Wide Receiver Matchups to Target for Divisional Round: Amon-Ra St. Brown, Mike Evans, Romeo Doubs, Khalil Shakir

Welcome to WR Matchups to Target for the Divisional Round of the 2023 NFL season.

The Divisional Round is one of the best football weekends of the year, with the final eight teams vying for spots in the Conference Championships. This weekend’s four-game slate offers a few surefire receiver matchups near the top of the salary table along with some key players who can take advantage of matchup and/or injury opportunities to return value in DFS.

Each week, we use matchup data from PFF to determine wide receivers to target based on who they will be primarily lining up against that week. Below are four of the top WR vs. CB matchups for this week’s DFS slate. Use these to set season-long lineups, make player prop picks, and gain an edge in DFS.

Amon-Ra St. Brown, Detroit Lions

$8,200 on DraftKings, $9,200 on FanDuel; vs. Christian Izien

St. Brown is the highest-priced receiver on both DraftKings and FanDuel this weekend, and for good reason. He has the top matchup of any receiver this week. The 24-year-old All-Pro receiver finished in the top three at the position in targets, receptions, and receiving yardage this year.

Since Week 15, St. Brown has tallied 3.4 yards per route run and 31 combined first-down and touchdown receptions. He has also garnered the highest PFF receiving grade in the league (92.9) over that span. He will match up most commonly opposite undrafted rookie CB Christian Izien on Sunday, who has been serviceable (68.3 PFF grade) but will be heavily overmatched in this contest.

Look to bargain shop at other positions to leave enough salary for St. Brown on Sunday, particularly in cash games.

Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

$7,200 on DraftKings, $7,600 on FanDuel; vs. Kindle Vildor

The Buccaneers vs. Lions matchup is likely to be a pass-heavy one, with both defenses in the bottom six in passing yards against this season. Evans has one of the top matchups of the week and should finish as a top performer for the Buccs.

Detroit has been particularly poor against outside receivers (bottom-five in yards per target and yards per game), where Evans lines up 70% of the time. The Lions also deploy man coverage at a top-10 rate. Mike Evans has been among the NFL's most efficient receivers against man coverage this season, producing 1.00 fantasy points per route run (first) and 3.19 yards per route run (12th). He maintains an 88.1 PFF receiving grade against man coverage (tied for seventh).

Evans is projected to line up most often against CB Kindle Vildor. PFF gives Evans a 95.1 matchup grade against Vildor, the third-best grade for any receiver this weekend. You can’t go wrong with Evans or Godwin this weekend.

Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers

$5,600 on DraftKings, $6,100 on FanDuel; vs. Deommodore Lenoir

Doubs is coming off his best performance of the season, catching six passes for 151 yards and a touchdown. This came with all four of Green Bay’s top receiving options playing together for the first time since Week 13.

Despite being fourth in defensive DVOA, the 49ers have been vulnerable against the pass as the season has worn on. They rank 31st in the NFL at defending outside wide receivers, allowing 9.1 receptions per game to X and Z receivers. 

I also like Jayden Reed’s matchup with CB Deommodore Lenoir. Since Week 10, the Niners defensive back has allowed six receptions of 15-plus yards when lined up in the slot, the fifth most in the NFL.

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Khalil Shakir, Buffalo Bills

$3,800 on DraftKings, $5,900 on FanDuel; vs. Trent McDuffie

With Gabe Davis missing another week, Shakir stands out as a great value play on Sunday night. He’s averaged 15 DraftKings points in the last two weeks with Davis out or missing part of the game. He has also increased his consistency in recent weeks, averaging four catches and 55 receiving yards per game over his last four contests. This makes for a high likelihood of hitting a two or three-times multiplier (fantasy points per $1,000 salary), particularly on DraftKings.

While he has a tough assignment in the slot opposite Trent McDuffie, Shakir will get opportunities to move around the formation to take advantage of mismatches. As the Bills’ WR2 this weekend, Shakir is too cheap not to take in GPP formats.

Thanks for reading, and good luck with your DFS contests!

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