Week 11 Rankings: Standard | PPR

We talk about matchups in Fantasy Football a lot, but too often we look at it on the macro level. We think if a team is good or bad against the pass then that affects all receivers the same.

That couldn't be further from the truth.

Thankfully, our friends at ProFootballFocus provide data on the coverage skills of individual players, which gives us a much more reliable starting point. Each week in this column I'll focus on some of my favorite matchups for wide receivers and at least one matchup you should try to avoid.

I look at PFF's individual coverage grades. This helps sort out some of the noise and give us an idea of how each individual cornerback has performed, where they generally line up and who they'll cover most often.

I've included the PFF grade of each corner we're targeting this week. This grade is on a scale of 0 to 100, making it easily digestible.

Michael Crabtree vs. Jonathan Joseph (PFF Grade: 54.7)

In terms of Fantasy points allowed to wide receivers, the Texans have been one of the best defenses in football. But that's no thanks to Jonathan Joseph. Joseph has given up 1.43 yards per cover snap, which is in the bottom 25 percent of the league and nearly twice as much as fellow corner A.J. Bouye.

With or without Bouyte, Joseph has lined up on the side of the field where Michael Crabtree sees a majority of the snaps. One thing the Raiders have been pretty consistent in is picking on the better matchup in the secondary. I still like Cooper, but this looks like one of those weeks where Crabtree sees more than his fair share of targets.

Michael Thomas vs. Daryl Worley (PFF Grade: 53.0)

Last week was all about bounce-back receivers and avoiding Michael Thomas because of his matchup. Well, now Thomas is the bounce-back candidate after a brutal showing against the Broncos that included more fumbles (2) than Fantasy points (0). Well, he's got a great matchup for it.

Worley has been a key contributor to the Panthers struggles in the secondary, allowing a passer rating of 111.7 on balls thrown his way. I don't see any way the Saints can run the ball against Carolina and Thomas has been their best receiver on the road.

Jeremy Kerley vs. Logan Ryan (PFF Grade: 49.5)

The one weakness in New England's defense has been Logan Ryan and the Patriots' coverage of slot receivers. That's mostly because of Logan Ryan. Ryan has been targeted 28 times in the slot this year. He's given up 22-227-3 on those targets for a QB rating of 136.2. That's the second worst mark in the NFL.

To be clear, Kerley is a deep-league option only, but this should be a perfect game script and Colin Kaepernick seems to be getting more comfortable throwing the ball. I especially like Kerley as a cheap punt in DFS this week.

DeAndre Hopkins vs. David Amerson (PFF Grade: 82.8)

Amerson has been one of the highest graded corners by PFF, which might make you consider finally benching DeAndre Hopkins. With Hopkins' recent performances, I would understand, but basing it on Amerson would be a mistake. He's a big play corner who gets his hands on a lot of balls but also gives up plenty of big plays.

Amerson is one of only six corners in football to give up more than 2 yards per coverage snap, and he's also giving up more than 11 yards per target. Those numbers are terrible. Hopkins will have some chances for big plays as the Texans chase the scoreboard, let's just hope Brock Osweiler can put a ball on the money.

One to avoid

DeVante Parker vs. Trumaine Johnson (PFF Grade: 77.7)

It would be really easy to get excited about Parker (again) after his big Week 10. I would avoid it. He'll likely draw a lot of Trumaine Johnson, who has been outstanding when he's been healthy. Opposing quarterbacks are completing less than 60 percent of their passes for less than 6 Y/A when targeting Johnson. When you consider that this is likely to be a low-scoring, run-heavy game script, I just can't get excited about Parker repeating.