Man vs. Zone Matchups for WR/TEs in Week 10: DJ Moore's Time to Shine

Coverage schemes can often dictate what offenses and pass-catchers are able to do on a weekly basis. Identifying who excels against man or zone coverage can give you an edge in any fantasy football format, whether season-long, dynasty, DFS, etc.

Let’s take a look at a few players who find themselves in favorable spots ahead of Week 10.

Man vs. Zone Matchups for WR/TEs Week 10

DJ Moore @ New York Jets

Yes, I realize that the Jets are allowing the eighth-fewest fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers this season.

But it really doesn’t bother me when it comes to DJ Moore.

For starters, the Bills are going to put up 30 points on just about everyone, and each week, Moore’s shoulder gets closer to 100%. He also continues to run the most routes on this offense, and although the Jets haven’t coughed up a ton of fantasy points to wideouts, I do believe this is an intriguing spot for him.

Moore has been pretty efficient this season, ranking top 10 in YPRR, which is a nice bounce back from last year’s brutal season. Against man coverage, Moore has been targeted on 35% of his routes, a top-10 rate among all wide receivers, while averaging a strong 2.50 YPRR. That bodes well for him against a Jets defense deploying man coverage 32% of the time, a top-five rate in football. He’ll see primary coverage from Azareye’h Thomas, who has allowed 31 catches (eighth-most) for 284 yards and four touchdowns (third-most) in coverage this season.

With Moore running a lot more in-breaking routes in Joe Brady’s offense, I like his chances of creating some explosive plays against New York’s man-heavy scheme this weekend.

RELATED: Matthew Freedman breaks down his favorite (and least favorite) plays for Week 10 of the fantasy football season in his Favorites & Fades For Week 10 Fantasy Football.

Germie Bernard @ Cincinnati Bengals

Germie Bernard has been pretty quiet since his breakout 87-yard, 1-TD game back in Week 6. But a road matchup with the Bengals might be the perfect get-right spot for the rookie. Cincinnati plays man coverage at one of the highest rates in football, largely because they ask their top corner DJ Turner to shadow opposing top wide receivers. As a result, opposing WR1s are averaging just 41.7 yards per game against the Bengals, the lowest mark in the NFL. The avenue to attack them is the slot.

Advantage Bernard.

Cincinnati is coughing up 28 PPR PPG to opposing pass-catchers from the slot, the fourth-most in the NFL. That bodes well for Bernard, who has run 48% of his routes from the slot this season. Meanwhile, his 23% TPRR against man coverage is slightly ahead of DK Metcalf, who was shadowed by Turner on 77% of his routes when these teams first met back in Week 3. In that game, then slot man Roman Wilson caught three passes for 60 yards and a touchdown.

Isaiah Likely vs. Washington Commanders

Isaiah Likely hasn’t had the same type of fantasy success with J.J. McCarthy as he did with Jameis Winston. Hell, even his touchdown catch from last week came with Winston under center. Still, the usage and playing time remain elite for Likely, who finds himself in a great spot on Thursday.

Washington blitzes at the league’s third-highest rate (40.4%), while playing a ton of Cover-2 behind it. They’ll also mix in some Cover-2 man. Against Cover-2, Likely has been targeted on 31% of his routes, the second-highest rate among all tight ends. He also ranks fourth at the position in targets against the blitz, while drawing a target on nearly 24% of his routes when the quarterback is blitzed.

With the Commanders allowing the second-most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends this season (15.9), look for Likely to be busy on Thursday.