Week 9 Notable WR/CB Matchups

Attempting to predict outcomes in the NFL can seem fairly easy when looking at it from a macro view. Anyone who follows the league can point out that one team may have a good offense and their opponent may have a bad defense, but if that's all there was to it, the exhilaration we feel from watching football every Sunday would cease to exist. When you zoom in on any game you’ll see the individual battles taking place all over the field. These are often where the real story is told, so let's dive into some of the Pro Football Focus data on matchups between Wide Receivers and Defensive Backs that could really tip the scales in Week Nine.

Golden Opportunity WR of the Week

Jaylen Waddle vs Chicago Bears

Everyone’s favorite wide receiver celebration looks like it will be hitting the windy city this Sunday as Jaylen Waddle is poised to light it up in Chicago. The 2nd year weapon out of Alabama is continuing the great start to his young career, rocking an 82.3 PFF receiving grade and a 122.8 passer rating for Tua when he is targeted. PFF projects Waddle will be guarded by Kyler Gordon in the slot for 20 snaps. Gordon currently has a 51.1 PFF grade. The difference in grading between Gordon and Waddle is the largest of any matchup with over 15 projected snaps. Jaylen Waddle spends nearly half of his time outside in the offensive left (defensive right) where Bears corner Jaylon Johnson spends most of the game. There isn't as large of a PFF grade discrepancy there (Johnson with a 70.2) but he is still allowing over one yard per target and is significantly slower than Waddle in straight-line speed. Get your penguins ready.

‘Better Luck Next Time’ WR of the Week

Drake London vs Los Angeles Chargers

Not every young buck has the same matchup luck as Waddle this week. Falcon’s first round pick Drake London may end up leaving some Atlanta fans upset. On its face, a matchup against the LA Chargers does not seem too bad for London. He has an 80.3 PFF grade which is a better grade than any of the Los Angeles corners and he has a size advantage on most of them. The disadvantage, however, is stylistic in nature. When running routes against man coverage, Drake London’s PFF grade drops almost 10 points and his yards per route run tumbles all the way to 1.03 from 2.24 against zone. Not only do the Chargers utilize man coverage at the highest rate in the league, London is projected to be covered by Asante Samuel Jr for over half his snaps, who has only allowed over 50 yards in coverage once since week two (54 yards allowed week 8). It is also always a question mark how many pass attempts we will see from Mariota on a week to week basis, making London even more risky.

Dogfight of the Week

Deandre Hopkins vs Tariq Woolen

Adam Bettcher/Getty Images

If there was one thing the collective football world was able to take away from week 8, it was that Deandre Hopkins did not lose any juice while serving his suspension. D-Hop came back with a bang and let everyone know about it afterwards, poking fun about his age on his twitter feed. In week 9, Tariq Woolen is aiming to quiet that narrative. Woolen is a familiar face to this series as he seemed like a pass-catcher's dream early on in the season. He struggled mightily for the first couple weeks but has since gotten hot and the 5th rounder has even entered himself into the Rookie of the Year conversation. A superstar like Hopkins may halt Woolen’s ascension but at 6’4” and 205lb with a 4.26s 40 yard dash, Woolen could easily be the freakiest athlete Hopkins runs routes against all season. These two are projected to battle for a whopping 35 snaps which is tied for 2nd most out of all individual matchups. Cardinal’s fans better hope D-Hop doesn’t end up as the next feather in Tariq Woolen’s cap.

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By Taren Caravella