"It's a game of matchups" -- one of the many old football adages we hear on a regular basis from coaches in pre s conferences. And with the dazzling amount of stars hitting the field Sunday, the AFC and NFC Tyler Thornburg Jersey title games will absolutely come down to a variety of one-on-one matchups.And as a young player analyst here at CBS Sports, I'm here to highlight those prospects drafted in 2018, 2019 or 2020 who'll find themselves in a key individual battle in both conference championships.With the , , and respectively the No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 teams in (weighted = games earlier in the season don't weigh as much as more recent games), it's not surprising most of these matchups feature a young defender tasked with limiting a veteran on offense. CHI MLB #49 A signment: Chiefs TE Kelce is the best tight end in football and enters this game as a legitimate Offensive Player of the Year candidate. He set the NFL single-season record for most receiving yards for a tight end (1,416) and finished second in the league only to in receiving yards among all players in the 2020 regular season. Against the last week, the uber-athletic tight end caught eight pa ses for 109 yards and a score. At 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds with freaky change-of-direction skills and running back-like capabilities with the ball in his hands, Kelce is incredibly unique, and that rare blend of size and athleticism makes him nearly an impo sible cover.Interestingly, the Bills also boast a uniquely talented defender who will shoulder some of the responsibilities of staying with Kelce on pa s plays -- Edmunds is Blake Swihart Jersey a 6-4 and 1/2-inches tall and weighs 250 pounds at the linebacker spot. He ran 4.54 at the combine in 2018. While not as consistent as his linebacker counterpart , Edmunds has the physique to matchup with Kelce down the seam. He had three pa s breakups during the regular season and three total in Buffalo's first two playoff games. I'm not expecting Edmunds to completely put the clamps on Kelce, but this is the one time Kansas City's superstar tight end will face a linebacker nearly as big and athletic as he is. Pay attention to this key one-on-one battle in the AFC Championship Game. GB CB #23 A signment(s): Buccaneers WRs Mike Evans/Chris GodwinAlexander rightfully earned a first-team All-Pro distinction after a brilliantly stingy season as primarily a pre s man cornerback in Mike Pettine's system. And now he'll see a trio of phenomenal Tampa Bay receivers. Alexander predominantly aligns as Green Bay's left outside cornerback. Evans and Godwin actually run a fair amount of their routes from in the slot and have been left outside receivers more than right outside receivers.The 5-10, 194-pound Alexander has 4.38 speed, good explosivene s and freaky agility -- as illustrated by his blisteringly fast . Godwin and Evans of course boast a large rebounding threat given their heights. How the Buccaneers' star receivers fare when facing Alexander will go a long way in determining the outcome of the NFC Championship Game. KC CB #38 A signment: Bills WR The fourth-round rookie from Louisiana Tech with began his rookie season playing boundary cornerback for the Chiefs. Since he returned from a broken collarbone in late November, he's mostly been utilized in the slot. And in this contest, he's going to see Beasley, arguably the slipperiest, most savvy slot wideout in football. Per , among the 63 pa s catchers to get Chris Sale Jersey at least 80 targets during the regular season, Beasley had the highest average amount of separation at 3.5 yards per target. Some of that is scheme. Some of it is Beasley's electric twitch and route-running prowe s. Buffalo's main slot option had five 100-plus yard games in the regular season and set career highs in catches (82) and receiving yards (967).Sneed has the linear explosivene s to match Beasley on vertical routes, but this man-to-man battle will be more about how the impre sive rookie can change directions once the wily veteran glides off his route stem. TB OT #78 A signment: Packers EDGE The praise for Wirfs in his rookie year has been widespread. His blend of athleticism and strength along with 10-year veteran-type hand work has allowed him to erase most of the high-end edge rushers he's squared off against at right tackle this season. Before the playoffs, the Iowa product surrendered just one sack of , and after Week 10, Wirfs allowed just five pre sures on 345 pa s-blocking snaps. He's been a Kevlar Bill Lee Jersey wall. While Smith, the Packers best outside rusher, splits time getting after the quarterback from the left and right side of the line, we'll get that heavyweight bout on occasion. At 6-4 and 272 pounds with quick hands that don't lack pop upon contact, Smith is one of the more difficult a signments for outside blockers. How Wirfs handles the instances in which he and Smith lock up will be integral to Brady's effectivene s inside the pocket.This year, counting the playoffs, Brady's pa ser rating was 55.3 when pre sured and 114.6 when not pre sured. BUF CB #7 A signment: Chiefs CB Wooo boy, this is as difficult of a matchup as any -- Johnson, Buffalo's sticky slot cornerback, seeing the hyper-explosive, twitched up Hill on a regular basis Sunday night. Including the playoffs, Johnson has eight pa s breakups on the season, and six of them have occurred after Buffalo's Week 11 bye week. The third-year pro and former fourth-round pick has two pick-sixes in critical games for the Bills defense too.Covering Hill will be more of a team effort than Johnson just playing on an island TB CB #24 Rick Porcello Jersey A signment: Packers WR In the Week 6 matchup against the Packers, Davis covered Adams on 24 snaps. The first-team All-Pro wideout caught two pa ses. The 6-1, 209-pound corner with arms that stretch nearly 33-inches long is one of the biggest, most physically intimidating cornerbacks in the NFL. The Buccaneers picked him in the second round in the 2018 draft, and he's been wildly productive since. As a rookie, he broke up four pa ses. Respectable start to his NFL career. In 2019, that figure jumped to 19. During this regular season, the Auburn product knocked away 18 pa ses while snagging four interceptions. He already has three pa s breakups in the playoffs.Davis can be a little boom or bust -- five touchdowns were scored in his target area, and remember, Adams has a grand total of 19 receiving scores this season up to this point. He's arguably the most destructive pre s-man receiver in the league, winning at the line with insane regularity and through his route with convincing head, shoulder and hip fakes to free himself for .
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