aaf News & Analysis

Fantasy football matchups: WR/CB chart for AAF Week 3

San Antonio, TX, USA; Orlando Apollos wide receiver Charles Johnson (12) catches a pass defended by San Antonio Commanders defensive back Jordan Thomas (23) during the second half at The Alamodome. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

The WR/CB matchup chart is one of the most popular fantasy football tools we have here at PFF. It’s an invaluable tool that allows you to see matchups at a more granular level. In the past, we’ve only offered this tool for the NFL, but that has all changed, as we have now introduced the AAF WR/CB Matchup Chart.

If you’re new to this chart, there are a few things to keep in mind. First and foremost, the chart displays primary coverage and not all coverage. We are not suggesting Receiver X will be covered by Corner Y all game. Receivers move around the formation and the percentage of routes they run from each spot is displayed on the chart. The only exception here is if we expect shadow coverage. In that case, the receiver’s name would appear in ALL CAPS. But no AAF teams have used shadow coverage so far, so we do not expect any shadows for now.

(Click here to see the Week 3 AAF fantasy rankings/projections.)

The most important column is the matchup advantage column in the middle. The higher the number, the better. Green is good. Red is bad. This column takes a few things into account, but the major piece of data here is PFF grades. We also show targets per route (T/R), fantasy points per route (F/R), catch rate (C%), and yards per route run/covered (YPRR/YPRC).

(click photo to enlarge)

Upgrades

We’re starting to get a good sense of who the top wide receiver fantasy options are after two weeks of play, with Charles Johnson and Rashad Ross emerging as the early studs. Both draw favorable matchups this week with Ross getting an upgrade out of the slot against Salt Lake and Johnson see primary coverage from Channing Stribling, who has been targeted on 20% of his routes covered this season. Mekale McKay struggled last week against Keith Reaser, but he’s poised to bounce back in a big way against the San Diego secondary. Load up on the Commanders wideouts this week. On the other side of that contest, take advantage of Brian Brown’s matchup against Zach Sanchez. The former Panthers corner was a big reason why Charles Johnson was last week’s No. 1 fantasy wideout.

Downgrades

With Reaser being one of the early favorites for AAF player of the year, we’re going to want to avoid his coverage every week. Fortunately, he’s facing the lackluster Memphis passing game this week. It’s also a good idea to fade wide receivers against Arizona’s trio of former NFL corners. Kenny Bell didn’t play last week, so keep an eye on his Week 3 status. But even if Bell does go, this is a suboptimal matchup for him.

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