![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1793427630_671_.png\")
<\/p>\nIt\u2019s always a popular question \u2014 or string of questions \u2014 during my Friday live streams on the NFL on NBC YouTube channel: Which slot receivers have the best matchups? And which outside (boundary) wideouts are in good spots?<\/p>\n
While it shouldn\u2019t be the deciding factor in how you make your weekly lineup decisions, knowing if a pass catcher has a particularly good or bad matchup is valuable information that can sometimes serve as a tiebreaker for your most vexing start-sit decisions.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This season I\u2019ll use this space to break down the best (and worst) matchups for pass catchers operating from the slot and those lining up primarily on the boundary. Some pass catchers, as you know, split their time between the boundary and the slot, making this little exercise more complicated. I\u2019ll do my best to pinpoint the most appealing (and unappealing) weekly matchups, and what they might mean for your weekly start-sit decisions.<\/p>\n
Slot Matchups<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bills vs. Ravens<\/p>\n
It\u2019s tough to be confident in any Buffalo pass catcher at the moment with the team\u2019s offense reverting hard into 2025 mode of their past few games. The air yards bonanza of the season\u2019s first two weeks has given way to a Bills offense that ranks 28th in pass rate over expected since Week 3. So it goes.<\/p>\n
I am obliged to tell you Khalil Shakir and Dalton Kincaid work from the slot more than any other Buffalo pass catcher this season. That Shakir has been targeted on an ordinary 22 percent of his routes and Kincaid on just 21 percent of his routes probably means the Bills will have to have a high volume game against Baltimore to take full advantage of the slot matchups.<\/p>\n
It is a nice little matchup though: Only nine teams allow a higher completion rate over expected to the slot than the Ravens, and seven teams allow a higher success rate on slot attempts.<\/p>\n
Jaguars vs. Colts<\/p>\n
The fire-sale Colts have been an easy target for us all season. The horseshoes are continually attacked via the slot because, well, their outside corners aren\u2019t bad and the guys covering slot receivers (and tight ends) are getting carved up every Sunday.<\/p>\n
That should continue in Week 8 against a Jags offense that has been among the NFL\u2019s most efficient when targeting the slot. Trevor Lawrence this year is third in adjusted yards per attempt when passing to the slot. He\u2019s 10th in drop back success rate on such throws.<\/p>\n
The kids are calling this a \u201csmash spot\u201d for Parker Washington, who operates from the slot on 43 percent of his routes. The matchups could also make Travis Hunter somewhat interesting if he gets more than a handful of routes against the Colts. Hunter has run 64 percent of his routes from the slot, and because so many plays are drawn up for him, he\u2019s been targeted on a team-high 33 percent of those routes.<\/p>\n
Brenton Strange, running about 40 percent of his routes from the slot, could also benefit here. Only the Saints give up a higher completion rate over expected on slot targets. Look for Strange, Washington, and maybe Hunter to cook in Week 8.<\/p>\n
Jets vs. Raiders<\/p>\n
The Vegas defense, having collapsed in recent weeks, is a target for everyone who enjoys maximizing fantasy points. Playing slot guys against the down-bad Silver and Black is one way to do just that.<\/p>\n
The Raiders through Week 7 give up the league\u2019s seventh highest adjusted yards per attempt on slot attempts. They rank 11th in success rate on slot throws. They can be had via the slot, and the Jets have the personnel to do it: Omar Cooper, Jr., who got a mention in this week\u2019s Regression Files, should be fine here. Cooper is running 66 percent of his routes from the slot; he\u2019s seeing a target on a solid 25 percent of those routes.<\/p>\n
Mason Taylor, meanwhile, will have a chance to have his third straight fantasy-relevant outing. He runs from the slot at a 38 percent rate. I should point out that Kenyon Sadiq, running slightly fewer routes than Taylor over the past couple games, lines up in the slot at a higher rate.<\/p>\n
Both Cooper and Taylor should have a little upside against a Raiders secondary allowing the league\u2019s third highest EPA per slot targets.<\/p>\n
Boundary Matchups<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Ravens vs. Bills<\/p>\n
Ja\u2019Kaobi Lane and Rashod Bateman are Baltimore\u2019s two primary boundary receivers for now, and in Week 8 against the Buffalo, they have a juicy little matchup.<\/p>\n
The Bills are 10th in adjusted yards per attempt to the boundary and 12th in completion rate over expected allowed. Buffalo is tied with the Giants in boundary touchdowns allowed (8) through Week 7. They\u2019re third in EPA per pass allowed to boundary pass catchers.<\/p>\n
Lane and\/or Bateman could have a little upside if this game is the shootout Vegas thinks it will be. After starting the season as a clear run funnel, the Bills have looked like a pass funnel since Week 4: They\u2019ve faced the league\u2019s seventh highest pass rate over expected over that stretch. The Lions are the only team this season seeing more total team air yards against them than the Bills.<\/p>\n
Maybe, just maybe, the Ravens will ease off their run-heavy approach for one week and fuel the sort of target and air yards volume that could make Lane or Bateman pretty fun for fantasy purposes.<\/p>\n
Cardinals vs. Cowboys<\/p>\n
Obviously you\u2019re starting all your Cowboys and Cardinals unless you want to risk prison time. Don\u2019t go to prison: Simply play the best plays here.<\/p>\n
That (probably) includes Michael Wilson, who \u2014 as I wrote in this week\u2019s Regression Files \u2014 has run cold thanks largely to Jacoby Brissett\u2019s horrendous downfield passing. That could correct itself in a big way against a Dallas coverage unit allowing one of the league\u2019s highest completion rates on deep balls.<\/p>\n
Dallas allows the ninth highest EPA per throw on boundary targets through Week 7. No defense allows a higher rate of expected touchdowns than the Cowboys. You know it in your marrow: They stink against outside wideouts.<\/p>\n
Jalen Brooks, who had been operating from the boundary at a 75 percent rate since the Cards parted ways with Marvin Harrison, Jr., went down with a serious injury in Week 7. He might\u2019ve been in play here as a high-variance flex.<\/p>\n
Kendrick Bourne won\u2019t take Brooks\u2019 spot as a field stretcher, though Bourne could see another target or two with Brooks out of the picture. It\u2019s not as if the Dallas secondary is shutting down slot guys. With Caleb Downs getting wrecked nearly every week by slot receivers and tight ends, the Cowboys are giving up the NFL\u2019s fourth highest success rate and sixth highest completion rate over expected on passes to the slot. Bourne, I think, should be in all 12-team league lineups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s always a popular question \u2014 or string of questions \u2014 during my Friday live streams on the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":900762,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[349,99],"class_list":["post-900761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-nfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=900761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900761\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/900762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=900761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=900761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=900761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}