This season, we will be taking periodic stock of which teams are being attacked voluminously in specific areas due to a defensive imbalance. Knowing where to attack as we enter Week 5 of the NFL season can make for a fantasy football advantage.
The term “funnel defense” was coined several years ago by the esteemed Adam Levitan and has become common parlance among DFS players and other fantasy aficionados. It refers to defenses that are simultaneously soft in one area and stout in another. The resulting effect is offenses often funnel action toward the path of least resistance.
With the first month in the books, it’s a good time to search for the funnel spots that may gain us a fantasy edge. Let’s begin with some pass funnels.
PASS FUNNELS
Philadelphia Eagles
With a run defense grading sixth-best and allowing the fewest yards per game – and second-fewest per carry – the Eagles are not a team to hand off against. Similar to last season, when they were one of the league’s premiere pass funnel defenses, opponents are throwing against Philadelphia at the league’s highest rate. Nobody else is close. The Eagles’ defense is facing a 71.3% situation-neutral pass rate. The next highest is the Patriots’ 65.8% rate.
The discrepancy in pass versus run rate is even more notable considering the Eagles don’t have a terrible pass defense. They feature our second-best-graded pass rush and are tied for the ninth-most sacks (11). Opposing quarterbacks have the 19th-best passer rating, the 18th-highest yards per attempt, and are they are tied for the 15th-most passing touchdowns. Their cornerbacks have struggled more often than not, however, and losing excellent coverage safety Rodney McLeod is quietly a major loss.
Week 5: versus Minnesota Vikings
One week (and three days) after lighting up the Rams, Kirk Cousins will unleash Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs on the Eagles. They won’t need much funneling, as the Viking already pass at the highest situation-neutral rate (70 percent). Diggs, in particular, should feast while running a significant portion of his routes against perpetual burn victim Jalen Mills. Most of Thielen’s routes will come against Sidney Jones in the slot (65 percent). While Jones has shown promise, Mills is getting flambéed on a regular basis. Our second-worst-graded coverage cornerback is allowing a 118.7 passer rating while facing the sixth most targets at his position.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers don’t have a particularly imposing defense. They are best along a high-pedigreed defensive line, and their relative strength is run stopping – especially now that Reuben Foster is back. Their pass coverage grades third-worst and they are tied for the third-most passing touchdowns allowed. When Richard Sherman returns from a calf injury, the pass funnel becomes more concentrated. He has only been thrown at six times, and slot cornerback K’Waun Williams has held his own. With TE-eraser Jaquiski Tartt expected back this week, it narrows down who will be picked on.
San Francisco earned a positive run defense grade against the Chargers, and we can expect them to further stiffen as Foster shakes off rust. He was our fourth-highest-graded linebacker last year despite playing roughly half a season. However, Jimmy Garoppolo’s season-ending knee injury should lead to more negative game scripts, and theoretically, more testing of the 49ers’ run defense.
Week 5: versus Arizona Cardinals
We probably don’t have to worry about hugely negative gamescripts this week, at least early on. If rookie first-rounder Josh Rosen is going to get an early-career boost, it will come in San Francisco on Sunday. The 49ers are allowing the sixth-most snaps per game (69.8), which might juice the Cardinals’ pathetic play volume (49.5). With Larry Fitzgerald up against Williams in the slot, and Ricky Seals-Jones getting a taste of Tartt, Rosen’s best bet is attacking the pillow-soft perimeter of Jimmie Ward and Ahkello Witherspoon – our 94th- and 108th-graded coverage cornerbacks.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints have faced one-and-a-half quarterbacks so far. Matt Ryanvaporized them with 374 yards and five touchdowns on only 26 completions. It came two weeks after Ryan Fitzpatrick got the high-flying 2018 season rolling with 417 yards and four touchdowns on only 21 completions. New Orleans faced an out-of-sorts Tyrod Taylor and an over-the-hill Eli Manning in their other two games, with both flopping. The two passers actually equipped to take advantage of the Saints’ sixth-worst-graded pass coverage had their way on minimal attempts.
Opponents throw against the Saints at only the 14th-highest situation-neutral rate, but will not slam their heads and running backs into a wall for long. New Orleans’ fourth-highest-graded run defense has yielded the fewest yards in total and on a per-carry basis (3.2). Meanwhile, their pass defense is allowing the most yards per attempt (9.6), the second-highest completion and touchdown percentage, and they have the fifth-lowest interception rate. Unless the goal is to chew clock while keeping Drew Brees and Alvin Kamarasidelined, there isn’t a great reason to hand off very often.
Week 5: versus Washington
Coming off of a bye, Alex Smith is in a great spot for fantasy production, and not only because the game will be played in the Superdome. Considering his 6.9-yard average depth of target (seventh-lowest), Smith is somewhat surprisingly tied with Brees for ninth in yards per attempt (8.0), which synchs well with a Saints defense allowing the most 20-plus-yard touchdowns and third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. The matchup also shapes up nicely for pass-catching dynamo Chris Thompson, as it’s unlikely a hobbled Adrian Peterson achieves a successful revenge game against New Orleans’ run defense, and can easily fall victim to negative game script if the nearly-touchdown-favorite Saints seize control. With New Orleans allowing the most fantasy points to wide receivers, and the sixth-fewest to running backs, Thompson may slip under fantasy radars.
The term “funnel defense” was coined several years ago by the esteemed Adam Levitan and has become common parlance among DFS players and other fantasy aficionados. It refers to defenses that are simultaneously soft in one area and stout in another. The resulting effect is offenses often funnel action toward the path of least resistance.
With the first month in the books, it’s a good time to search for the funnel spots that may gain us a fantasy edge. Let’s begin with some pass funnels.
PASS FUNNELS
Philadelphia Eagles
With a run defense grading sixth-best and allowing the fewest yards per game – and second-fewest per carry – the Eagles are not a team to hand off against. Similar to last season, when they were one of the league’s premiere pass funnel defenses, opponents are throwing against Philadelphia at the league’s highest rate. Nobody else is close. The Eagles’ defense is facing a 71.3% situation-neutral pass rate. The next highest is the Patriots’ 65.8% rate.
The discrepancy in pass versus run rate is even more notable considering the Eagles don’t have a terrible pass defense. They feature our second-best-graded pass rush and are tied for the ninth-most sacks (11). Opposing quarterbacks have the 19th-best passer rating, the 18th-highest yards per attempt, and are they are tied for the 15th-most passing touchdowns. Their cornerbacks have struggled more often than not, however, and losing excellent coverage safety Rodney McLeod is quietly a major loss.
Week 5: versus Minnesota Vikings
One week (and three days) after lighting up the Rams, Kirk Cousins will unleash Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs on the Eagles. They won’t need much funneling, as the Viking already pass at the highest situation-neutral rate (70 percent). Diggs, in particular, should feast while running a significant portion of his routes against perpetual burn victim Jalen Mills. Most of Thielen’s routes will come against Sidney Jones in the slot (65 percent). While Jones has shown promise, Mills is getting flambéed on a regular basis. Our second-worst-graded coverage cornerback is allowing a 118.7 passer rating while facing the sixth most targets at his position.
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers don’t have a particularly imposing defense. They are best along a high-pedigreed defensive line, and their relative strength is run stopping – especially now that Reuben Foster is back. Their pass coverage grades third-worst and they are tied for the third-most passing touchdowns allowed. When Richard Sherman returns from a calf injury, the pass funnel becomes more concentrated. He has only been thrown at six times, and slot cornerback K’Waun Williams has held his own. With TE-eraser Jaquiski Tartt expected back this week, it narrows down who will be picked on.
San Francisco earned a positive run defense grade against the Chargers, and we can expect them to further stiffen as Foster shakes off rust. He was our fourth-highest-graded linebacker last year despite playing roughly half a season. However, Jimmy Garoppolo’s season-ending knee injury should lead to more negative game scripts, and theoretically, more testing of the 49ers’ run defense.
Week 5: versus Arizona Cardinals
We probably don’t have to worry about hugely negative gamescripts this week, at least early on. If rookie first-rounder Josh Rosen is going to get an early-career boost, it will come in San Francisco on Sunday. The 49ers are allowing the sixth-most snaps per game (69.8), which might juice the Cardinals’ pathetic play volume (49.5). With Larry Fitzgerald up against Williams in the slot, and Ricky Seals-Jones getting a taste of Tartt, Rosen’s best bet is attacking the pillow-soft perimeter of Jimmie Ward and Ahkello Witherspoon – our 94th- and 108th-graded coverage cornerbacks.
New Orleans Saints
The Saints have faced one-and-a-half quarterbacks so far. Matt Ryanvaporized them with 374 yards and five touchdowns on only 26 completions. It came two weeks after Ryan Fitzpatrick got the high-flying 2018 season rolling with 417 yards and four touchdowns on only 21 completions. New Orleans faced an out-of-sorts Tyrod Taylor and an over-the-hill Eli Manning in their other two games, with both flopping. The two passers actually equipped to take advantage of the Saints’ sixth-worst-graded pass coverage had their way on minimal attempts.
Opponents throw against the Saints at only the 14th-highest situation-neutral rate, but will not slam their heads and running backs into a wall for long. New Orleans’ fourth-highest-graded run defense has yielded the fewest yards in total and on a per-carry basis (3.2). Meanwhile, their pass defense is allowing the most yards per attempt (9.6), the second-highest completion and touchdown percentage, and they have the fifth-lowest interception rate. Unless the goal is to chew clock while keeping Drew Brees and Alvin Kamarasidelined, there isn’t a great reason to hand off very often.
Week 5: versus Washington
Coming off of a bye, Alex Smith is in a great spot for fantasy production, and not only because the game will be played in the Superdome. Considering his 6.9-yard average depth of target (seventh-lowest), Smith is somewhat surprisingly tied with Brees for ninth in yards per attempt (8.0), which synchs well with a Saints defense allowing the most 20-plus-yard touchdowns and third-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. The matchup also shapes up nicely for pass-catching dynamo Chris Thompson, as it’s unlikely a hobbled Adrian Peterson achieves a successful revenge game against New Orleans’ run defense, and can easily fall victim to negative game script if the nearly-touchdown-favorite Saints seize control. With New Orleans allowing the most fantasy points to wide receivers, and the sixth-fewest to running backs, Thompson may slip under fantasy radars.