There is no shortage of defensive weapons on Clevelands roster. Another of those factors was health, as Darby played over 600 defensive snaps in 2020 for the first time in four seasons. Nonetheless, this year's class doesn't boast a marquee, Denzel Ward or Jalen Ramsey type bound to land inside the top five. . The Patriots did what the Patriots always do they traded (or cut) a player thats still near the top of his game, but is beginning to walk down the hill. Veteran Artie Burns and seventh-round rookie Thomas Graham Jr. were small-sample darlings with 85.1 and 90.6 coverage grades, respectively, but they didnt get enough reps to make a sizable dent. The Panthers get a physical and sticky man coverage cornerback who will be an interesting fit on an incredibly young defense. Although Ringo grew up dreaming of scoring touchdowns, his path to being a high draft pick could come because of his ability to prevent them. The 6-foot-2, 202-pounder earned a few poor game grades early on, but he soon righted those wrongs. After a 3-0 start to the 2021 season, the Carolina Panthers were figured out on both sides of the ball. 2022 season/2023 NFL Draft outlook. Bobby Wagner 8452. He wasnt alone out there, either safety Marcus Williams also helped anchor the group with an 84.3 coverage grade that ranked seventh at the position. The Seahawks appear to be banking on Ahkello Witherspoon making a leap he never managed with the San Francisco 49ers. If you built a cornerback in a lab, they would look like Ramsey. NFC West teams gained even more firepower at the quarterback position in a dramatic offseason, magnifying the issues for a Seattle secondary that is a long way from the Legion of Boom. Ask any executive or coach around the league at this The rankings were produced by multiplying each players coverage baseline by a projected target share for 2021, which is dependent on their position on the depth chart, with the results then aggregated at the team level to produce that defenses coverage grade. Changing that and successfully developing Okudah and Melifonwu will be crucial to this secondary climbing out of the cellar. The Rams may have lost key pieces in the secondary in the form of safety John Johnson and cornerback Troy Hill but, even with the departure of defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, moving the ball on Los Angeles through the air will be an imposing challenge in 2021. Jaylon Johnson, Chicago Bears He allowed a mere 0.46 yards per coverage snap and 3.1 yards per target in that span, both of which ranked second among cornerbacks. Using advanced data, weve ranked every secondary in the NFL by their performance in pass coverage. Jaire Alexander is responsible for my favorite troll of all time on a football field. He has picked up coverage grades between 70.4 and 72.4 every season, gradually increasing his playing time each year. The Philadelphia Eagles cornerback, who became the first Black man to work full-time as a sports analyst on national television, is the latest football player diagnosed with CTE. Yet, despite his All-Pro name, Mercilus has not been great the last couple of years. This week, were evaluating defensive backs. Buffalos secondary endured a crushing blow in Week 12 when CB1 TreDavious White went down with a season-ending torn ACL. The Bengals', pass coverage finished the regular season as the seventh-most improved group year over year in terms of EPA allowed per pass. 12. Adoree Jackson, New York Giants 1. The defense endured blows at multiple position groups, including in the secondary with Marcus Peters (torn ACL in the preseason) and Marlon Humphrey (torn pectoral in Week 13). Which teams have the best -- and worst -- running back units? Henderson. Ive already written my story on Trevon Diggs. From Week 12 to the end of the regular season, he was one of the 10 highest-graded cornerbacks in the NFL. Mahomes is king again at age 25 and may not be dethroned for a long time. With the help of. Cross died in 2021. Terrell. Washington possessed one of the better defenses in the NFL in 2020;Jacksons addition should only improve it, giving them a No. The Broncos' secondary underwhelmed to a certain extent in 2021, with veteran safety Kareem Jackson and cornerback free agent pickups Kyle Fuller and Ronald Darby all producing poor coverage grades below 60.0. Jacksons grading profile has been consistent across his first three seasons in the NFL after joining New England as an undrafted free agent in 2018. The Raiders secondary has received its fair share of criticism in the Jon Gruden-Mike Mayock years, with doubts cast over the merits of selecting Trayvon Mullen in the second round in 2019 and Damon Arnette in the first last year. In 2019 and 2020, for instance, he played more in the slot than out wide. To look exclusively at the secondary, the results for defenders who spend their playing time almost exclusively in the box have been filtered out. Projected starter Amani Oruwariye (36.9) did not fare much better, and it would be no surprise to see rookie Ifeatu Melifonwu thrust into a prominent role early in his career. So, which secondaries were a boon and which were a hindrance this season? Jackson was one of the five highest-graded outside cornerbacks in the NFL and allowed the second-fewest yards per coverage snap at the position. Holland was the highest-graded safety since Week 9 by over four grading points. Hes a wide receiver baiting quarterbacks into throwing passes that he can jump. The slot was also a considerable issue all year long, as Chicago produced the sixth-worst coverage grade at the position this season. They consistently ranked near the bottom of the league in every metric imaginable, including defensive back, Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley brought his patented Seahawk Cover 3 defense and got the right players in place to carry it out at a quality level. Jackson has allowed just five of 48 targets at that depth to be completed, tallying 11 interceptions in the process. Ranking the top NFL Cornerback contracts and salaries in the NFL He earned a 47.4 coverage grade for the regular season while also allowing a 125.0 passer rating when targeted and being called for 10 penalties. With the start of the 2021 NFL regular season just around the corner, NFL.com analyst and former scout Daniel Jeremiah projects the best- and . That all came to a halt with the Chargers in 2020, as Hayward earned a PFF grade of just 59.5 while allowing nearly 17 yards per reception into his coverage. It shouldnt be a surprise that the group finished with one of the three-lowest unit coverage grades of the year. A strong work out at LSU's pro day on April 6th could help to turn around his draft stock. Carlton Davis, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 16. Xavien Howard picked an opportune time to hold out for a new contract.. We rank all 32 teams in 10 different position groups, plus we offer an overall roster outlook. 1. Rookie Patrick Surtain II also showed a lot of promise and looks like a star in the making. According to PFF WAR, the veteran corner was the sixth-most valuable cornerback in the league over the 2015, 2017 and 2018 seasons. Pro Football Focus graded rookie Sauce Gardner as the best corner in the NFL. The 2021 top-10 pick allowed over 60 yards just once last season and led the draft class in combined interceptions and pass breakups (12). While Tier 4 cornerbacks constantly compete for top-15 spots at the position and are average at worst, Tier 6 corners compete for top-30 spots and sometimes have below . However, if White can keep up his torrent pace in 2021, he could easily elevate into the same conversation for CB1. The Raiders defensive backs rank seventh for aggregate coverage, rating 10% better than the average. Their team slot coverage grade ended up multiple grading points higher than any other NFL franchise. While Pittsburgh ranked in the top 10 in EPA allowed per pass play for the season, they struggled quite a bit when not producing pressure on the quarterback. The cornerback room was more in the middle of the pack, ranking 16th in PFF WAR generated. So, which secondaries were a boon and which were a hindrance this season? Sign Up. It doesnt hurt that Washington can feel comfortable playing him at multiple positions in their secondary, either. If Ramsey is the freak, Alexander is the new mold. But his play has been up and down over that four-year stretch. Jones was the NFL's highest-paid cornerback when he signed a five-year, $82.5 . If he can do this for 17 games, even if the interceptions evade him, itll be tough to argue theres a better cornerback in the league. * - denotes 2022 prospect. . Hes one of the few thatll travel anywhere on the defense to cover an offenses best weapon. It eventually got so bad that they had to move Will Harris from safety to outside corner and were forced to play 2021 undrafted cornerbacks AJ Parker and Jerry Jacobs for more than 300 coverage snaps. Consequently, defenses are more stressed than ever before. Since 2017, he has forced more incompletions on passes 20-plus yards downfield (18) than he has receptions allowed (14). March 1, 2023 7:01 am ET. Minnesota put forth some of the worst cornerback play in the NFL. Return to Top; Players. Defensive rookies. Darius Big Play Slay played a big part in the Eagles cracking a spot in the top half of the league. Detroits defensive backs aggregate coverage grade is 27% below average. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. Safeties Harrison Smith (13.13) and Xavier Woods (16.33 at free safety) also struggled in that metric in 2020 but the pressure will be taken off that pair should their top three corners live up to expectations. Alexander has those piercing eyes that make him and Randall Cobb look related, and I cant imagine having to line up against him with those things staring a hole through the crown of my nose. Butler allowed the 10th-most burn yards per snap among corners with at least 200 coverage snaps (2.42) while Alford has not played since the 2018 season. Hes intelligent and has ideal size and athleticism. His 17.3% forced incompletion rate ranks second among cornerbacks who have seen at least 100 targets over those two years. Howard has struggled so far in 2021, but the same can be said for the entire Dolphins defense. Carlton Davis may draw the more demanding assignments, but Dean has been just about as good as Tampa Bay could have hoped for in his role over the past two seasons. Verrett exceeded all expectations in his return from a string of injuries last season for San Francisco. His 19.1% forced incompletion rate was a top-five mark at the cornerback position last year, tied with Jaire Alexander. Which team has the most wins as road dogs since 2015? Lavonte David 6943. Still, they held up well, ranking sixth in coverage grade and second in EPA per pass play allowed on such plays. Pair that with three top-25-graded safeties Antoine Winfield Jr. (second), Jordan Whitehead (18th) and Mike Edwards (22nd) and you have yourself one of the best secondaries in the NFL ready to help the franchise compete for another Super Bowl. If you take away a disastrous 2019 season with the Philadelphia Eagles in which he earned just a 44.8 overall grade, Darby has graded above 68.0 overall since being drafted in 2015. No team, this season than Baltimore. Bradberry put up solid performances against a difficult slate of NFC South cornerbacks across the first four seasons of his career with the Carolina Panthers, but he took a clear step forward in his first year with the Giants last season. Even with the big plays allowed early in the season, quarterbacks have just a 68.1 rating when targeting Lattimore this season. The NFL in 2014 settled a class action lawsuit with retired . He had spent the vast majority of his time in the slot across the first four years of his NFL career, even dabbling at safety with the Chiefs in 2019. The Rank value requires a minimum number of snaps played. The Bengals' pass coverage finished the regular season as the seventh-most improved group year over year in terms of EPA allowed per pass. . A cause for concern may come across from White after a mediocre year for Levi Wallace, whose adjusted open percentage (30.85) was close to double that of White, but the Bills have to be impressed by the progress of nickel Taron Johnson, who allowed a big play on only 14 of his 74 targets at inside corner last year. He graded at 75.0 or higher in every season that he saw more than 100 snaps from 2012 through 2019, and he did it all while posting the highest forced incompletion rate in the NFL. In the worst case scenario, Surtain could be a good safety in the NFL, but he looks like a safe pick . Nickel corner Sean Murphy-Bunting also did a decent job at preventing big plays, conceding eight on 44 targets on the inside. Veteran Casey Hayward Jr. who played in Bradley's scheme with the Los Angeles Chargers was the 13th-highest graded outside corner of the regular season, while rookie Nate Hobbs was the highest-graded slot corner. Marcus Peters, Baltimore Ravens Verrett fought back to earn a starting job with the 49ers in 2020 and put up a top-20 PFF grade among qualifying cornerbacks on a career-high 803 defensive snaps. Humphrey impacts the games in all the ways you want him to. Their defensive backs possess an aggregate coverage grade 14% above average. 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