The league's fourth-best receiver in yards gained this season makes for a nightmare for opposing offenses, but Marshon Lattimore isn't losing any sleep over Tyreek Hill.
Ever the confident corner, Lattimore was firm in his response Thursday when asked about defending the speedster in Sunday's marquee matchup.
"What you think, man? You think I can match up with him?" Lattimore asked facetiously, via ESPN's Mike Triplett. "I think I can. He's fast, yeah. But it's football at the end of the day. I feel like I'm a great corner and he's a great receiver. It's a matchup."
It is a matchup, sure, but it doesn't skew in Lattimore's favor. The cornerback is in the middle of the pack of cornerbacks (with a minimum of 50 targets) when it comes to ballhawk rate (percentage of targets where the nearest defender made a play on the football, either in a pass defensed or interception), and he's forcing tight-window targets on just 17.5% of his 57 total targets in which he was the nearest defender. Lattimore is allowing an opposing passer rating of 104.3 when the nearest defender, giving up four touchdowns while recording seven passes defensed and one interception.
Hill makes for an unenviable challenge, to which Lattimore must rise in order to keep him contained. Most defenses haven't been able to do so, as Hill is among the league's best in creating separation, averaging 3.4 yards of space at the time of the pass' arrival. Hill is also getting wide open on over 25% of his 119 targets this season, meaning Lattimore might need some help over the top to prevent Hill from breaking the game open.
Football is, of course, an 11-man game. But this one-on-one could go a long way toward deciding Sunday's contest.
