Johny The Greek's Cornerback Corner: Week 9
What are the best CB options for IDP fantasy football leagues in Week 9?
Welcome back to the Cornerback Corner! As is tradition, we’ll start with some transparency and get right into this week’s calls.
Last week, I made 85 calls for leagues of all shapes and sizes. Of those 85 calls, 9 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 76 adjusted calls.
Of those, 62 were correct (matched, beat, or were within a slim margin of their projection on Yahoo and MFL), and 14 were incorrect (didn’t match or beat projection and weren’t even close), giving us 81% accuracy for Week 8.
Of those 62 correct calls, 27 were “massive hits” (doubled, tripled, or more, their projection), giving us a 43% massive hit rate on correct calls for Week 8.
We are 76% accurate overall for the season, with 44% of all correct calls ending up as “massive hits.”
Week 1: 78% accuracy, 34% massive hit rate
Week 2: 71% accuracy, 43% massive hit rate
Week 3: 76% accuracy, 50% massive hit rate
Week 4: 66% accuracy, 53% massive hit rate
Week 5: 89% accuracy, 40% massive hit rate
Week 6: 80% accuracy, 40% massive hit rate
Week 7: 70% accuracy, 52% massive hit rate
Week 8: 81% accuracy, 43% massive hit rate
Please see THIS or THIS if you need a primer in cornerback streaming or what’s being discussed in this article (for new readers).
Also, we’re getting to “inception levels” of backup cornerbacks, backups for the backups for the backups, etc. I’ll do what I can to make sure we know the best “backup option” for each cornerback slot each week, but in general, unless that backup corner is in an ideal matchup I would just skip it.
We’ll remove any unnecessary risk we can by taking this approach, because even if we have seen it before it’s not a “guarantee” that these teams will keep the same backup corner roles/responsibilities in place week to week.
You guys know the drill by now if you’ve read this thing more than once, it’s always STARTER/BACKUP/BACKUP in “depth chart/what we’ve seen” order when I list the corners out each week.
Texans at Jets
Outlook: We’ve got an acceptable 43 points for the early over under here with just a one-point spread. Houston is a top-ten passing offense while New York is in the league’s top third. Both teams are within the top ten for targeting their wide receivers. We can fire up the normal options in this one and feel pretty good about it, and our New York corners are in a slightly better position to produce overall.
Houston Texans
Derek Stingley (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week.
Kamari Lassiter (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week.
No other significant CB options
New York Jets
DJ Reed (CB): IDEAL, he played 99% of snaps last week.
Sauce Gardner (CB): SOLID, he played 99% of snaps last week.
Michael Carter (CB): SOLID, much deeper leagues, he played 55% of snaps last week.
Jalen Mills/Isaiah Oliver (CB/S): With Tony Adams and Ashtyn Davis both inactive last week we got a pair of players that are designated as corners in some places serving as their direct replacements at safety. Oliver and Mills both played every snap or close to it (99% for Oliver). On paper (depth chart) it says that Mills is the Tony Adams replacement and Oliver is the Ashtyn Davis replacement. If we run into a similar situation this week there’s a chance we get a cornerback playing safety (cheat code) but it’s very risky. I’m not making any recommendations here, just including the information, if you need a Hail Mary kill shot and Davis or Adams is out again this may fit that need.
Cowboys at Falcons
Outlook: This is a likely shootout, with the early total at 48.5 points and Atlanta only favored by two. Both passing offenses are within the top ten overall. Both teams are also within the top ten for targeting their wide receivers. We’ve got a beautiful setup to start our normal cornerback options in this matchup. This is one of the best matchups of the week to target (on paper).
Dallas Cowboys
Trevon Diggs (CB): IDEAL, he played 99% of snaps last week.
Jourdan Lewis (CB): SOLID, he played 96% of snaps last week.
DaRon Bland (CB): All signs were pointing towards Bland getting his first start of the season last week, but he remained inactive. He reportedly suffered a setback in practice recently that may delay his return from IR. We’ll see what happens this week and readjust accordingly. If he can’t go then it’s Caelan Carson, but since he’s injured as well I would just skip this slot for now.
Caelan Carson/Amani Oruwariye (CB): Carson, who would have been a starter with Bland inactive last week, was also inactive. That left us with Oruwariye who only played 38% of snaps himself. If it’s not Bland I would just skip it for now, too much uncertainty which increases the likelihood that I guess wrong and we start someone who doesn’t end up playing.
Atlanta Falcons
AJ Terrell (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week.
Mike Hughes (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues, he played 78% of snaps last week.
Dee Alford (CB): IDEAL, he played 95% of snaps last week.
Broncos at Ravens
Outlook: The early over-under for this one sits at 43.5 points with Baltimore favored by 9.5 points. Baltimore is a top-ten passing attack while Denver is not (within the worst third of the league). Baltimore is within the worst third of the league for targeting their wide receivers while Denver is within the middle of the pack. Baltimore tends to target their tight ends and running backs out of the backfield more than their wide receivers, where it’s some Zay Flowers and a smattering of Rashod Bateman & company. The trade for Diontae Johnson should help with this going forward but probably not much for this week.
It will be “deeper leagues only” for our cornerback options with this particular setup, and while Bo Nix has been solid lately this Baltimore defense (coming off a loss) may have him all bent out of shape this week.
Denver Broncos
Patrick Surtain (CB): SOLID, he played 84% of snaps last week and then sat due to the blowout.
Riley Moss (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week.
JaQuan McMillian (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues, he played 79% of snaps last week.
Baltimore Ravens
Marlon Humphrey (CB): SOLID, if healthy, he was inactive last week with a knee injury but would play every snap or close to it if he can play this week.
Brandon Stephens (CB/S): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week.
Nate Wiggins (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only, he was also inactive last week but would play around 70-80% of snaps if healthy this week.
Jalyn Armour-Davis (CB): SIT, with Humphrey and Wiggins both out last week we saw Davis as the next man up, he played 100% of snaps. If we run into the same scenario this week (Humphrey & Wiggins out) then he would be an option, but not one we need to pursue in this particular matchup.
Dolphins at Bills
Outlook: We’ve got an excellent 48 points for the early total in this one with Buffalo favored by almost a touchdown. The Miami passing attack is not ranked well at all but looked much better with Tua under center last week, and we know they’ll continue to target their wide receivers more often with him back in the saddle. Our Buffalo corners will have some nice value this week, they can be started in leagues of all sizes.
Buffalo is within the middle of the pack for their passing offense and targets their wider receivers within the worst third of the league overall. We have seen some improvement in that department in the last two games and we know Amari Cooper will demand some targets, it’s not perfect though. “Medium to deeper leagues” for our Miami corners is the call.
Miami Dolphins
Jalen Ramsey (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week.
Kendall Fuller (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week.
Kader Kohou/Storm Duck/Cam Smith (CB): Kohou was inactive last week, as was Storm Duck, who we’ve seen as a replacement corner earlier this season. The next man up was Cam Smith, and it’s so far into the “inception levels” of injuries we’d need to see again in the same setup next week that we can just skip it. If it’s not Kohou, who should play around 70% of snaps, then we SIT everyone else.
Buffalo Bills
Taron Johnson (CB): IDEAL, he played 94% of snaps last week.
Rasul Douglas (CB): SOLID, he played 94% of snaps last week.
Christian Benford (CB): SOLID, he played 94% of snaps last week.
Saints at Panthers
Outlook: The early total for this one sits at 46 points with New Orleans favored by almost a touchdown. Both passing attacks are ranked within the worst third of the league overall. Carolina is within the top third of the league for targeting their wide receivers while New Orleans is within the middle of the pack. Even when we had Carr under center he wasn’t completing many passes per game so that doesn’t move the needle much for me. It will be “deeper leagues only” across the board here, except for Alontae Taylor, who can blow up any given week.
New Orleans Saints
Alontae Taylor (CB): IDEAL, he played 97% of snaps last week and has been a splash play machine all season long.
Koolaid McKinstry (CB): SOLID, he played 74% of snaps last week and then sat due to the blowout.
Marshon Lattimore (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only, he played 65% of snaps last week and then sat due to the blowout. He could also easily be the corner that sees the fewest weekly snaps here in New Orleans going forward plus he’s prone to injury.
Carolina Panthers
Jaycee Horn (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week.
Mike Jackson (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week.
Chau Smith-Wade (CB): SIT, he only played 58% of snaps last week and this matchup isn’t worth chasing.
Raiders at Bengals
Outlook: The early total here is 45 points with Cincy favored by 8.5 points. Cincy has a top-ten passing offense while Las Vegas most certainly does not, just middle of the pack for them and I think that’s generous. Both teams are within the middle of the pack for targeting their wide receivers. Our Las Vegas corners should be in a decent position to have a nice week but I’d be cautious of our Cincy options this week in this matchup (deeper leagues only for them).
Las Vegas Raiders
Nate Hobbs (CB): IDEAL, he played 90% of snaps last week and blew past his projection for the third week in a row.
Jakorian Bennett (CB): SOLID, he played 92% of snaps last week.
Jack Jones (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week.
Cincinnati Bengals
Cam Taylor Britt (CB): SOLID, he played 98% of snaps last week.
DJ Turner (CB): SOLID, he played 98% of snaps last week.
Mike Hilton (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only, he played 51% of snaps last week.
Chargers at Browns
Outlook: We’ve got a likely defensive struggle here with just 38.5 points for the early over/under and Los Angeles is favored by a field goal. Neither passing offense is ranked well at all, bottom third of the league for both but we all saw what Jameis Winston did last week so the rankings haven’t caught up to reality yet.
Cleveland is within the top ten for targeting their wide receivers while Los Angeles is within the worst third of the league for this ranking. Our LA corners should be in a decent setup this week but I’d demote our Cleveland corners to “medium to deeper leagues” against this run-first Chargers team.
Los Angeles Chargers
Cam Hart (CB): SOLID, only if Samuel is out again, SIT otherwise. He played 99% of snaps last week but that playing time could and should disappear when Samuel returns from the short-term IR.
Elijah Molden (CB/S): SOLID, deeper leagues only, he played 86% of snaps last week and has maintained some kind of role despite all the other movement around him in this cornerback corps.
Tarheeb Still/Ja’Sir Taylor (CB): Despite most depth charts claiming this role is Taylor’s, it was Still who saw 70% of snaps last week. SIT them both while this thing plays out, we’ll readjust after the dust settles.
Kristian Fulton (CB): SIT, despite being healthy this week he only played 52% of snaps, it appears there’s a shakeup occurring in the Los Angeles cornerback corps. We’ll keep an eye on it and adjust as needed.
Asante Samuel Jr (CB): Samuel remains on IR at the time of writing but could return as soon as this week, if he can play then he immediately displaces Cam Hart back to the bench. I would SIT him regardless, elevated reinjury risk plus the likelihood they would “ease him back” into the lineup being the main factors.
Cleveland Browns
Denzel Ward/Cameron Mitchell (CB): Ward suffered the 6th concussion of his career last week. The odds of us seeing him this week are almost zero, and there are concerns for his overall career at this point. Cameron Mitchell appeared to be the direct replacement, and we have seen that before. If Ward is inactive then Mitchell would be SOLID, deeper leagues only. If Ward is healthy I would SIT him due to elevated reinjury risk and a bad matchup to start with.
Greg Newsome (CB): SOLID, he played 79% of snaps last week.
Martin Emerson (CB): SOLID, he played 78% of snaps last week.
Commanders at Giants
Outlook: We’ve got an acceptable 44 points for the early total here with Washington favored by a field goal. Both passing attacks are within the middle of the pack overall. New York targets their wide receivers, mostly Malik Nabers, a ton (second most in the league) so our Washington corners should have some nice value. Washington is within the middle of the pack for targeting their wide receivers and is a mostly balanced offense so that tracks. It will be “medium to deeper leagues” for our New York corners in this matchup.
Washington Commanders
Benjamin St Juste (CB): SOLID, he played 98% of snaps last week.
Mike Sainristil (CB): SOLID, he played 94% of snaps last week.
Quan Martin (CB/S): SOLID, he played 84% of snaps last week.
Noah Igbinoghene/Emmanuel Forbes (CB): We saw more of the same last week, the week prior it was Forbes with a ton of snaps while last week it was Igbinoghene. We haven’t had any consistency in this slot for snaps week to week so we’ll continue to SIT them both until it settles down.
New York Giants
Deonte Banks (CB): SIT, he was benched after 41% of snaps last week, and while the coaching staff has said that he remains a starter, we should give it a week to make sure that’s the case.
Cor’Dale Flott/Nick McCloud (CB): With Flott inactive last week, McCloud played 76% of snaps as his replacement. If Flott is out again this week, McCloud is an option as a deep league play; otherwise, Flott would be SOLID. McCloud only has value if Flott is inactive.
Andru Phillips (CB): SOLID, he played 85% of snaps last week.
Greg Stroman (CB): With banks benched mid-game, Stroman picked up the slack and played 58% of snaps. SIT him this week while we see how this all plays out.
Patriots at Titans
Outlook: It’s looking like a defensive struggle with the early total here sitting at just 38.5 points with Tennessee favored by 3 points. If Jacoby Brisset is back under center for New England it will be “deeper leagues only” for our Tennessee options, we’ve seen that movie before. If Drake Maye can play we can promote them slightly to “medium to deeper leagues.”
Tennessee is just as bad, they are the worst passing attack in the league and only target their wide receivers within the worst third of the league. It could be a slow day for Christian Gonzalez and our New England options, who only make sense in deeper leagues this week.
New England Patriots
Christian Gonzalez (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week.
Jonathan Jones/Marco Wilson (CB): SIT them both, Jonathan Jones lost snaps to Marco Wilson last week (no injury noted) and the shenanigans we saw with Marcus Jones and Marco Wilson have just shifted to the “other” Jones on this roster. We’ll see what happens and readjust afterward.
Marcus Jones (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week and appears to have completely solidified a starting role, it’s the “other” Jones that is in danger now.
Tennessee Titans
L’Jarius Sneed/Darrell Baker Jr (CB): Sneed was inactive again last week and we saw Baker Jr as his replacement playing 100% of snaps. If Sneed is healthy then he would be SOLID and should play every snap, if he’s inactive again then I would SIT Baker Jr due to the matchup, one that we don’t need to chase, to begin with, and the fact that he’s not L’Jarius Sneed (who is talented enough to overcome bad matchups from time to time).
Jarvis Brownlee/Chidobe Awuzie (CB): Awuzie is still on IR at the time of writing, if he’s healthy for this game I would SIT him in his first game back from a multiple-week injury (reinjury risk elevated). If Awuzie is inactive again then Brownlee becomes an option, one that would only make sense in much deeper leagues due to the matchup, he played 96% of snaps last week.
Roger McCreary (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only, he played 65% of snaps last week.
Bears at Cardinals
Outlook: The early total for this one sits at a nice 46 points with only a one-point spread, that’s about as good as it gets for that portion of the “setup” but is also the end of the good news. Chicago is within the middle of the pack for their passing offense while Arizona is within the worst third of the league for this ranking. Both teams are within the worst third of the league for targeting their wide receivers. It will be “deeper leagues only” for all our cornerback options across the board in this one, unfortunately.
Chicago Bears
Tyrique Stevenson (CB): SOLID, he played 85% of snaps last week. Update: SIT Stevenson this week, he will be inactive and benched for the game due to last weeks actions during the Hail Mary.
Jaylon Johnson (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week.
Kyler Gordon/Josh Blackwell (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only, Gordon would play around 70% of snaps if healthy, and if he’s inactive then Blackwell becomes an option and he played 70% of snaps last week replacing Gordon who was inactive.
Arizona Cardinals
Sean Murphy Bunting/Max Melton (CB): SOLID, Bunting would play every snap or close to it if healthy this week. He was inactive last week and we saw Melton as his direct replacement, Melton played 100% of snaps. If Bunting is inactive again then Melton becomes an option, if Bunting is healthy then SIT Melton.
Starling Thomas (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week.
Garrett Williams (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only, he played 86% of snaps last week.
Jaguars at Eagles
Outlook: The early total here is sitting at 47.5 points with Philly favored by a touchdown. Both passing attacks are within the middle of the pack for yards per game. Jacksonville is among the middle of the pack for wide receiver targets while Philly is still within the worst third of the league, but that ranking is improving as they stack weeks of “healthy” AJ Brown and Devonta Smith. That ranking has been significantly downgraded by almost two full weeks of them missing completely and very few wide receiver targets during that time. In general, we can fire up the normal options here in medium to deeper leagues and feel pretty good about it.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Tyson Campbell (CB): SOLID, he played 99% of snaps last week and has completely regained his starting slot and playing time after returning from IR.
Montaric Brown (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only, he played 64% of snaps last week and seems to have parlayed his work filling in for the previously injured Campbell into some kind of starting role for this cornerback corps. It’s just not a full-time role, yet anyway.
Ronald Darby/Jarrian Jones (CB): Darby was injured after only 13% of snaps last week, it appears that Jones was his direct replacement as we’ve already seen that Montaric Brown has earned himself a role after filling in for Campbell for many weeks earlier this season. I would SIT them both for now, there’s some obvious fluctuation going on here in this cornerback corps/secondary in general. Campbell is safe, Brown should be safe, I can’t say that for anyone else here at the moment.
Darnell Savage (CB/S): SOLID, he played 97% of snaps last week and is playing the safety role while designated a cornerback in places like Yahoo among others. This is normally a cheat code but his production has been iffy so far since this occurred. We’ll keep an eye on it though.
Philadelphia Eagles
Darius Slay/Isaiah Rogers (CB): Slay exited with a groin injury after 71% of snaps last week and Rogers appears to have been his direct replacement. Slay would be SOLID and should play most snaps if healthy, if he’s inactive then SIT Rogers, we don’t need to chase it in this particular matchup.
Quinyon Mitchell (CB): SOLID, he played 95% of snaps last week.
Cooper DeJean (CB/S): SOLID, he played 81% of snaps last week.
Lions at Packers
Outlook: We’ve got a massive 50.5 points for the early over/under here with only a one-point spread, that’s perfect. Both passing attacks are within the top ten overall. Green Bay is within the top third of the league for targeting their wide receivers while Detroit is within the middle of the pack overall.
With the power of these two offenses, I think we can fire up everyone with a pulse and we’re in a good position for excellent cornerback production. Just make sure it’s not snowing in Green Bay before kickoff, we’re getting to the time of the year where that’s becoming a concern.
Keep an eye on the health of Jordan Love here as well, if he can’t play this week then we’d need to demote our Lions options to “deeper leagues only” against Malik Willis.
Detroit Lions
Carlton Davis (CB): SOLID, he played 78% of snaps and then sat due to the blowout last week.
Terrion Arnold (CB): SOLID, he played 74% of snaps and then sat due to the blowout last week.
Brian Branch (CB/S): IDEAL, he played 78% of snaps and then sat due to the blowout last week.
Amik Robertson (CB): SIT, he played 37% of snaps last week.
Green Bay Packers
Jaire Alexander (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week and dodged a bullet with the MRI on his knee as well, no concerns, and he only has “general soreness” to contend with this week.
Keisean Nixon (CB): SOLID, he played 98% of snaps last week.
No significant third CB option currently, they’re using safeties such as Javon Bullard and Evan Williams to play some corner and I have yet to find a site where they’re designated as such.
Rams at Seahawks
Outlook: This divisional matchup has an early total of 47.5 points with Seattle favored by a field goal. Seattle was the best passing attack in the league until running into that Buffalo buzzsaw last week while Los Angeles is within the middle of the pack (but much better with Puka and Cooper back). Both teams are within the top ten for wide receiver targets. We can fire up all our normal options here and they’re in a very nice setup overall with this matchup. This matchup and the Dallas/Atlanta game are the two best setups on paper this week to this point.
Los Angeles Rams
Darious Williams (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week and beat out his projection, it’s just shy of IDEAL if I’m being honest.
Cobie Durant (CB): SOLID, he played 98% of snaps last week.
No significant third CB option currently
Seattle Seahawks
Devon Witherspoon (CB): IDEAL, he played 91% of snaps last week.
Tariq Woolen (CB): SOLID, he played 91% of snaps last week.
Tre Brown/Josh Jobe (CB): Brown was considered “healthy” last week but didn’t play at all, Josh Jobe was his replacement and saw 67% of snaps. There is some fluctuation happening here with this cornerback slot, SIT them both for now and we’ll readjust after it settles down. That's the official call anyway, Jobe has certainly been hot so I wouldn't fault anyone for riding the hot hand here, it could just as easily end up being a zero though. If Jobe has truly displaced Brown we’ll know soon enough, no need to risk it in the meantime.
Coby Bryant (S/CB): I totally missed this one, he's a safety on MFL but a corner in Yahoo and is actually a starting safety at the moment in place of Rayshawn Jenkins, fire up this cheat code in Yahoo if you can or anywhere else he's incorrectly designated!
Colts at Vikings
Outlook: We’ve got 45.5 points for the early over/under here with Minnesota favored by a touchdown. Our Minnesota corners will have little to no value if Anthony Richardson starts, he’s completing fewer than ten passes per game. If Flacco gets the start then promote them to “medium to deeper leagues.” Our Indianapolis corners will be in a nice position against this Minnesota passing attack that is within the middle of the pack and targets their wide receivers the same.
The only possible issue is that Minnesota may establish a quick early lead and take their foot off the gas as we’ve seen multiple times this season when they play an inferior opponent. The Indianapolis tendency to go three and out a ton and their “worst in the league” time of possession ranking may offset that factor though, our Colts corners should be good to go we just had some twists and turns getting there.
UPDATE, Flacco is getting the start this week. Promote our Minnesota corners to “medium to deeper leagues” and fire up your Josh Downs and Michael Pittman shares!
Indianapolis Colts
Kenny Moore (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week and can be a week-winner on any given Sunday.
Jaylon Jones (CB): IDEAL, he played 100% of snaps last week and has smashed his projection every week this season so far.
Samuel Womack (CB): SOLID, deeper leagues only, he played 56% of snaps last week.
Minnesota Vikings
Byron Murphy (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week.
Stephon Gilmore (CB): SOLID, he played 93% of snaps last week.
Shaq Griffin (CB): SIT, he played 35% of snaps last week.
Josh Metellus (CB/S): SOLID, he played 85% of snaps last week.
Bucs at Chiefs
Outlook: The early over/under for this one sits at 44 points with Kansas City favored by 9. Tampa Bay is a top-ten passing attack while Kansas City is within the top third of the league. Tampa Bay was within the top ten for targeting their wide receivers but that ship has sailed with Godwin done for the season and Mike Evans out another three weeks at the minimum. Kansas City is the worst team in the entire league for targeting their wide receivers. It will be “deeper leagues only” across the board here as surprising as that is to type, the stats don’t lie! What once would have been an ideal matchup has now been massacred by the injury grim reaper.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Zyon McCollum (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week.
Jamel Dean (CB): SIT, on IR still at the time of writing. Even if he can come back this week the matchup isn’t great at all and there will be elevated reinjury risk, I’d just skip it and look elsewhere.
Tyrek Funderburk/all others (CB): SIT, Funderburk, who has been the preferred replacement at cornerback for Dean, only played 47% of snaps last week and isn’t injured that I saw. There’s some fluctuation and “experimentation” happening here to try and cover up the loss of Dean, and that means it’s unpredictable at the moment. So to spare us all some pain from me guessing wrong and you getting a zero we’re instead going to just skip it.
Kansas City Chiefs
Trent McDuffie (CB): SOLID, he played 100% of snaps last week.
Chammari Conner (CB): SOLID, much deeper leagues only, massively risky. He played just 47% of snaps last week and we’ve seen his playing time fluctuate massively overall. It could line up right for us to have a huge week from him, but the odds are against it. I’d skip it and look elsewhere if it were my team.
Joshua Williams/Chris Roland-Wallace/Nazeeh Johnson (CB): SIT, Williams was in for 67% of snaps but we’ve never seen him before. Roland-Wallace was in for 53% of snaps while Johnson was in for 31% of snaps. It’s a freaking mess right now beyond McDuffie. Much like Tampa Bay, the Chiefs are running experiments to see what their best cornerback lineup looks like in “Life After Jaylon Watson.” We’ll sit this one out and readjust after it settles down and we know who the other “full-time” starting corner on the other side of McDuffie is for sure.
Byes this week: Steelers, 49ers
Week 9 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 and then the best options within those matchups to find my favorite streaming options each week. I want to help you learn to fish, not just give everyone a fish. Good luck this week!
*If you see player/player that means starter/direct replacement*
IDEAL (our best options):
DJ Reed
Trevon Diggs, Dee Alford
Taron Johnson
Alontae Taylor
Nate Hobbs
Brian Branch
Devon Witherspoon
Jaylon Jones
SOLID (matchup or playing time isn’t perfect, best in deeper leagues):
Derek Stingley, Kamari Lassiter, Sauce Gardner, Michael Carter
Jourdan Lewis, AJ Terrell, Mike Hughes
Marlon Humphrey, Brandon Stephens, Nate Wiggins, Patrick Surtain, Riley Moss, JaQuan McMillian
Rasul Douglas, Christian Benford, Jalen Ramsey, Kendall Fuller, Kader Kohou
Jaycee Horn, Mike Jackson, Marshon Lattimore, Koolaid McKinstry
Jakorian Bennett, Jack Jones, Cam Taylor Britt, DJ Turner, Mike Hilton
Cam Hart, Elijah Molden, Greg Newsome, Martin Emerson, Cameron Mitchell (if Ward is inactive)
Benjamin St Juste, Mike Sainristil, Quan Martin, Cor’Dale Flott/Nick McCloud, Andru Phillips
Christian Gonzalez, Marcus Jones, L’Jarius Sneed, Chidobe Awuzie/Jarvis Brownlee, Roger McCreary
Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon/Josh Blackwell, Sean Murphy Bunting/Max Melton, Starling Thomas, Garrett Williams
Darnell Savage, Tyson Campbell, Montaric Brown, Darius Slay, Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean
Carlton Davis, Terrion Arnold, Jaire Alexander, Keisean Nixon
Darious Williams, Cobie Durant, Tariq Woolen
Kenny Moore, Samuel Womack, Stephon Gilmore, Byron Murphy, Josh Metellus
Zyon McCollum, Trent McDuffie, Chammari Conner
TRAPS (sit these players):
Jalyn Armour-Davis
Storm Duck, Cam Smith
Chau Smith-Wade
Tarheeb Still, Kristian Fulton, Ja’Sir Taylor, Asante Samuel Jr, Denzel Ward
Noah Igbinoghene, Emmanuel Forbes, Deonte Banks, Greg Stroman
Jonathan Jones, Marco Wilson, Darrell Baker Jr
Ronald Darby, Jarrian Jones, Isaiah Rogers
Amik Robertson
Tre Brown, Josh Jobe (see matchup section if confused as to why)
Shaq Griffin
Jamel Dean, Tyrek Funderburk, Jaylon Watson, Joshua Williams, Nazeeh Johnson, Chris Roland-Wallace
Tyrique Stevenson
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!