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Mike Riggall's favorite WR vs. CB matchups to exploit for Week 5 of DFS contests on DraftKings and FanDuel. These wide receivers should be tournament and cash game targets based on matchups.
In Week 4, Cooper Kupp and Kenny Golladay came through in a big way if you rolled them out in your DFS lineups. The other wide receivers that were recommended in this weekly piece didn't have the greatest days at the office. D.J. Moore had a great matchup, but he simply wasn't targeted often enough by Kyle Allen to be a relevant fantasy wide receiver. Sterling Shepard had a great matchup and was targeted heavily by Daniel Jones, but he failed to pop a big play or score.
Here is a complete statistical recap of the Week 4 recommendations:
- Sterling Shepard - 9 targets, 7 catches, 76 yards
- D.J. Moore - 5 targets, 3 catches, 44 yards
- Larry Fitzgerald - 5 targets, 5 catches, 47 yards
- Pivot: Dede Westbrook - 6 targets, 5 catches, 66 yards
- Cooper Kupp - 15 targets, 9 catches, 121 yards, 1 TD
- Kenny Golladay - 9 targets, 5 catches, 67 yards, 2 TD
- Preston Williams - 7 targets, 4 catches, 46 yards
Let's move onto the current week and find the best matchups to exploit for DFS tournaments and cash games.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2025:- 2025 fantasy football rankings (redraft)
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- Tight end fantasy football rankings
Week 5 WR/CB Matchups to Exploit
Heading into Week 5, there are some stud wide receivers that you really need to get into your DFS lineups.
- Julio Jones ($8,200 FD /$7,700 DK) will see a lot of Lonnie Johnson Jr. in coverage, which is a huge matchup advantage for Jones.
- New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas ($7,700 FD /$6,600 DK) stands 6'3" and will go up against the 5'10" Vernon Hargreaves. Although Hargreaves has been playing better under new Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles, this matchup should prove to be too much for him, as he has given up the sixth-most passing yards (269) in coverage so far this year.
- Chris Godwin ($7,800 FD /$6,900 DK) is coming off a big Week 4 performance against the Rams and will have another prime matchup in Week 5, against the often-targeted PJ Williams.
The aforementioned stud receivers all have great matchups this week and have the potential to have huge games, so you should consider building your DFS lineups around them. In addition to those studs, there are some receivers that have really underwhelmed lately for various reasons that have very appealing matchups this week. Now, we will go through some of matchups to help you with your DFS and season-long lineups for Week 5.
Recommended Starts and Pivots
Adam Thielen ($6,900 FanDuel / $6,700 DraftKings) vs DeAndre Baker
Through the first four games of the season, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen has only been targeted on 22 throws, catching 13 of them for just 179 yards and two touchdowns. Heading into Week 5, Thielen figures to line up against NY Giants cornerback DeAndre Baker, who has given up 307 yards to opposing wide receivers through the first four weeks of the season, 116 of those yards coming after the catch. If Thielen can't get it done this week, he never will.
Robby Anderson ($5,500 FanDuel / $4,500 DraftKings) vs Rasul Douglas
NY Jets quarterback Sam Darnold was ruled out for Week 5 on Friday afternoon, meaning Luke Falk will get the start against the Eagles. With Falk getting the start under center for the Jets, Robby Anderson will likely get faded in DFS lineups. In Week 3 against the Patriots, Falk had a disastrous day, throwing for just 98 yards and an interception. However, against a Cleveland Browns Defense whose pass rush was relentless in Week 2, Falk went 20-of-25 passing for 198 yards, at 7.92 yards-per-attempt.
The Patriots Defense is a different animal this year, so to a certain degree, you just need to throw that game out as Falk was clearly overmatched. Against a lesser opponent, Falk will be capable of getting the ball down the field, as evidenced by his 7.92 YPA against a decent Browns defense. The Eagles secondary has given up 221.5 yards, 1.8 touchdowns, and a league-worst 47.83 fantasy-points to opposing wide receivers so far this year. To make matters worse for the Eagles, they have several players in their secondary that are banged up, including Rasul Douglas, all of which bodes well for Robby Anderson.
Pivot: Auden Tate ($5,300 FanDuel / $3,500 DraftKings) vs Byron Murphy
Auden Tate will start opposite Tyler Boyd in Week 5, and standing 6'5", he will have a huge size advantage on Byron Murphy who is just 5'11". Andy Dalton targeted Tate 16 times over the last two games, and with John Ross out of the lineup and the Bengals struggling to run the ball, Tate will surely see an uptick in targets.
Tyler Boyd ($6,700 / $6,500 DraftKings) vs Tramaine Brock
The Cardinals secondary has been struggling, and Tramaine Brock has surrendered the most yards-in-coverage to opposing wide receivers out of all Cardinals cornerbacks (239). The Cardinals have not been good against the run, giving up an average of 146.5 yards-per-game rushing, but the Bengals offensive line is in such shambles lately, it's more likely that the Bengals have success through the air than on the ground. The Cardinals pass defense is also in the bottom-10 of the league, giving up 271 yards passing per game.
Josh Gordon ($6,200 FanDuel / $6,100 DraftKings) vs Quinton Dunbar
Washington Redskins cornerbacks have been getting shredded so far this year. The Redskins have tried rotating several different cornerbacks into the lineup in an attempt to figure things out, but they have still given up 14.5 catches, 170 yards and 2 touchdowns per game to opposing wide receivers, which is good for an average of 46.43 fantasy-points-per-game. When Josh Gordon lines up on the left side of the formation he figures to see a lot of Quinton Dunbar who has been alright in coverage so far this season. When Gordon moves to the other side of the formation, he will face Josh Norman, who has given up more yards-in-coverage to opposing wide receivers (241) than any other Redskins cornerback so far this season.
Larry Fitzgerald ($5,800 FanDuel / $6,000 DraftKings) vs BW Webb
The Bengals haven't given up much fantasy production to wide receivers so far this season, but that's largely a function of how bad the Bengals run defense is. Opposing running backs average 25.3 carries-per-game against the Bengals which is sixth-most in the NFL. The Cardinals, however, come into Cincinnati with one of the worst offensive lines in the league, running the ball just 74 times on the season for 368 yards. The Cardinals are having defensive woes of their own this season, surrendering 28.8 points per game. When you combine the Cardinals poor defense, with their bad offensive line play, and consider the fact that they are depleted at wide receiver with Christian Kirk out of the lineup, this game is setting up well for Larry Fitzgerald.
Golden Tate ($4,500 FanDuel / $4,600 DraftKings) vs Mackenzie Alexander
Golden Tate returns to action for the Giants in Week 5 and figures to see a lot of Mackenzie Alexander in the slot. In Week 4 against the Bears, Alexander played 39 snaps, was targeted four times and surrendered three catches for 75 yards. This is a beatable matchup for Golden Tate, and at this price, he should be in your DFS lineups because it will allow you to pay up at other positions on your roster. Tate only needs 15 points to go 3.3x on his cost.
Pivot: Keesean Johnson ($4,600 FanDuel / $3,500 DraftKings) vs Dre Kirkpatrick
Christian Kirk will miss Week 5 so KeeSean Johnson is likely to see an increase in his 55.48% snap-share. As long as Johnson avoids William Jackson in coverage, he should be able to have success against the struggling Bengals secondary.
More Weekly DFS Analysis
