Sometimes you go into analyzing matchup with one idea in mind, but the information changes it. That's what happened to me with Alshon Jeffery versus Denver this week.
I saw that the Broncos have allowed only 1 TD to a wide receiver all season, which is pretty impressive. So I said, well, probably won't want to use Alshon Jeffery, the way Denver has shut those guys down. And I started building a table showing how lousy those have done.
But going back through the schedule, it looks like although they haven't been scoring (which I realize is most important) most of those opposing No. 1 wide receivers have finished with decent numbers, at least in PPR formats. (Which is most of my leagues. If I'm getting 13-17 points out of my starters, I'm usually OK with that and usually going to win.)
Here are how No. 1 wide receivers have fared against Denver this season.
| TOP WIDE RECEIVERS VERSUS DENVER | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Yds | TD |
| Steve Smith, Balt. | 2 | 13 | 0 |
| Jeremy Maclin, K.C. | 4 | 57 | 0 |
| Calvin Johnson, Det. | 8 | 77 | 0 |
| Mike Wallace, Minn. | 8 | 83 | 1 |
| Amari Cooper, Oak. | 4 | 47 | 0 |
| Travis Benjamin, Clev. | 9 | 117 | 0 |
| Randall Cobb, G.B. | 6 | 27 | 0 |
| T.Y. Hilton, Ind. | 5 | 82 | 0 |
I left out Maclin's game last week because Denver's offense gave so many gifts to Kansas City that it didn't seem fair; Kansas City kept starting in Denver territory and won without even trying. So, five of eight No. 1s caught at least 5 passes against the Broncos, and four put up at least 77 yards. There doesn't seem to be any special shutdown ability in Denver's secondary, aside from the whole scoring thing. Those receivers put up similar numbers against the Broncos as they've been doing against everyone else.
--Andy Richardson