It’s Thanksgiving week and we unfortunately had a lot of the top-tier cornerbacks play on Thursday. That leaves us with a somewhat shallow player pool to choose from this week, though it helps that there are no more bye weeks. If there are players you’re concerned about who aren’t on this list, I’d direct you to The Primer, a 20,000-word article that covers every fantasy relevant player from every game. You can find that right here.

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If this is your first time here, what we do is go through the entire slate of wide receivers and discuss those who will be in well-above average matchups, as well as those who will be in tougher matchups than most. It’s important to remember that just because a player is going to be covered by one of the better cornerback, it doesn’t automatically mean you bench him, though there are some I’ll recommend a benching. It’s essentially just a reason to lower expectations and fade in DFS.

Matchups to Exploit

Antonio Brown vs. Davon House

I mean, every week is technically one to exploit Brown, but this one is particularly great against the Packers. On the stat sheet, it says that they allow the ninth-most fantasy points to wide receivers, but it’s actually worse than that. They’ve allowed 1.21 standard fantasy points per target to opposing wide receivers, which ranks as the fourth-worst, behind only the Texans, Dolphins, and Chiefs. House has only been targeted 32 times in coverage this year but has allowed 262 yards and three touchdowns on those targets. While the Jaguars collected defensive talent over the last few years, House was one they let go, and for good reason.

Julio Jones vs. Robert McClain

Any time you can get the 6-3, 220-pound Jones matched up with an aged veteran who stands 5-feet-9 inches tall, you want to take advantage of it. Just last week, he was dominated by Kenny Stills for 180 yards and a touchdown. While he didn’t allow all of that, he was the main culprit. In two games against a better Bucs secondary last year, Jones totaled 12 receptions for 177 yards and two touchdowns. This could be the performance to silence the haters.

Corey Davis vs. Pierre Desir

While Davis has been a disappointment since returning from injury, he’s played against the Ravens, Bengals, and Steelers, three of the better pass defenses in the league. This week is a bit different, as he’ll draw Desir in coverage, a former fourth-round pick who was forced into action after the Colts decided to cut Vontae Davis. On 89 career targets in coverage, he’s allowed over 15 yards per reception and has allowed a touchdown every 12.7 targets.

Jarvis Landry vs. Patriots slot cornerback (depending)

If you’ve watched the Patriots over the last few weeks, they’ve looked a lot better on defense. Why? It could be because they decided to go back into shadow coverage, something they weren’t doing at the start of the year. That means Landry will match-up with one of the slot cornerbacks (either Eric Rowe or Patrick Chung), who are the weak links in the secondary. Rowe has been out for a while and may not play, while Chung is well past his prime. In two matchups against the Patriots last year, Landry was able to post lines of 10/135/0 and 9/76/1.

Brandin Cooks vs. Xavien Howard

Yes, we were on Cooks last week, but there’s no reason not to be again in Week 12. The Dolphins secondary has allowed 12 passing scores over the last five weeks and Howard has been responsible for three of them over the last two weeks. He’s a slower cornerback who runs a 4.6-second 40-yard dash, which we know Cooks destroys. It’s starting to look like Chris Hogan will miss another game, giving Cooks a higher target ceiling.

Matchups to Worry About

Michael Crabtree vs. Aqib Talib

It hasn’t been the best year for the Raiders offense, who have scored just 22 total points against non-Dolphins opponents the last three weeks. Crabtree hasn’t scored since Week 7 and will match-up with Talib, the cornerback who shut him down in their two games last year. On 14 targets, Crabtree totaled just seven catches for 74 yards and no touchdowns in the two games combined. It does appear that Talib is trending in the wrong direction, but so is the Raiders offense. He’s got a shot at a touchdown against the team that has allowed the most passing touchdowns, but if he doesn’t score, he’ll bust.

Marqise Lee vs. Patrick Peterson

You already know that when you see Peterson on the schedule, it’s not going to be a fun day. Even DeAndre Hopkins had a bit of a struggle catching just four passes, though one was a touchdown. That was just the second touchdown that he’s allowed in coverage this year. Listen to this ridiculous stat line: 40 targets, 16 receptions, 250 yards, 2 touchdowns. He’s good. Lee is going to have a long day and should be looked at as a risky WR4.

Devin Funchess vs. Morris Claiborne

There are a lot of analysts out there who think Funchess has a great matchup because it’s the Jets, but I’d caution you against that. They have used Claiborne in shadow coverage this year and while he’s not Patrick Peterson, he’s well-equipped to handle Funchess. Claiborne struggles with faster wide receivers, while Funchess runs slower than most athletic tight ends. With Greg Olsen coming back to the lineup and Christian McCaffrey starting to play a bit better, Funchess is going to fall down the pecking order.

Nelson Agholor vs. Bryce Callahan

For whatever reason, nobody has given any credit to the Bears’ slot cornerbacks. Callahan has been one of the better ones in the league and even his replacement the last few weeks, Cre’Von LeBlanc, played well in his absence. He’s allowed two touchdowns in coverage this year, but both were in the same game to Packers wide receivers while Aaron Rodgers was still playing. Agholor would receive a slight boost if Callahan can’t play, but it’s still not a great matchup.

Robby Anderson vs. James Bradberry

It’s hard not to trust Anderson in fantasy lineups after he scored in four straight games leading into their bye week, but this is a brutal matchup for any wide receiver. Bradberry has shadowed some top wide receivers this year and it’s fair to say Anderson fits that title for the Jets. Large in part to Bradberry, the Panthers defense is the only one in the NFL who has yet to allow a top-12 wide receiver performance. It’s not to say you have to bench Anderson, but temper expectations this week.



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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.