Fantasy Football Week 13: 3 WR/CB matchups to target and 3 to avoid

• WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks vs. CB Michael Carter II, New York Jets: Smith-Njigba’s second-year breakout is underway.

• WR Wan’Dale Robinson, New York Giants vs. CB Jourdan Lewis, Dallas Cowboys: Robinson is likely to play with third-string quarterback Drew Lock, and Lewis has been a lockdown slot cornerback.

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Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

Identifying advantageous and disadvantageous cornerback matchups is a critical facet of fantasy football’s lineup-setting process.

This article details three wide receivers who can be started with confidence and three wide receivers who should be avoided, thanks in part to their primary defensive counterpart in Week 13.

WR/CB Matchups to Target

WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks vs. CB Michael Carter II, New York Jets

Smith-Njigba profiles as a fantasy football WR1 against the New York Jets’ man-coverage scheme, including slot cornerback Michael Carter II. Smith-Njigba’s 78.6 PFF overall grade ranks 17th among 65 wide receivers with at least 385 offensive snaps.

As detailed in “QB/DEF streamers for Week 13,” New York replaced head coach Robert Saleh with defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, elevating Ulbrich to the interim head coach role in Week 6. New York’s defense logged the fifth-most man coverage snaps (145) among NFL teams in Weeks 6-12, though its 52.0 PFF man coverage grade during that span ranks just 26th.