- Colts CB Stephon Gilmore and Falcons CB A.J. Terrell continue to follow the opposition’s No. 1 wide receiver all over the field more weeks than not.
- Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase vs. Saints CB Marshon Lattimore stands out as the biggest star-studded shadow matchup of the week.
- Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb has too much volume to overly worry about his potential shadow matchup against Eagles CB Darius Slay.
Estimated reading time: 10 minutes
Shadow matchups are when a defense assigns a particular cornerback to follow one specific wide receiver all over the field.
Of course, wide receivers often can overcome difficult one-on-one matchups thanks to good ole’ fashioned volume. It’s also rare that a cornerback follows a single receiver around the field for each and every route. This leads to situations where Jalen Ramsey “shuts down” Justin Jefferson in their direct coverage (3-25-0), but Jefferson’s full game line (8-116-0) reflects the reality that fantasy managers were still better off playing him.
What follows is a breakdown on:
- Which cornerbacks shadowed in Week 5
- Projected Week 6 shadow matchups
- Notes on why certain cornerbacks aren’t expected to shadow
Week 5 shadow report
The following seven defenses deployed at least one of their cornerbacks in shadow coverage last week. Note that receiving production refers to what the player achieved during the entire game, not just specifically in the referenced cornerbacks’ direct coverage:
- Rams CB Grant Haley did a fine enough job with Michael Gallup (4-44-0), allowing the rest of the defense to focus most of their efforts on CeeDee Lamb as well as the Cowboys’ rushing attack. This marked the first time the Rams deployed a cornerback in shadow coverage all season.
- Colts CB Stephon Gilmore matched up with Courtland Sutton (5-74-0) as expected. Credit to Gilmore for coming up big when the matchup mattered most, calling game by deflecting Russell Wilson’s potential fourth-down game-winning touchdown in overtime.
- Dolphins CB Nik Needham shadowed Corey Davis (2-38-0) with both Dolphins starting cornerbacks Xavien Howard (groin) and Byron Jones (Achilles, PUP) sidelined.
- Bills CB Kaiir Elam tracked Diontae Johnson (5-60-0) all over the field last Sunday. As always, it was easier to appreciate Johnson’s effort by watching the game than by looking at the box score.
- Panthers CB Donte Jackson shadowed for the first time since Week 1, as he seldom left Brandon Aiyuk’s (3-58-0) side last Sunday.
- Falcons CB A.J. Terrell continues to track the opponent’s No. 1 receiver more weeks than not, most recently checking Mike Evans (4-81-0) fairly successfully for 60 minutes. Note that Evans was about six inches away from scoring on a long 40-yard catch-and-run.
- Titans CB Kristian Fulton matched up with Terry McLaurin (5-76-0) for most of Tennessee’s Week 6 win over the Commanders.This marked the first time all season the Titans chose to deploy a cornerback in shadow coverage.
Projected Week 6 shadow matchups
Jaguars WR Marvin Jones vs. Colts CB Stephon Gilmore
This is what the Colts rolled with back in Week 2. The coverage certainly helped shut down Jones (3-33-0), but Christian Kirk (6-78-2 on 6 targets) and Zay Jones (3-23-0 on 4 targets) were then free to have their way with Kenny Moore and Brandon Facyson. Perhaps the Colts decide not to bother with this specific shadow matchup this time around, but don’t expect Gilmore (1 snap as a slot corner all season) to follow either Kirk (65% slot rate) or Zay (32%) for any significant amount of time. Kirk and Zay Jones deserve upgrades based on the potential for Gilmore (PFF’s fourth-highest-graded cornerback in coverage) to eliminate Marvin Jones from the equation.
Browns WR Amari Cooper vs. Patriots CB Jonathan Jones
Jones tracked Tyreek Hill (8-94-0) in Week 1 and Romeo Doubs (5-47-1) in Week 4. The Patriots also had Jalen Mills track Diontae Johnson (6-57-0) in Week 2. Similar to their backfield: It’s always tough to figure out exactly what Bill Belichick and company will do next. Cooper should certainly hope for the latter matchup: Mills is PFF’s single-lowest-graded cornerback in coverage among 102 qualified players, while Jones ranks seventh. Unfortunately, it seems more likely that Cooper fetches Jones than Mills, making this week’s spot a small downgrade for fantasy’s PPR WR18 through five weeks.
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