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Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Sitting a wideout in Fantasy Football because of a tough matchup is impossible if the receiver is really good, possible if the receiver is just good, and easy if the receiver is just meh.

But what if a receiver had a gauntlet of tough matchups in his future? Secondaries ripe with quality cover men and pass rushes that would haunt the passer -- would that matter to you?

It would to me, albeit just a smidge. None of the top-5 teams to rank atop the Fantasy points allowed to opposing receivers gave up more than nine 15-plus PPR point games to opposing players over the course of 17 games each. That's pretty good. Compare that to the worst team, Minnesota, which allowed 10 15-plus-point outings in its first 10 games.

Not only do I want to avoid the toughest secondaries, but I want as many of those Minnesota matchups as possible. How can I find them before they actually start playing? Easy -- the schedule is out there, and I'm certainly capable of studying defenses to see which teams have improved and which teams have not.

Thus, I've created the Projected Strength of Schedule (PSoS) for every team's games, tailored specifically to wide receiver matchups. You can read a full explanation on the methodology if you'd like but know that I spent a lot of time studying defenders, schemes and anything else that would matter to a wide receiver's matchup.

The PSoS isn't the most important thing for receivers -- targets, explosiveness and quality of quarterback are way more vital. However, it would be nice to know before you draft a guy if he has a ton of tough matchups coming his way, particularly early in the season.

Use this as that little bit of research to give you an extra edge on your Draft Day decision making. It might end up being the tie-breaker between two players you're debating. Do not forget this information before you enter your drafts.

Season-long PSoS for WRs

PHI1LV17
DEN2CHI18
SF3KC19
LAC4CAR20
IND5NO21
DAL6ARI22
NYG7NYJ23
HOU8MIA24
GB9ATL25
WSH10BUF26
DET11NE27
JAX12TB28
SEA13BAL29
TEN14CLE30
MIN15PIT31
LAR16CIN32

Weeks 1-4 PSoS for WRs

PHI1TEN17
DEN2ARI18
LAC3KC19
IND4PIT20
SEA5CAR21
SF6LV22
CLE7JAX23
WSH8BAL24
NYG9ATL25
DET10CIN26
GB11MIA27
LAR12NYJ28
DAL13MIN29
NO14BUF30
HOU15TB31
CHI16NE32

Weeks 15-17 PSoS for WRs

DET1CAR17
NYJ2PIT18
BUF3IND19
JAX4WSH20
ARI5DAL21
NO6NYG22
BAL7MIN23
TB8DEN24
SF9CIN25
KC10LAR26
NE11ATL27
HOU12MIA28
PHI13GB29
SEA14CLE30
TEN15LV31
CHI16LAC32

Biggest winners

A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith: We're hoping that Philadelphia throws more in 2022 and that Jalen Hurts improves his accuracy. Those factors will matter much more than the schedule, but it definitely helps that the only tough matchups the Eagles have are against the Cowboys, Packers and Saints. That's really about it.

Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick: Already graced with the addition of Russell Wilson, these three have the second-easiest full-season and early-season PSoS. Three of their first four are against the Seahawks, Texans and Raiders, and they have a dreamy five-game stretch beginning in Week 7. And one of their toughest divisional matchups against the Chargers comes in Week 18. I'm more encouraged to draft these guys.

Mike Williams: I expect Keenan Allen to be successful regardless of the opponent, but Williams has proven to be far too inconsistent. Perhaps a top-5 full-season projected schedule will help ease those concerns. I also don't think he sees a challenging outside cornerback until Week 5.

Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk: The 49ers are the only team to rank in the top-12 in all three PSoS categories, a surprise considering they'll play the Rams twice along with the Broncos, Chargers, Saints and Buccaneers. I suppose this happened because they're playing a second-place schedule and Cardinals and Seahawks secondaries didn't grade very well.

Biggest losers

Drake London: The Falcons are one of two teams whose receivers have a bottom-8 PSoS for the early-year, Fantasy playoffs and full season (Cincy is the other). This is a big knock against London, who is already facing the prospect of inaccurate downfield throws from Marcus Mariota and/or Desmond Ridder. His first two games are against the Saints and Rams. I'll take Treylon Burks over London in every draft.

Diontae Johnson: Not only must Johnson adjust to two new quarterbacks as well as a refreshed version of the offense, but he also faces the second-toughest full-season PSoS. Volume has saved his stat line in the past and figures to be the only thing to save him this year.

Rashod Bateman: You might feel good about drafting Bateman after his Week 1 game against the Jets, but then he'll see the Dolphins, Patriots and Bills in consecutive weeks. And that simply kicks off a very challenging schedule for the second-year receiver until after his Week 10 bye. You won't see me reach for him.

Gabriel Davis: Like Bateman, Davis has a really tough schedule to start and it continues on through the year. Unlike Bateman, Davis has a proven penchant for making big plays and works with a cannon-armed quarterback in a pass-heavy offense. I won't love starting Davis against the Rams, Titans, Dolphins, Ravens and Steelers to begin the year. 

Don't draft them, but trade for them

(These receivers have a tough early-season PSoS but their schedule improves dramatically starting in October.)

  • Brandin Cooks
  • Adam Thielen
  • Christian Kirk

Draft them, then trade them away

(These receivers have an easy early-season PSoS but their schedule gets tougher starting in October.)

  • Amari Cooper
  • Michael Thomas, Chris Olave
  • Tyler Lockett