Defense Slot vs. Wide Analysis
Key Slot Matchups Week 8
The goal of this article is to find wide receivers to fade and buy based on how many fantasy points their opponent allows in the slot vs. out wide. In today’s article we will review the key slot matchups for week 8. To stay hip and keep up with the latest trends we updated the analysis to only include the last 5 weeks.
The below chart breaks down where each team allows their fantasy points to wide receivers and is listed from the most to the least amount of fantasy points allowed to the slot this season.
| Team DEF | Slot PPG Last 5 |
Wide PPG Last 5 |
Total PPG Last 5 |
Slot % Last 5 |
Off Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SF | 16.8 | 12.4 | 33.6 | 50% | CHI |
| TEN | 15.3 | 16.3 | 33.8 | 45% | IND |
| MIA | 15 | 21.7 | 42.3 | 36% | BUF |
| WSH | 14.5 | 20.4 | 44.2 | 33% | DEN |
| PIT | 14.1 | 17.7 | 32.8 | 43% | CLE |
| SEA | 13.5 | 13.9 | 30.3 | 45% | JAX |
| CHI | 12.9 | 14.8 | 31.7 | 41% | SF |
| NE | 12.1 | 18.7 | 33.5 | 36% | LAC |
| JAX | 12.1 | 15.4 | 29.7 | 41% | SEA |
| CLE | 11.8 | 16.7 | 31.1 | 38% | PIT |
| NYG | 11.7 | 13.2 | 30.8 | 38% | KC |
| DEN | 11.4 | 16 | 27.6 | 41% | WSH |
| LAR | 10.8 | 15.8 | 30.4 | 36% | HOU |
| DET | 10.5 | 19.1 | 32 | 33% | PHI |
| NO | 10.2 | 19.9 | 32 | 32% | TB |
| CAR | 10 | 19.2 | 31.2 | 32% | ATL |
| PHI | 9.9 | 16.5 | 29.3 | 34% | DET |
| MIN | 9.4 | 10.1 | 22.2 | 42% | DAL |
| NYJ | 8.6 | 15.5 | 28 | 31% | CIN |
| BUF | 8.4 | 10 | 19.9 | 42% | MIA |
| CIN | 8.2 | 17.2 | 26.7 | 31% | NYJ |
| GB | 8.1 | 19.5 | 29.3 | 28% | ARI |
| IND | 7.9 | 20 | 28.7 | 28% | TEN |
| TB | 7.6 | 15.8 | 24.3 | 31% | NO |
| LAC | 7.2 | 10.3 | 22 | 33% | NE |
| ATL | 6.2 | 21 | 28.9 | 21% | CAR |
| HOU | 6.1 | 20.1 | 28.2 | 22% | LAR |
| LV | 6 | 13.8 | 21 | 29% | BYE |
| KC | 6 | 20.7 | 29.2 | 20% | NYG |
| ARI | 4.9 | 20 | 27.8 | 18% | GB |
| DAL | 4.5 | 23.4 | 30.3 | 15% | MIN |
| BLT | 4.3 | 17.7 | 24.2 | 18% | BYE |
Slot PPG – This represents how many fantasy points a defense allowed to the slot in .5 PPR over the past 5 weeks
Wide PPG – This represents how many fantasy points a defense allowed on the outside to wide receivers in .5 PPR over the past 5 weeks
Total PPG – This represents how many total fantasy points a defense allowed to the wide receiver position in .5 PPR over the past 5 weeks
% Slot – This represents what percentage of the total fantasy points the defense allowed from the slot over the past 5 weeks
Off Opponent – This represents the team that is facing the defense outlined in the chart this week
Slot Matchup Upgrades
Team: Buffalo Bills
Opponent: Miami Dolphins
Matchup Upgrade: Cole Beasley
It seems that Cole Beasley has taken a backseat this season as he currently trails both Emmanuel Sanders and Dawson Knox in fantasy points scored. However, when you dive into the numbers you realize it’s solely because of TDs. Beasley this season only has 1 TD vs. 4 for Sanders and 5 for Knox. Beasley is still second on the team in targets and receptions through the first 6 games of the season. A lot of this production came back in Week 6 when Dawson Knox injured his hand. Beasley had his best game of the season catching 7-88-1.
Heading out of the bye, Knox is expected to miss Week 8 which opens the door for Beasley to capitalize once again. This week the Bills take on the Dolphins who over the past 5 weeks have allowed the 3rd most points to the slot. Currently ranked outside the top 36 WRs according to Fantasy Pros ECR, Beasley is a solid WR3 in any PPR format.
Team: Cleveland Browns
Opponent: Pittsburgh Steelers
Matchup Upgrade: Jarvis Landry
Jarvis Landry returned to the field in Week 7 after an extended absence and immediately took over as the primary weapon. Landry paced the team in targets (8) and receptions (5) in a tough defensive struggle vs. the Denver Broncos. The production wasn’t there just yet as he only generated 37 yards on the week. This production shouldn’t have been surprising as the Broncos have allowed the 8th fewest points to WRs over the last 5 weeks.
This week the Browns will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers who haven’t been themselves in the secondary all year. Over the past 5 weeks, the Steelers have allowed the 6th most points to WRs and the 5th most to the slot. This includes allowing TDs to primary slot WRs Randall Cobb (5-69-2), Tyler Boyd (4-36-1), and Kendell Hinton (2-25-1). Currently ranked as the WR42 on the week, Landry should be viewed as a WR3 in Week 8.
Team: Denver Broncos
Opponent: Washington Football Team
Matchup Upgrade: Jerry Jeudy
The breakout season seemed primed and ready to go for Jerry Jeudy as he started white hot vs. the New York Giants in Week 1. In that game, Jeudy caught 6-72 on 7 targets while playing just 47% of the snaps before getting hurt. In that game, Jeudy was featured the slot getting 6 of his 7 targets on the inside securing 5 of them for 59 yards. Jeudy’s return fits perfectly with what the Broncos need as they already have Courtland Sutton and Tim Patrick on the outside leaving slot duties to go to Jeudy. This will give the Broncos probably the most underrated trio of WRs in the league.
This week the Broncos take on the Washington Football team that has allowed the most points to WRs and the 4th most points to the slot. This includes big games to Keenan Allen (9-100), Sterling Shepard (9-94) and Cole Beasley (11-98). Currently ranked outside the top 30 for WRs, start Jeudy with confidence in Week 8.
Slot Matchup Downgrades
Team: Miami Dolphins
Opponent: Buffalo Bills
Matchup Downgrade: Jaylen Waddle
Jaylen Waddle has taken on a much bigger role as of late with the injuries to Will Fuller and DeVante Parker. The great news for fantasy owners is Waddle has not disappointed in his expanded role. Over the past 2 games, Waddle has combined 21 targets, 17 receptions for 153 yards, and 2 scores. This has vaulted Waddle up the Fantasy Pros rankings as he currently sits as the WR30 on the week. We should point out that the lack of competition for targets in Miami is glaring. Outside of Mike Gesicki, the next three players to lead the team in targets include Myles Gaskin, Durham Smythe, and Mack Hollins.
Heading into Week 8, the Dolphins and Waddle have an extremely tough test vs. a Bills team coming off the bye. Back in 2, Waddle didn’t have a terrible PPR day vs. the Bills catching 6-48. This production came on a day where the Dolphins attempted 44 passes. Overall, Waddle is still on the WR4 map with the volume he has been getting, but his upside is capped vs. a tough Bills DST and the potential return of Parker.
Team: New England Patriots
Opponent: Los Angeles Chargers
Matchup Downgrade: Jakobi Meyers
At this point we should just have a placeholder for Jakobi Meyers in this article as it seems like he always finds a way onto it each week. Meyers this season has faced the 9th toughest slot schedule up to this point. Meyers has held his own in PPR as he averages 11.4 PPG in that format. The issue for Meyers is his high floor comes with no ceiling as he has 0 TDs on 59 targets. Just to put that into perspective the next player with the most targets without a TD is Laviska Shenault with 40 targets on the year.
The good news for Meyers owners is his rest of season schedule should be much easier than what he has seen so far. The bad news is that easier schedule won’t start this week as the Patriots take on a Chargers. The Chargers have allowed the 8th fewest points in slot over the past 5 weeks and the fewest points to the slot on the whole season. This matchup makes Meyers a fade once again in Week 8.
Team: Cincinnati Bengals
Opponent: New York Jets
Matchup Downgrade: Tyler Boyd
Tyler Boyd’s season has been quite disappointing as he currently sits outside the top 50 in PPR points per game. When diving into Boyd production a few factors need to be pointed out. First, the Bengals haven’t been as pass heavy as we thought they would be as they currently sit 29th in drop-backs per game. The second issue plaguing Boyd is the emergence of Ja’Marr Chase. Due to the low pass volume and Chase’s dominance, there hasn’t been a lot to go around for Boyd. Finally, due to the first two issues, Boyd has become very matchup dependent. Boyd’s three best games came against the Bears (4th), Steelers (2nd) and Jaguars (12th) in slot PPG allowed this season.
Moving forward we should monitor the low pass volume for the Bengals as we could begin to see an upswing as they play in better game scripts. However, in Week 8 vs. a Jets team who will have a hard time scoring points with Mike White running the show, it is best to fade Boyd as this is a below average matchup either way.
Top 10 Rest of Season Slot Schedule
| Offense | ROS Slot |
|---|---|
| BAL | 12.1 |
| HOU | 11.6 |
| SF | 11.6 |
| DET | 11.6 |
| PIT | 11.5 |
| TEN | 11.4 |
| LAR | 11.3 |
| JAX | 11.2 |
| GB | 11.2 |
| CHI | 11 |
Check out our Premium Fantasy Football Tools — only $19 for the best aggressive rankings in the business!
Sources: Razzball, Pro Football Focus, FantasyPros Pro Football Reference, FFToday, and Football Outsiders
