Welcome to Going Deep! This weekly article will make use of charting data, advanced metrics, and other RotoViz tools — specifically the Passing Game Matchup Rater — to help readers better understand the challenges facing wide receivers and tight ends in the coming week. As my process makes heavy use of the Matchup Rater, I’d highly recommend that you set aside half an hour to watch the tutorial/walkthrough and take a spin through the tool. (Note that for 2024, the “Target Explorer” tab has been removed from the tool.)

For Part 1, I have included the matchup graphics and some high-level notes. In part 2, we’ll take a deeper dive.

The graphics included this week largely utilize data from Week 11 to Week 18 of 2023

Week 3 Notes

• Deebo Samuel and Jauan Jennings match up favorably with the Seahawks, a team that has surrendered seven WR1 weeks since Week 11 of 2023.
• Jaxon Smith-Njigba will look to remain hot. He scores a matchup rating of 70 against the Dolphins.
• Nico Collins has asserted himself as the alpha in Houston and he should put together another great performance when he faces the Vikings over the weekend.
  • Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell also possess high scores given Minnesota’s challenges with containing WRs.
• The Bengals are off to a slow start but will hope to open up their passing game against Washington.
  • Ja’Marr Chase and Andrei Iosivas match up nicely with Washington. If Tee Higgins returns, he’ll be a threat for a WR2 week.
• Mike Gesicki, Trey McBride, and Dallas Goedert draw strong matchups at TE. In contrast, George Kittle, Sam LaPorta, Zach Ertz, and Juwan Johnson will have more challenging opposition.
• Rookies have been off to a hot start but Brian Thomas Jr. draws a difficult matchup in the Bills and the Falcons could hold Xavier Worthy at bay.
  • Gabe Davis doesn’t match up well either. Maybe this is a Christian Kirk week? (Boy, I really hope so.)
• Quentin Johnston will likely find his way into more lineups this weekend than he has in a long time. Unfortunately, his matchup with the Steelers could be a difficult one for him as evidenced by his matchup rating of 39.
• Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill draw poor matchup ratings against the Seahawks. While they’re stars and should remain in most lineups, with Tua Tagovailoa sidelined, they might fail to live up to their typical standards.