#These WRs could struggle due to NFL schedule

At no point on a football field is a quarterback matched up one-on-one with a specific defender at the snap of the ball. He is facing multiple defensive linemen looking to apply pressure, plus possible blitzers, plus the defensive backs aiming to disrupt any pass attempts. Similarly, running backs face an entire 11-man defense whose primary goal is to tackle the ball carrier.

Wide receivers? They are a bit different. They routinely, but not always, have one-on-one matchups. If they win this matchup, they stand a better chance of getting the ball, but that is no guarantee. They need a QB who can read defenses, spot open receivers, and who have time to get them the ball. Nevertheless, more often than any other skill-position players, receivers do more often engage in man-to-man battles.

So painting with a broad brush wide receiver matchups against an entire defense is more inherently flawed that other positions. Fantasy analysis requires more of player-specific data to forecast matchups.

If crafting preliminary projections based on a team’s schedule, and what defenses receivers for that team will face, is the fantasy equivalent of judging an upcoming movie based on a tease trailer, then forecasting for wide receivers is like basing that outlook on just an IMDb plot description. Needless to say, it does not provide a full picture.

That being the case, any information is better than no information. So it could help to know that the Raiders WRs face the toughest WR matchups of any team this season, based on past data. The league as a whole last season allowed 38.0 combined fantasy points per game to an opponent’s wide receiver fleet. The average yield for teams the Raiders face this season is 35.3. That is nearly a full point below the next hardest WR schedule.

Plus, it isn’t like the Raiders have a game-changing QB like Aaron Rodgers or Patrick Mahomes. They have a run-of-the-mill, middle-of-the-pack guy in Derek Carr. And it isn’t like their receiving corps has top-tier talent. There is no Davante Adams or DK Metcalf or DeAndre Hopkins. They have Henry Ruggs II, Bryan Edwards and Hunter Renfroe at the top of the depth chart. If this data holds up in the 2021 season, you want minimum exposure to the Raiders passing game.

Among a collection of teams that come in with an average in the 36-point range are the Ravens (36.8), Chiefs (36.7), Cowboys (36.5), Buccaneers (36.6) and Seahawks (36.5). But there is something about these teams that is different. What could it be? Anyone? Bueller?

Carr can’t really be compared to Lamar Jackson, Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, Tom Brady or Russell Wilson. But you know who he could be compared to? Daniel Jones. Jones’ Giants have a slate that yielded 36.1 per game, second-toughest among 2021 schedules. The addition of WR Kenny Golladay should help, but how much? As flimsy as this type of analysis is, count us skeptical about Giants WRs as well.

But of course, there are others who get a slight bump based on scheduling. The 49ers and Rams are the only teams whose schedule has teams that have given up more than 40 per game to WRs. The Cardinals (39.7) also rank near the top, making the NFC West fertile ground outside Seattle.

The others in the 39-point range present questions, but the schedule could help alleviate those fears, albeit mildly. Among them: The Saints, who have QB questions (39.9); the Panthers, with a Sam Darnold reclamation project (39.1); the Bears, with either uninspiring Andy Dalton or rookie Justin Fields at QB (39.5); the Jaguars, with rookie Trevor Lawrence (39.1).

But our favorite scheduling benefactor is new QB Carson Wentz on a stocked Colts roster with capable WRs (39.7). Among those in the questionable-talent-with-favorable-schedule fraternity, we give Wentz’s WRs (our favorite being Michael Pittman Jr.) the biggest bump.