My weekly matchup chart highlights the best positional matchups vs. the toughest. Translation: green is a good matchup for the position, red is bad, and yellow is neutral. This information is updated weekly based on fantasy points against (to date) and a few other factors and presented in no particular order per tier.
My Guys This Week
DJ Moore, Chicago Bears
If you throw last week out (Panthers), the Washington defense has given 22 points or more to WRs in six of seven games this year. And with Caleb Williams hitting his stride, that sets up this WR room for a big day. CW18 has done a good job in spreading the ball – Moore, Odunze, and Allen have all had ball games. But it’s Moore who is generally regarded as WR1 in this room – he leads the team in targets and receptions and is tied for the team lead in TDs (3). His route participation dipped below 90% for the second time this season, which I’m going to chalk up to the game script in London. He is Moore (see what I did there) of a hunch for me this week as I think that DJ matches up well with the Commanders secondary, who have given up the seventh most points per game to the position (36.5) in the NFL. Feels like a big game is on tap for Moore.
LANDOVER, MARYLAND – DECEMBER 03: Wide receiver Tyreek Hill #10 of the Miami Dolphins catches and runs for a touchdown pass in front of cornerback Kendall Fuller #29 of the Washington Commanders in the second half at FedExField on December 03, 2023 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins
Or Jaylen Waddle. Because this one is so easy, it feels lazy. This is your reminder that Tua will most likely be back this week. And I’m not gonna give you a bunch of metrics or snap counts to back this up – you know who this guy is. Tyreek is a game-changer with Tua at QB. Hell, it’s the reason he went in the top 3 of almost every draft. And he gets the Cardinals defense this week, which has been abundantly generous to WRs all season long, surrendering eight touchdowns through seven weeks. Targets, catches, and tuddys galore for Hill this week. And we will all rejoice and cross our fingers that Tua stays upright.
Honorable mention: Deebo Samuel (SF), Cooper Kupp (LAR), George Pickens (PIT)
My Fades This Week
LANDOVER, MARYLAND – OCTOBER 23: Terry McLaurin #17 of the Washington Commanders and Dax Milne #15 celebrate after a touchdown during the third quarter of the game against the Green Bay Packers at FedExField on October 23, 2022 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
Terry McLaurin, Washington Commanders
McLaurin has been phenomenal since Week 3, and has climbed to WR 12 on the season. Snap share, target share, and route participation are all elite, and he’s developed quite a rapport with Jayden Daniels. Two problems for me this week – Daniels might not play, and the Commanders draw the Bears defense. Maybe Mariota feeds McLaurin as Daniels did. Maybe. But part of me says McLaurin has been so good because Daniels is fantastic at improvising, which means maybe Terry is devalued a bit with QB2 on the field. Also, as I’ve mentioned here before, the Bears are pretty good (6th) against WRs. No knock on Terry, but he’s going to have some issues this week.
Diontae Johnson, Carolina Panthers
Diontae has been resurgent with Andy Dalton under center, to say the least, and went from a weekly “sit” to a weekly “context-dependent.” He’s a bit of both this week. He has elite route participation and target share, plus he’s 15th in the league in air yards, which speaks to opportunity. I just don’t like the matchup. It may sound like a broken record at this point, but Denver’s defense is pretty good (see Chubba sit recommendation). Denver gives up the third-fewest points per game to the WR position and have actually held their own while Patrick Surtain II has been out with a concussion. Surtain II looks like a pretty good bet to return this week, making the matchup much less enticing. Keep Johnson on the bench for this one, and thank me later.
Honorable mention: Michael Pitman Jr. (IND), Marvin Harrison Jr. (ARI), Ladd McConkey (LAC)