This article is part of our Corner Report series.
This article will look at the wide receivers playing in the Super Bowl and, based on the inside/outside and left/right splits of those receivers, identify the cornerbacks most likely to face them in man coverage.
Receivers rarely see the same corner every play, be it due to formation quirks or zone coverage calls by the defense, so a receiver's fortunes depend on much more than just the quality of the corner they're likely to see the most in a given game. Even against a bad corner, a good receiver can be denied the opportunity if the pass rush or something else outside his control complicates things. But it's part of the puzzle, and it's worth keeping track of.
Receivers are left with an Upgrade, Downgrade, or Even verdict based on their projected matchup. This shouldn't be read as 'good' or 'bad' but rather a measured tweak from the receiver's baseline projection.
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES vs. KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES WIDE RECEIVERS
A.J. Brown is the kind of receiver who would normally draw a shadow assignment from Trent McDuffie, and that could very well be Kansas City's plan here. McDuffie is one of the league's top cornerbacks, and there's little doubt McDuffie is one of the most challenging corners for Brown to face. Still, Brown is likely a better wide receiver than McDuffie is a corner, and Brown has traits that could prove challenging for McDuffie. More specifically, at around two inches taller and 30 pounds heavier Brown can probably make some plays even if McDuffie is draped all over him. Brown is much bigger and has much greater reach than McDuffie even while running at basically the same speed.
If the Chiefs don't use McDuffie to shadow Brown then it would presumably be out of respect for DeVonta Smith, who the Chiefs would be right to worry about when lined up against boundary corner Jaylen Watson and especially slot defender Chamarri Conner. Watson is a good player but as a Cover-3 prototype he has heavier feet than the ideal against a blur like Smith, and meanwhile Conner isn't even a real corner at all. Conner is a useful player to the Chiefs, but probably not when he has to cover slot wideouts on the level of Smith.
Jahan Dotson gets a healthy amount of snaps, mostly on the boundary, but he's been legendarily unproductive in 2024. Perhaps there's an excuse – perhaps the Eagles are mostly using him on clearing routes to buy room for Brown and Smith – but in any case it doesn't seem like this form of Dotson is any threat to the Chiefs corners.
Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: A.J. Brown (arguable Downgrade if shadowed by McDuffie), DeVonta Smith (arguable Upgrade if McDuffie shadows Brown), Jahan Dotson
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS WIDE RECEIVERS
The Chiefs haven't used DeAndre Hopkins much in recent weeks, giving him only 26 snaps in the two Kansas City playoff games, so it appears he's frozen out at this point by Xavier Worthy, Marquise Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster. Worthy and Brown seem somewhat likely to block Hopkins for most boundary reps, while Smith-Schuster is an obstacle in the slot.
Worthy and Brown are the most serious route runners of the three, given that much of Smith-Schuster's utility in the slot has to do with his blocking in the middle of the field. Smith-Schuster occasionally pops up as a route runner when he finds an open spot in zone coverage, but in his now-diminished form Smith-Schuster probably isn't capable of proactively beating many coverages. When in the slot Smith-Schuster should primarily see Cooper DeJean, and at the very least the rookie is the much more athletic of the two.
Worthy and Brown are more imposing, and their speed can threaten any corner, even ones as good as Quinyon Mitchell and Darius Slay. Mitchell and Slay are a very good boundary duo indeed, and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio does a good job of keeping two safeties behind them for additional vertical cover. It might therefore be easier to attack the Eagles underneath than downfield, and easier over the middle of the field than toward the boundary.
If those trends hold here then we might expect a game where the wide receivers stand out less consistently than the tight ends. It's easier to throw at Philadelphia's linebackers than their corners, potentially giving Kansas City extra reason to throw to Travis Kelce and maybe even Noah Gray.
Upgrade: N/A
Downgrade: N/A
Even: Xavier Worthy, Marquise Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster
