Week 15 WR/CB Matchups: Who to Target and Who to Avoid

What a difference a week makes.

I don't know about you, but I was fine about seven days ago. I had three teams that were locks to be in the playoffs. Last Sunday was a breeze. Well, except for watching my Bengals hand me yet another soul-crushing loss. Anyway, the rest of the day was stress-free. To be clear, all of those teams are still in contention for a championship. But the pressure is on now. I've been scrutinizing all of my matchups and making sure my rosters are set for the weekend. And, of course, how some of my favorite wide receivers may perform was one of the first things I looked into for Week 15.

Matchups to Target

Terry McLaurin at the Giants

I realize Terry McLaurin has only been back for two games, but being able to add context to his usage, and of course, his defensive matchup, is why he sticks out for Sunday’s slate of games.

Terry McLaurin

The target rates (30% and 28%) should be the first two numbers you see. Not only were they either the highest or second-highest rate for the Commanders in both weeks, but McLaurin hasn’t seen shares like these all season. Earlier in the season, when either being rusty from the hold-in or still hurt, he was at 19% of the looks. Seeing him command the WR1 role is what we expected to see when we drafted him. Now, combine his usage with the Giants’ secondary.

PPR PPG (allowed to WRs last four games): 36.5, 4th-most
Passing YPG: 160.8, 8th-most
Explosive Play Rate: 19.7%, 7th-highest

Three of the previous four WR1s to face the G-Men have scored more than 20.0 PPR points (Amon-Ra St. Brown, Christian Watson and Rome Odunze). Even better, the last two in the list play a similar role to the Commanders’ primary WR. Since his return, McLaurin has primarily stuck to the outside and played intermediate-to-deep X-receiver. The only concern is that he’s yet to catch a pass from Marcus Mariota. However, with one fewer option in the passing game and a full week of practice, they should have plenty of opportunities to get in sync either before or on Sunday afternoon.

Jakobi Meyers vs the Jets

The easy, surface-level argument for Jakobi Meyers is his new position as the top option for Trevor Lawrence in Jacksonville.

Jakobi Meyers

Meyers has led the team in targets in four of his five games since moving to Florida. And that’s with Parker Washington showing up, Brenton Strange coming back from IR, and Brian Thomas Jr. popping off in the rain against the Colts. Through it all, Meyers has been the guy Lawrence has looked toward the most, either in obvious passing situations or when under duress. The former Raider has generated 16 first downs. That’s only four fewer than the other three WRs’ totals combined over the same span. But to go with the targets when the offense needs him most, Meyers is getting the looks when his fantasy managers could use him, too.

It's no surprise that the Jets are still struggling on defense. They’re allowing the 12th-most yards per drive and the ninth-most plays per game in their red zone over the last month. Coincidentally, Lawrence is averaging the 11th-most pass attempts when in scoring position. With him looking for Meyers both in the open field and inside their opponents’ 20-yard line, Meyers has the floor and ceiling to be a top-24 option in Week 15.

Sneaky Matchups

Jayden Higgins vs the Cardinals

Advocating for Jayden Higgins might sound more appealing if I talk about his game environment first.

Week 14 vs Rams: 281 (passing yards allowed), 3 (touchdowns allowed)
Week 13 at Bucs: 194, 1
Week 12 vs Jags: 256, 3
Week 11 vs 49ers: 200, 3

The Cardinals have surrendered the 12th-most passing yards per game and sit right next to my Bengals in the amount of TDs given up through the air (10). Outside of playing a banged-up Baker Mayfield, each QB to face them has left with a top-8 fantasy finish. So, the production is there for the taking. The only worry is if Higgins has carved out a role that can take advantage of the situation.

QB Pressured/Blitz: 19.2% (Target Rate), 2nd (out of Collins, Higgins, Schultz)
Obvious Passing Situations: 28.6%, T-1st
Red Zone: 15.6%, 2nd

Even while Davis Mills was under center, Higgins was establishing himself as the WR2 to complement Nico Collins. And the development didn’t stop when C.J. Stroud returned. Higgins maintained his outside, flanker role with a heavy dose of in-breaking routes. Collins should garner most of the attention for this contest, but Higgins’ steady opportunities should make him a viable WR3 for Sunday.

Jalen Coker at the Saints

No, I’m not expecting Jalen Coker to put up 19.4 PPR points like he did after Thanksgiving. Well, I take that back. I’d be looking for similar output but on different inputs. Coker led the Panthers’ receiving corps with six targets in Week 13. After two weeks to rest, we’d all be surprised to see Tetairoa McMillan with just two attempts again. But where and how HC Dave Canales deploys Coker on the field should set him up for a FLEX-worthy day.

Explosive Play Rate Allowed: 14.5%, 10th-highest
Passing Success Rate to Slot WRs: 64.5%, 4th-highest

The Panthers went in with the right game plan of attacking the Rams’ smaller CBs with either speed or size. Coker can use the former against the Saints. Bryce Young targeted the Panthers’ second-year WR an average of 16 air yards downfield. But it's Coker’s slot usage that should keep him on our fantasy radars. The Saints’ interior coverage has given up the tenth-most receptions to the inside and the third-most TDs. With Carolina finding the right balance between their rushing and passing attack, Young should be able to get into a rhythm, with McMillan and Coker leading the way through the air.

Matchups to Avoid

Courtland Sutton vs the Packers

Note: As always, “avoid” doesn’t mean “sit.” It implies that the matchups or trends around a player’s usage indicate we should lower our expectations regarding their projected output.

To be fair, Courtland Sutton has been on a nice two-week run of double-digit PPR points. However, he needed a touchdown to get there against the Commanders and ten targets against the Raiders, neither of which has been a consistent occurrence for the veteran WR. However, Sutton’s volatility throughout the 2025 season is only half of the issue. His QB has a similar problem when it comes to defensive coverages.

EPA per Dropback: 0.02 (Zone), 0.31 (Man)
Passing Success Rate: 41.6%, 53.3%

Bo Nix needs an extra beat to process the extra defenders clouding his passing lanes. No, seriously. His average time to throw goes from 2.51 seconds to 2.79 when faced with zone concepts. Along with a drop in efficiency, his sack rate ticks up, or he tries to create out of structure. And that’s where we’ve seen more of Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant. Plus, along with the Packers using zone at the eleventh-highest rate, they’ve been especially stingy to outside WRs.

FPPG (Allowed to Perimeter WRs): 10th-fewest
Yards per Game: 12th-fewest

Green Bay’s ability to create pressure with four should keep Nix either out of sync or scrambling. Neither bodes well for Sutton’s outlook. Plus, with other options continuing to work into the rotation, Sutton would be tough to trust with the playoffs on the line.