Premium Content Sign Up

Fantasy Football WR Report: Man, zone coverage performance ahead of NFL Week 16

2YXX2K9 Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Ladd McConkey (15) runs during an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Brian Thomas Jr. is in a great spot to keep his strong rookie season going: Thomas' success against man coverage puts him in line for a great week in an ideal matchup.

Ladd McConkey is back and should deliver for fantasy managers in Week 16: McConkey’s dominance against man coverage should be on full display this week on Thursday Night Football versus the Denver Broncos.

• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all our in-season fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Sign up now!

Estimated Reading Time: 24 minutes


This fantasy football wide receiver report will build on PFF's wide receiver grades against man and zone coverages.

By providing additional fantasy-related details, including opponent coverage tendencies, we’ll look to find one more edge to help us dominate our fantasy leagues this season.


JUMP TO A TEAM:

ARZ | ATL | BLT | BUF | CAR | CHICIN | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND | JAX | KC | LVR | LAC | LAR | MIA | MIN | NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF | SEA | TB | TEN | WSH


Arizona Cardinals

Week 16 opponent: Carolina Panthers
  • Man coverage rate: 20.6% (26)
  • Zone coverage rate: 71.9% (10)
Versus man
PlayerRoutes runReceptionsReceiving yardsTarget ratePPR pointsFF PTS/RR
Chris Moore2000.0%0.00.00
Zay Jones311133.2%2.30.07
Zach Pascal5000.0%0.00.00
Greg Dortch6366417.5%18.40.29
Michael Wilson1141114418.4%37.40.33
Xavier Weaver60016.7%0.00.00
Marvin Harrison Jr.1161821329.3%57.30.49
Versus zone
PlayerRoutes runReceptionsReceiving yardsTarget ratePPR pointsFF PTS/RR
Chris Moore6000.0%0.00.00
Zay Jones70265.7%2.60.04
Zach Pascal10000.0%0.00.00
Greg Dortch1752319415.4%42.40.24
Michael Wilson3013033813.0%75.80.25
Xavier Weaver21000.0%0.00.00
Marvin Harrison Jr.3072947418.2%100.40.33

The Panthers have played zone coverage at a top-10 rate this season but slot in at 27th in yards allowed per reception (11.5) and 30th in yards allowed per coverage snap (7.43) from those looks.

This is typically a favorable matchup for wide receivers, which will ideally help Marvin Harrison Jr. overcome his current slump. Harrison leads the Cardinals' wide receivers in target rate versus zone, but that clip still pales in comparison to his target rate against man coverage, which has led to lower fantasy outputs. He ranks just outside the top 50 (minimum 100 routes) in fantasy points per route run against zone.

Click here for even more insight into receiver performance against man and zone coverages


Atlanta Falcons

Subscriptions

Unlock the 2024 Fantasy Draft Kit, with Live Draft Assistant, Fantasy Mock Draft Sim, Rankings & PFF Grades

$24.99/mo
OR
$119.99/yr