Cornerbacks vs. Wide Receiver Matchups in Week 11: Target WRs Against These Poor Defenses

Finding weaknesses in defensive schemes can offer a big advantage when choosing your DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel.

Sep 28, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London (5) celebrates during the first half against the Washington Commanders at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Picking on struggling cornerbacks can help some lineup decisions in the season-long contest and developing rosters in the DFS market. After 10 weeks, the Commanders have two defensive backs who rank in the top 10 in receiving yards allowed (1st – Quan Martin – 35/582/3 and 7th – Mike Sainristil – 34/433/6), according to Pro Football Reference.

CB Kool-Aid McKinstry, CB Mike Sainristil, and S Craig Woodson lead the NFL with six passing touchdowns allowed.  Four players have given up five touchdowns.

• CB Isaiah Pola-Mao (25/428/5)

·      CB Marcus Jones (36/346/5)

·      Brandon Stephens (31/336/5)

·      Deommodore Lenoir (27/237/5)

CB Greg Newsome II has only been on the field for four games, but he has already allowed 23 catches for 198 yards and four touchdowns on 23 targets. Receivers have scored 14.95 fantasy points per game against him in PPR formats.

LB Edgerrin Cooper (43/269/2) continues to lead the NFL in completions, followed by LB Jordan Brooks (40/388/0), CB Alontae Taylor (40/324/4), and CB Nate Wiggins (39/397/2).

Here are the top 15 defensive players who gave up the most receiving yards this year:

Corner Backs vs. Wide Receivers: Yards Allowed | Shawn Childs

Before this year, I compiled a Google Sheet with the 2024 advanced defensive statistics from Pro Football Reference. The goal was to gain a deeper understanding of the defensive side of the ball in weekly WR/CB matchups and identify potential DFS starters. Finding defensive statistics is a challenge on the free market, as many outlets score plays differently on defense.

Here’s a link to my preseason write-up on the data provided by Pro Football Reference, and a description of my added fantasy stat breakdowns:

2025 Fantasy Football IDP Cheat Sheet: Defensive Stats And Insights You Need

LB Jordyn Brooks opened up his league lead in combined tackles (105), with three players remaining within 15 tackles.

·      Bobby Wagner, Washington Commanders (99)

·      Cedric Gray, Tennessee Titans (91)

·      Demario Davis, New Orleans Saints (91)

LB Brian Burns and DE Myles Garrett head into Week 11 with a league high 11 sacks. LB Nik Bonitto (9.5) remains in third place, just ahead of LB Byron Young (9).

Note: the IDP scoring in the above grid is only based on the stats provided by Pro Football Reference.

I used these scoring values to create IDP totals:

·      Tackle (1.5 fantasy points) – Pro Football Reference only offered combined tackles, so I treated two assisted tackles as a full tackle

·      Sacks (4.0 fantasy points)

·      Interceptions (5.0 fantasy points)

These are the scoring data points that I’m lacking:

·      Tackle for a loss: 2 points

·      Forced fumble: 4 points

·      Fumble recovery: 4 points

·      Defended Passes: 1.5 points

·      Defensive touchdown: 6 points

·      Safety: 2 points