Fantasy Football: 3 Wide Receiver-Cornerback Matchups to Target in Week 5

Matchups are everything in the NFL, especially at the receiver position.
For fantasy purposes, being able to identify which receivers have advantageous (or disadvantageous) matchups is a sharp way to get a leg up on your opponent.
Each week, we'll run through the best wide receiver-cornerback matchups for the upcoming week. It doesn't take a genius to tell you to start your true studs, but there will be weeks when some WR1s have better matchups and other weeks when typical WR2 or WR3s have matchups that bump them up in our weekly rankings.
Pro Football Focus' (PFF) Player Grades and their WR/CB Matchup chart are great starting points for identifying which specific matchups we want to target.
Projections and rankings come from our NFL projections. All statistics via NFL Next Gen Stats and Pro Football Focus unless otherwise stated. NFL odds come from FanDuel Sportsbook and may change after this article is published.
Week 5 WR-CB Matchups
Amon-Ra St. Brown vs. DJ Turner II
FanDuel Research Projection: 19.0 points (WR2)
- 79.2 Yards
- 7.1 Receptions (9.2 Targets)
The Cincinnati Bengals are a consistent target for opposing offenses as the unit is giving up the 11th-most expected points added per dropback (EPA/db), 12th-most yards per passing attempt, and 3rd-most passing yards per game -- via NFL Next Gen Stats. The Detroit Lions tout 7.6 yards per passing attempt (ninth-most), led by Amon-Ra St. Brown averaging 6.8 catches, 76.8 receiving yards, and 1.5 receiving touchdowns per game.
Since Week 1's 6.5-fantasy-point total, St. Brown has been electric by producing 24.8 fantasy points per game in half-PPR leagues over his last three games. His 20.2 fantasy points per game on the season (WR2) is leading to a slate-high DFS salary of $9,300, but he should be worth the premium number thanks to Sunday's matchup.
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Jared Goff has an elite 0.24 EPA/db; a matchup against a weak Bengals secondary shouldn't be a problem. St. Brown's hefty workload -- which includes a 27.4% target share and 28.7% air yards share -- should continue.
He's been best against man coverage with a 91.7 receiving grade in the split (third-highest), via Pro Football Focus. Cincinnati runs man coverage at the 15th-highest rate, and Amon-Ra should get favorable matchups with cornerback DJ Turner II, who has a 58.9 coverage grade. Matchups with Cam Taylor-Britt should be available, too, and he was consistently burnt a week ago with coverage grades under 40.0 in two of his three outings.
The Lions also carry a lofty 30.5 team total for Sunday's game, and St. Brown has a 43.5% red zone target share. Amon-Ra could be a must-play in fantasy lineups this week.
Ladd McConkey vs. Mike Sainristil
FanDuel Research Projection: 13.0 points (WR22)
- 62.4 Yards
- 4.5 Receptions (6.9 Targets)
Ladd McConkey has been one of 2025's underperforming fantasy receivers, as seen in our top buy-low wide receivers for Week 5. However, he could be bound for a breakout on Sunday, and much of it is thanks to an excellent one-on-one matchup with nickel Mike Sainristil.
According to PlayerProfiler, McConkey almost exclusively lines up in the slot with 104 snaps (third-most). This hasn't taken away from his workload, for he carries an 87.4% snap share and 88.9% route rate. His 18.6% target share isn't jaw-dropping, but McConkey is still enjoying 6.8 targets per game thanks to the Los Angeles Chargers posting the third-highest pass-play rate.
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McConkey is getting enough work to take advantage of a favorable matchup; let's focus on the Washington Commanders' pass defense. They run man coverage at the eighth-highest rate, and Mike Sainristil touts a concerning 46.4 coverage grade. McConkey's producing slightly better numbers against man coverage with a 66.3 receiving grade compared to 65.6 when seeing zone.
Furthermore, Washington is allowing 8.6 yards per passing attempt (third-most), and McConkey has been on the receiving end of at least three downfield targets (10+ yards) in two of four games.
With only 6.4 fantasy points per game, McConkey could finally add value against Sainistil, who ranks 91st out of 102 cornerbacks at PFF.
Michael Pittman Jr. vs. Kyu Blu Kelly
FanDuel Research Projection: 10.8 points (WR35)
- 47.4 Yards
- 4.6 Receptions (7.0 Targets)
The Indianapolis Colts had their lowest point total of the season in Week 4's 27-20 loss against the Los Angeles Rams. However, the Colts are still logging 30.8 points per game (fourth-most) and 6.5 yards per play (the most). Daniel Jones also totaled 248 passing yards and 7.9 yards per passing attempt in the loss.
This offense is still legit, and Michael Pittman Jr. has enjoyed the lion's share by leading Indy's targets with an 84.1% snap share, 83.6% route rate, and 24.4% target share. He's getting valuable looks, too, carrying a 26.0% air yards share, 25.6% downfield target share, and 23.1% red zone target share. Pittman sits as WR15 with 13.0 fantasy points per game.
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The Las Vegas Raiders are allowing the sixth-most EPA/db, and Jones boasts 0.22 EPA/db. This passing game should flourish with the Raiders surrendering the 10th-most passing yards per game and 11th-most yards per passing attempt.
The Jones-Pittman connection can take advantage of Las Vegas allowing the ninth-highest aDOT. Jones is sporting 8.9 yards per passing attempt and an 82.5 pass grade on attempts of 10 to 19 yards while Pittman is carrying an 8.9 aDOT and 2.5 downfield targets per game.
Rounding out this matchup, Las Vegas' cornerback room of Kyu Blu Kelly (58.1 coverage grade), Eric Stokes (63.6 coverage grade), and Darnay Holmes (52.0 coverage grade) have underwhelming coverage grades. Pittman has a 30.8% slot snap rate, giving him opportunities against the Raiders' most vulnerable corner, Holmes.
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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.