Wide Receiver Matchups to Target in Week 17 - Tyreek Hill, Jakobi Meyers, Calvin Ridley, Jalen McMillan, Alec Pierce

Week 17 WR Matchups to Target is here. Last week was our best slate of the season, finishing with three home run picks (3x multiplier on DraftKings salary) including two top-three finishers at the position in Keenan Allen and Brian Thomas Jr. We are hitting 3x multiplier picks at a 32% rate entering Week 17.

Each week, we will use matchup data to determine which wide receivers to target based on who they will be primarily lining up against that week. These players are more likely to return a 3x multiplier on their DraftKings salary, a benchmark for consistently winning DFS cash games. 

Below are five top WR vs. CB matchups for this week’s DFS main slate. Use these to set season-long lineups, make player-prop picks, and gain an edge in DFS. Let's get to it.

Tyreek Hill, Miami Dolphins

INJURY UPDATE: Dolphins' QB Tua Tagovailoa has been downgraded to DOUBTFUL for Week 17. His absence would severely impact Hill's value.

$6.9k on DraftKings, $7.4k on FanDuel; vs. Martin Emerson Jr.

Hill has disappointed managers who drafted him with a mid-first-round pick this summer after failing to land within the top six receivers in fantasy points per game for the first time since 2020. He currently sits WR32 by that metric. 

Hill will look for his fifth top-12 PPR weekly finish this week against the Browns, whose defense ranks bottom-seven in the NFL in fantasy points against, actual points against, and passing defense DVOA. 

Despite his pedestrian 13 fantasy points per game thus far, his yardage and touchdown potential remain high - Hill ranks 10th among receivers in unrealized air yards and 11th in red zone targets according to PlayerProfiler.

The Browns deploy the third-highest rate of man coverage in the league, against which Hill has amassed 0.49 fantasy points per route run alongside a massive 33.3% target rate. He is head and shoulders above the rest of Miami’s receiver room in production against man. 

Hill is a high-ceiling play in both cash and GPP this week.

Tyreek Hill is averaging more fantasy points per game than any other WR in history on the ROAD 🤯

Can he get it done this week? pic.twitter.com/yu7mEWEuyZ

— Fantasy Footballers (@TheFFBallers) December 27, 2024

Jakobi Meyers, Las Vegas Raiders

$6k on DraftKings, $6.6k on FanDuel; vs. Alontae Taylor

Meyers has overperformed this year for an otherwise underwhelming Raiders team, ranking 12th among all receivers in catches through 16 weeks. His touchdown total (2) has dragged his production down, however, resulting in him sitting WR29 entering Week 17.

Meyers and the Raiders travel to New Orleans on Sunday to take on the lowly Saints, who have given up the seventh-most fantasy points to opposing receivers this year. 

The 28-year-old receiver lines up all over the field for Las Vegas, spending between 30-35% of his snaps in all three X, Y, and Z receiver spots. PFF projects an excellent 99.2 matchup advantage for Meyers this week on his right side against CB Alontae Taylor, one of the top advantages for any receiver on the slate.

Meyers is a high-floor play in cash games this weekend.

Calvin Ridley, Tennessee Titans

$5.5k on DraftKings, $6.3k on FanDuel; vs. Montaric Brown

Ridley enjoyed a productive 16.8-point finish last week against the Colts with QB Mason Rudolph under center, scoring his first touchdown since Week 10. 

He will look to improve on his WR28 status this week against a Jaguars team that is as vulnerable as defenses come. Jacksonville ranks dead last in passing defense DVOA while giving up the fifth most fantasy points to opposing receivers this season.

The Jags have run-man coverage at a top-four rate. Ridley has an impressive 29.6% target rate and 0.50 fantasy points per route run rate against man. Look for him to continue producing with Rudolph this week in a prime matchup.

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— Scott (@scottd923) September 25, 2023

Jalen McMillan, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

$4.6k on DraftKings, $5.9k on FanDuel; vs. Mike Jackson

McMillan has caught fire for the Buccaneers over his last three weeks, amassing 20 targets and four touchdowns while finishing with at least 16.7 fantasy points in each contest over that span. 

His DFS price has not yet caught up to his production, and he is a value again this week against the Panthers. Carolina’s secondary has the third-worst passing defense DVOA and the worst defense in the NFL by points against. 

Carolina’s 36.2% blitz rate over the last five weeks ranks eighth in the NFL. Over Tampa Bay’s last three games, McMillan was one of two players to earn more than three targets (seven targets) against the blitz while averaging 2.03 yards per route run.

The rookie is a great bet for those who want a share of the Buccaneers offense this week without paying up for Mike Evens.

Jalen McMillan has three straight games with at least four catches and a touchdown reception – over the past 20 years, only three rookies have topped that streak (Odell Beckham Jr., Amon-Ra St. Brown, and Tank Dell). pic.twitter.com/q6zA91WoV5

— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) December 27, 2024

Alec Pierce, Indianapolis Colts

INJURY UPDATE: Colts' QB Anthony Richardson has been ruled OUT for Week 17. Joe Flacco will start for Indianapolis.

$4.7k on DraftKings, $5.6k on FanDuel; vs. Deonte Banks

Third-year receiver Alec Pierce has been a sneaky ceiling play in the right matchup for the Colts. His floor is as low as they come (four finishes under 2 fantasy points), but he has also shown streaks with QB Anthony Richardson that have allowed him four top-20 finishes at the position in fourteen games this season.

Pierce will return from a concussion this week in an excellent matchup opposite the Giants’ CB Deonte Banks, who has a meager 52.7 defensive grade. Banks is giving up the second-most fantasy points per route run among all 96 of this week’s projected starting cornerbacks according to FantasyPoints. 

Pierce’s 21.6 average depth of target leads the league, and his deep targets (29) and yards per reception (22.2) rank second. While the 24-year-old is not to be trusted every week, this matchup provides an excellent opportunity for him to connect on at least one deep ball and return ceiling value in GPP.

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

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