Week 8 Best And Worst WR, TE Matchups: Parker Washington in 'smash spot' vs. Colts

It’s always a popular question — or string of questions — 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?

While it shouldn’t 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.

This season I’ll 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’ll do my best to pinpoint the most appealing (and unappealing) weekly matchups, and what they might mean for your weekly start-sit decisions.

Slot Matchups

Fantasy Points Data

Bills vs. Ravens

It’s tough to be confident in any Buffalo pass catcher at the moment with the team’s offense reverting hard into 2025 mode of their past few games. The air yards bonanza of the season’s first two weeks has given way to a Bills offense that ranks 28th in pass rate over expected since Week 3. So it goes.

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.

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.

Jaguars vs. Colts

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’t bad and the guys covering slot receivers (and tight ends) are getting carved up every Sunday.

That should continue in Week 8 against a Jags offense that has been among the NFL’s most efficient when targeting the slot. Trevor Lawrence this year is third in adjusted yards per attempt when passing to the slot. He’s 10th in drop back success rate on such throws.

The kids are calling this a “smash spot” 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’s been targeted on a team-high 33 percent of those routes.

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.

Jets vs. Raiders

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.

The Raiders through Week 7 give up the league’s 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’s Regression Files, should be fine here. Cooper is running 66 percent of his routes from the slot; he’s seeing a target on a solid 25 percent of those routes.

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.

Both Cooper and Taylor should have a little upside against a Raiders secondary allowing the league’s third highest EPA per slot targets.

Boundary Matchups

Fantasy Points Data

Ravens vs. Bills

Ja’Kaobi Lane and Rashod Bateman are Baltimore’s two primary boundary receivers for now, and in Week 8 against the Buffalo, they have a juicy little matchup.

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’re third in EPA per pass allowed to boundary pass catchers.

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’ve faced the league’s 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.

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.

Cardinals vs. Cowboys

Obviously you’re starting all your Cowboys and Cardinals unless you want to risk prison time. Don’t go to prison: Simply play the best plays here.

That (probably) includes Michael Wilson, who — as I wrote in this week’s Regression Files — has run cold thanks largely to Jacoby Brissett’s horrendous downfield passing. That could correct itself in a big way against a Dallas coverage unit allowing one of the league’s highest completion rates on deep balls.

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.

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’ve been in play here as a high-variance flex.

Kendrick Bourne won’t take Brooks’ spot as a field stretcher, though Bourne could see another target or two with Brooks out of the picture. It’s 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’s 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.