Welcome to the Week 17 WR-CB Matchups article! With playoffs ongoing in fantasy football leagues, it’s important to identify the wide receivers that can potentially put up a dud this week and end your team’s playoff pursuit. As a result, this week we’ll emphasize THREE wide receivers to FADE based on their matchups in Week 17 of fantasy football.
- These will be players who are STARTING in over 50-percent of Sleeper Leagues that should be FADED. I believe these WRs will finish outside the top-30 wide receivers for the week.
FADE – Christian Kirk (CB Matchup: Desmond King – No. 10)
For the third time in six games, Christian Kirk goes against a top-10 defense against slot wide receivers. Kirk is No. 4 in Slot Snaps on the season with a Slot Rate of 51.9-percent. In his previous two games against top slot wide receiver defenses, he’s scored 8.1 and 5.6 fantasy points against the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets, respectively.
Christian Kirk Advanced Stats & Metrics Profile
The last time Kirk played the Houston Texans, he scored a season-low 2.1 fantasy points despite 38 Routes Run. Desmond King and the Texans’ secondary allow THE fewest receiving touchdowns to wide receivers and only three defenses allow fewer fantasy points per game to the position according to Pro Football Reference.
FADE – Michael Pittman (CB Matchup: Fabian Moreau – No. 20)
Pay attention to Vegas. As of this writing, the total for the Indianapolis Colts-New York Giants’ game is 39 points. On top of that, the game will have winds of 15 MPH and wind gusts of up to 20 MPH. Yes, Michael Pittman is top-10 in targets and receptions, but volume doesn’t matter when his Average Target Distance is 6.7 (No. 96) and he’s outside the top-100 in Deep Targets.
Fabian Moreau is No. 1 in Shadow Rate. This means that Pittman will become well-acquainted with his primary coverage. In a projected low-scoring windy game with Nick Foles at quarterback, fading the low upside of Pittman is the move in championship games.
FADE – George Pickens (CB Matchup: Marlon Humphrey – No. 34)
The Colts-Giants game has a total of 39 points, but the Steelers-Ravens game is lower at 35 points. George Pickens has topped 60 receiving yards ONCE in his last five games. Scoring a touchdown last week allowed him to score over 11 fantasy points for the first time in that five-game span. Pickens has under 30 Routes Run in four of his past five games too. Despite his tendency of making highlight reel plays, at this point of his career, Pickens isn’t a player to rely upon to bring home the championship.
On the opposite side of the field, Marlon Humphrey is top-10 in both Target Rate and Target Separation. This is not good for Pickens who is outside the top-85 in both categories. Humphrey has only allowed over 50 receiving yards once in his last seven games. Don’t fall for the “Ravens’ weak pass defense” narrative. They haven’t allowed a receiver to go for 100 yards in their last four games.
