- Mike Evans has CJ Henderson's and Marshon Lattimore's numbers: The veteran wideout has done significant damage against the two cornerbacks over the past three seasons, including a six-catch, 84-yard and one-touchdown output against Lattimore in last year's wild-card round.
- Pat Surtain II is Garrett Wilson's kryptonite: The reigning Defensive Player of the Year has faced off with Wilson in each of the past three seasons and has come out on top each time.
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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
One-on-one matchups that often make or break games are one of the most intriguing aspects of football. Wide receiver-cornerback matchups are one way we at PFF analyze the game within the game, breaking down coverage snaps and applying context using data to determine who came out on top.
These are some of the noteworthy wide receiver-cornerback matchups over the past three NFL seasons.
Wide Receiver-Favored
WR Mike Evans vs. CB CJ Henderson
One of the best games of Evans’ career came in a division-clinching victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 17 of the 2022 season. Evans caught 10 of 12 targets for 207 yards and three touchdowns, earning an elite 90.3 PFF game grade.
Most of Evans’ damage came against cornerback CJ Henderson, who had an outing to forget (36.6). With Henderson in primary coverage, Evans caught seven of nine targets for 125 yards and two touchdowns for a perfect 158.3 passer rating.
Mike Evans' 2022 Week 17 Matchup with CJ Henderson
WR A.J. Brown vs. CB Emmanuel Forbes
The Commanders selected Forbes in the first round (16th overall) in the 2023 NFL Draft, but he was no match for Eagles All-Pro wideout A.J. Brown, who got the best of him twice that season. Brown was targeted 10 times in their Week 4 contest, catching six passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns (143.8 passer rating).
The second matchup between Washington and Philadelphia that year wasn’t quite as noteworthy as far as the individual matchup (two receptions for 45 yards and a touchdown), but Brown accounted for an 8-130-2 line overall for the game. He was simply unstoppable for the Commanders’ defense, no matter who covered him that day.
WR DeVonta Smith vs. CB Kendall Fuller
Smith’s best game of 2022 came in Week 3 versus Washington when he caught eight of 12 targets for 169 yards and a touchdown (92.5 PFF game grade). Most of his production was with cornerback Kendall Fuller (38.4) in primary coverage — six targets, five receptions, 95 yards, one touchdown and a perfect 158.3 passer rating when targeted.
Smith’s dominant performance was even more impressive when you consider that Fuller was one of the 15 highest-graded cornerbacks in the league that season (76.6) and was coming off a year in which he ranked third (81.5) at his position.
WR Mike Evans vs. CB Marshon Lattimore
Evans versus Lattimore has been one of the most publicized battles in the league for years now, as the two clashed many times as NFC South rivals. Their rivalry was renewed last year in the wild-card round after the Washington Commanders acquired Lattimore from the New Orleans Saints late in the season.
Evans dominated that matchup, catching all six targets thrown his way for 84 yards and a touchdown (158.3 passer rating). Evans (91.8 PFF game grade) gave Lattimore (26.5) fits all night, also drawing a defensive pass interference penalty in the end zone before his touchdown just one play later.
Cornerback-Favored
CB Patrick Surtain II vs. WR Garrett Wilson
Elite cornerbacks shadowing an opposing team’s top wide receiver doesn’t happen nearly as often as fans may think, but Surtain is tasked with doing so more often than others, a big reason why he won Defensive Player of the Year last season.
Surtain has faced off with New York Jets stud wideout Garrett Wilson in each of the past three seasons and has come out on top each time. The most noteworthy matchup was in Week 5 of the 2023 season, with Surtain facing six targets to Wilson and allowing just two receptions for 22 yards with an interception and a 5.6 passer rating against.
Over the three games, Wilson caught just five of 10 targets for 58 yards and zero touchdowns.
Pat Surtain II's 2024 Matchup with Garrett Wilson
CB Byron Murphy Jr. vs. WR D.J. Moore
Moore has been one of the most productive wide receivers in the NFL since he entered the league in 2018, averaging more than 1,000 yards per season. He’s been a hard player to stop, but no cornerback has given him more trouble than Byron Murphy Jr. over the past few seasons.
In Week 4 of the 2022 season, Moore was targeted three times with Murphy in coverage, failing to catch any passes, two of which resulted in interceptions (0.0 passer rating). In the three matchups following that, Murphy allowed just nine receptions, 67 yards and zero touchdowns and recorded another interception.
Back-and-Forth
WR Jaylen Waddle vs. CB D.J. Reed
The highest-graded game of Waddle’s career came in Week 15 of the 2023 season (92.8), a contest that All-Pro wideout Tyreek Hill missed due to injury, making Waddle the focal point of the Dolphins‘ offense. In that game, Waddle caught eight of nine targets for 142 yards and a touchdown. He got the best of cornerback D.J. Reed, bringing in three of four targets for 92 yards and the touchdown (156.3 passer rating) with him in primary coverage.
2024 was a different story. Reed did not allow a catch across four targets over their two meetings, picking off a pass in the process. Dating back to the start of 2022, Waddle has accounted for five receptions (10 targets), 118 yards and one touchdown, and Reed has logged one interception in a matchup that swung back and forth between the once-division rivals (Reed signed with the Lions this offseason).
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