn’t all that great to begin with. Echols was his replacement the last time Pittsburgh played, and would be an option if Porter is inactive again, but only in deeper leagues. (SOLID).
Patriots at Saints
Outlook: The early total for this showdown in the Big Easy sits at 44.5 points with New England favored by a field goal on the road. New England is a top-ten passing attack in yards per game, while New Orleans is the 6th-worst passing offense in the league at the time of writing. New Orleans is the 6th-best team for wide receiver targets, while New England is within the worst third of the league for this ranking.
We can fire up the usual suspects here in medium to deeper leagues, and we should be looking good. We have some offsetting rankings and trends, but we should at least get what we need from either passing attack (and therefore, our corners).
New England Patriots
Christian Gonzalez (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week and was lined up as an outside corner.
Carlton Davis (CB): SOLID. He played 95% of snaps last week and was lined up as an outside corner.
Marcus Jones (CB): IDEAL if your league has return yards, SOLID otherwise. While he didn’t have any punt returns last week, he had 167 return yards and a touchdown the week prior. He played 76% of snaps last week from the slot and has been very productive with or without the return yards this season.
New Orleans Saints
Alontae Taylor (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week and lined up in the slot, box, and wide corner. He has excellent utilization, now we just need an ideal matchup for him to feed off of (this ain’t it, but it’s better than last week).
Koolaid McKinstry (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside corner.
Quincy Riley (CB): SIT for now, but he’s slowly gaining snaps each week. In deeper leagues, you may want to add him if you need a warm body, since it appears he’ll have a role here pretty soon. He played 71% of snaps last week as an outside corner, up from 41% the week prior and 32% of snaps the week before that.
Titans at Raiders
Outlook: We’ve got a lower total for this matchup at the Death Star, with the early total sitting at just 41.5 points and Las Vegas favored by a touchdown at home. Las Vegas is among the middle of the pack for passing yards per game, while Tennessee is dead last across the entire league. Both teams are among the middle of the pack for targeting their wide receivers each week.
It will be “deeper leagues only” for our Las Vegas corners against the worst passing offense in the league, and while those wide receiver targets look decent, many of those are just targets and aren’t actually being caught (Ridley shareholders know exactly what I’m talking about here). And for the reverse, we can fire up our Tennessee corners in medium to deeper leagues.
Tennessee Titans
L’Jarius Sneed (CB): SOLID. He played 94% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside corner.
Jaylyn Armor Davis (CB): SOLID. He played 94% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside corner, but also had a nice chunk of box snaps.
Roger McCreary (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played just 54% of snaps last week, but they were all from the slot or box, which helps offset some of that bad playing time.
Las Vegas Raiders
Eric Stokes/Darien Porter (CB): Stokes was inactive with a knee injury last week; Porter replaced him and played 100% of snaps as an outside corner. If Stokes is healthy, then he’s SOLID. If he’s inactive again, then Porter would become a SOLID option in deeper leagues to offset some of the risk incurred from only seeing it once (could be a different corner replacing him next time, I’ve seen that a million times doing this article).
Kelly Kyu Blu (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside corner last week.
All others (CB): SIT. No other corner cleared 15% of snaps for Las Vegas last week.
49ers at Bucs
Outlook: We’ve got a higher total for this one at 47.5 points with Tampa Bay favored by two points at home. We can fire up our San Francisco corners with confidence and in leagues of all sizes against the 4th-best team in the league for wide receiver targets and this fantastic Tampa Bay passing attack. If Evans is back, even better.
For the reverse, it will be medium to deeper leagues for our Tampa Bay corners against this San Francisco passing attack that is the best for yards per game at the time of writing, but is only among the middle of the pack for weekly wide receiver targets.
San Francisco 49ers
Marques Sigle (CB): IDEAL if Malik Mustapha is inactive, SOLID but risky if Mustapha is playing. He could lose snaps with the return of the second-year safety. More to be revealed on that. Sigle is a starting safety with plenty of box and slot snaps, who is incorrectly designated as a cornerback in Yahoo.
Deommodore Lenoir (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside corner.
Renardo Green (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside corner.
Upton Stout (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He played 55% of snaps last week, but those snaps were from the slot, which helps offset some of that bad playing time.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tykee Smith (S/CB): IDEAL if your league of record has him incorrectly designated a cornerback. He has excellent utilization and is extremely productive.
Jamel Dean/Kindle Vildor (CB): Dean was inactive last week, but would be SOLID if he can play. Vildor was his apparent replacement, but only played 55% of snaps as an outside corner; we’re not interested in that (SIT Vildor). Beyond that, I’m pretty sure it was Benjamin Morrison as the Jamel Dean replacement in Week 4, so if it’s not Dean, it’s in flux and not safe.
Zyon McCollum (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside cornerback.
Jacob Parrish (CB): SOLID. He saw a bump up to 96% of snaps without Dean playing last week, and he was deployed in the slot and box quite a bit. That playing time will dip with Dean back would by my guess, but his utilization remains excellent.
Bengals at Packers
Outlook: The early total for this matchup sits at 44 points with Green Bay favored by two touchdowns at home. It will be “deeper leagues only” for our Green Bay corners, as anyone with eyeballs has seen what this Cincy passing attack has turned into now that Burrow is gone. It’s a shell of what it once was, and I don’t see that improving against this excellent Green Bay defense. Even with Flacco now coming over, that shouldn’t move the needle much.
For the reverse, medium to deeper leagues should be about right against this 8th-best Green Bay passing attack (at the time of writing), but it is only the 28th-best in the league for wide receiver targets, which is the more important factor, unfortunately for our Cincy corners.
Cincinnati Bengals
Dax Hill (CB): IDEAL. He played 100% of snaps last week and lined up in the slot and box for the majority of his snaps. His utilization remains excellent; the matchup itself, so-so.
DJ Turner (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week and was deployed as an outside cornerback.
Cam Taylor Britt/Josh Newton (CB): SIT them both. They played just 35% and 4% of snaps, respectively, last week. Britt could be ramping back up after an injury, but with this matchup, it’s not worth the risk.
Green Bay Packers
Keisean Nixon (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps the last time we saw him as an outside cornerback.
Javon Bullard (S/CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only. He was down to 65% of snaps the last time we saw him, but had excellent utilization.
Nate Hobbs (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only; he played 67% of snaps as an outside corner the last time we saw him, but his playing time was also ramping up after a recent injury.
Carrington Valentine (CB): SIT. He only played 34% of snaps the last time we saw him.
Lions at Chiefs
Outlook: The early total for this possible Super Bowl preview sits at a massive 48.5 points with Kansas City favored by 1.5 points at home. Both passing attacks are either within the top ten for yards per game or just outside it. Kansas City is the 9th best team for targeting their wide receivers, while Detroit is in the middle of the pack. All signs point to a shootout and a back-and-forth affair; we can fire up everyone with a pulse for this one!
Detroit Lions
Amik Robertson (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week as an outside corner but also had a nice chunk of slot snaps.
Terrion Arnold (CB): SIT. He played 77% of snaps last week, then suffered a significant shoulder injury and is heading for IR. His replacement is not known yet. We need to see a week of this cornerback corps missing all these guys to get a feel for what it looks like. Any guesses currently could be wrong and result in a surprise zero.
All others (CB): SIT. With DJ Reed now on IR, it was a mess beyond the two other “normal starters” for Detroit last week. Rock Ya Sin may have some value in very deep leagues, but I wouldn’t trust it. I would guess we’ll get a free agent signing or two at corner for Detroit this week, but any guesses on who they’re rolling out beyond Amik could result in me guessing wrong and you getting a zero, so I’ll be avoiding that.
Kansas City Chiefs
Chamarri Conner (S/CB): IDEAL, if he’s designated a corner in your league of merit. He played 100% of snaps last week and lined up all over the place, mostly in the slot.
Trent McDuffie (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week as an outside corner.
Jaylen Watson (CB): SOLID. He played 96% of snaps last week as an outside corner.
Bills at Falcons
Outlook: The early total for this matchup sits at a ridiculous 50.5 points with Buffalo favored by 5.5 points on the road. These teams are the 6th and 9th-ranked passing attacks in yards per game, respectively. Nice. Atlanta is within the top third of the league for wide receiver targets, while Buffalo is among the middle of the pack. This also appears to be the recipe for a shootout, and as long as the Atlanta wide receiver targets hold, we should be able to start the usual suspects here in leagues of all sizes.
Buffalo Bills
Tre’Davious White/Maxwell Hairston (CB): White would be SOLID if we get another week of Hairston being inactive; he played 98% of snaps at outside corner last week. However, when Hairston is declared healthy and starts ramping up snaps, this is his cornerback slot at some point. I would SIT Hairston in his first game ever if he is declared healthy this week. We’ll wait for the snaps to get there first.
Christian Benford (CB): SOLID, he played 98% of snaps last week as an outside cornerback.
Taron Johnson (CB): SOLID. He played 65% of snaps last week, but his utilization was excellent with plenty of slot and box snaps. It appears his playing time is going to fluctuate depending on the offensive tendencies of opposing offenses, as we’ve seen his playing time be anywhere from 66% of snaps to 93% of snaps. Without working for the Bills, I doubt we’ll know if he’s going to play a ton each week until it’s all said and done. The days of calling him IDEAL appear to be over.
Brandon Codrington (CB): SIT. He was returning kicks until this recent injury that forced him to miss the last two games. It is unknown if he’ll maintain that role upon his return. It’s a wait-and-see first.
Atlanta Falcons
Mike Hughes (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps as an outside cornerback the last time we saw him.
AJ Terrell/Dee Alford (CB): Terrell was inactive the last time Atlanta played. He may be healthy enough from his hamstring injury to play this week, and if that’s the case, then he would be SOLID. If Terrell is inactive again, then Alford would replace him, and would also be SOLID.
Billy Bowman Jr (S/CB): SOLID. He played 86% of snaps the last time we saw him and is lining up in the slot and box exclusively.
Bears at Commanders
Outlook: The early total for the second of two Monday night football games this week sits at a whopping 50.5 points, with Washington favored by 5 points on the road. Chicago is in the top third of the league for passing yards per game, while Washington is within the middle of the pack. Chicago is a top ten team for wide receiver targets, while Washington is just outside the top-third of the league.
We’ve got another shootout on paper, and can fire up all our normal cornerback options in leagues of all sizes.
Chicago Bears
Tyrique Stevenson (CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps the last time we saw him and was deployed as an outside corner.
Nahshon Wright (CB): With Jaylon Johnson still on IR, it was Wright once again in Week 4 (bye last week). He played 98% of snaps the last time we saw him as an outside corner and would be SOLID this week.
Kyler Gordon/Nick McCloud (CB): Kyler Gordon remained inactive in Week 4; McCloud replaced him once more to the tune of 96% of snaps, most of those from the slot. Gordon would be SOLID if he can play after the bye week to get healthy, and McCloud would be SOLID, deeper leagues only, if Gordon is inactive again this week.
Washington Commanders
Quan Martin (S/CB): SOLID. He played 100% of snaps last week as a (mostly) deep safety that is incorrectly designated a cornerback in Yahoo.
Marshon Lattimore (CB): SOLID. He played 98% of snaps last week as an outside cornerback.
Mike Sainristil (CB): IDEAL. He played 82% of snaps last week, most of them from the slot or box, and smashed his projection once again. He has ideal utilization and a spectacular matchup this week. He may have even gotten some rest at the end of last week’s game, as he is typically over 90% of snaps played each week.
Trey Amos (CB): SOLID. He played 97% of snaps last week as an outside cornerback.
Byes this week: Texans, Vikings
My Favorite Matchups, Week 6:
New York (Jets) corners VS Denver
Baltimore corners VS Los Angeles (Rams)
Carolina corners VS Dallas
Seahawks VS Jaguars, either side
Miami corners VS Los Angeles (Chargers)
San Francisco corners VS Tampa Bay
Lions VS Chiefs, either side
Washington corners VS Chicago
Week 6 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
Quentin Lake, Marlon Humphrey (if healthy)
Devon Witherspoon (if healthy), Travis Hunter
Marcus Jones (if your league has return yards), Alontae Taylor
Marques Sigle (demote to solid if Mustapha is playing), Tykee Smith
Dax Hill
Chamarri Conner
Mike Sainristil
SOLID (matchup or playing time isn’t perfect, best in medium to deeper leagues):
Quinyon Mitchell, Cor’Dale Flott, Andru Phillips, Paulson Adebo
Patrick Surtain, Riley Moss, JaQuan McMillian, Sauce Gardner, Brandon Stephens
Cobie Durant, Darious Williams, Nate Wiggins, Keyon Martin (if Humphrey is inactive), Chidobe Awuzie/TJ Tampa
Trevon Diggs, DaRon Bland, Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson, Chau Smith Wade/Corey Thornton
Max Melton, Will Johnson, Kei’Trel Clark, Kenny Moore, Mekhi Blackmon, Chavarious Ward
Josh Jobe, Tariq Woolen/Nehemiah Pritchett, Jourdan Lewis
Tarheeb Still, Cam Hart, Rasul Douglas (if Duck is inactive), Jack Jones
Myles Harden, Denzel Ward, Jalen Ramsey, Darius Slay, Brandin Echols (if Porter is inactive)
Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis, Koolaid McKinstry
L’Jarius Sneed, Jaylyn Armor Davis, Roger McCreary, Eric Stokes/Darien Porter, Kelly Kyu Blu
Deommodore Lenoir, Renardo Green, Upton Stout, Jamel Dean, Zyon McCollum, Jacob Parrish
Keisean Nixon, DJ Turner, Javon Bullard, Nate Hobbs
Amik Robertson, Trent McDuffie, Jaylen Watson
Tre White (if Hairston is inactive), Christian Benford, Taron Johnson, AJ Terrell/Dee Alford, Mike Hughes, Billy Bowman
Tyrique Stevenson, Nahshon Wright, Kyler Gordon/Nick McCloud, Quan Martin, Marshon Lattimore, Trey Amos
TRAPS (sit these players):
Kelee Ringo, Adoree Jackson, Deonte Banks
Jahdae Barron, Jarvis Brownlee, Michael Carter
Emmanuel Forbes, Jaire Alexander
Reddy Steward, Kair Elam
Xavien Howard, Mike Hilton, Chris Lammons
Derion Kendrick
Donte Jackson, Benjamin St-Juste, Storm Duck
Joey Porter Jr
Quincy Riley
Kindle Vildor, Benjamin Morrison
Cam Taylor Britt, Josh Newton, Carrington Valentine
Terrion Arnold, DJ Reed, Nohl Williams
Maxwell Hairston, Brandon Codrington
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!