The Eagles aren't the best NFC East team on paper. The Bengals spent over $12.7 million on their cornerbacks against the cap in 2022, which was 6.02% of their total . The only outside cornerbacks to allow fewer yards per coverage snap than Dean (0.8) on at least 600 coverage snaps since the start of the 2019 season are Richard Sherman (0.4) and Jalen Ramsey (0.8). As the passing game has furthered its position as the dominant and most critical aspect of NFL attacks, the need for a secondary with the talent to regularly withstand aerial assaults led by a deep crop of quarterbacks has become an increasingly pressing one. Cowboys: 6-10. (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports) Listen . However, with a full offseason under their belt to coalesce further, the arrow is pointing up for a young and clearly talented secondary that will again be playing behind one of the best front sevens in football after the Bucs kept the band together for another run in 2021. Las Vegas Raiders . While it wasn't easy putting together this list, here is our ranking of the NFL's 10 best cornerbacks in 2022. I simply wont acknowledge any Jalen Ramsey disrespect in this dojo. Butler has been one of the best in the league at getting his hands on the football throughout his career. Dean allowed a burn on 30 of his 64 targets, his percentage of 46.9 comfortably better than the average of 52.8 for corners with at least 200 coverage snaps. . The 2014 first-round pick looked like an ascending star with a 90.9 coverage grade in his second year in the NFL, but he managed to take the field for just over 300 total snaps the following four seasons combined. But certain units . We use our own and third-party cookies to improve your experience and our services. 28. From Week 7 on, he was one of the 25 highest-graded players at the position and allowed more than 60 yards in coverage just once this season. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. Building a high-powered offense is a sustainable way to win in the NFL, but ensuring the defensive secondary isnt a liability is what separates the contenders from the rest. The two worst cornerbacks in the league were forced into action because of injuries. The Bengals' pass coverage finished the regular season as the seventh-most improved group year over year in terms of EPA allowed per pass. After an offseason in which Arizona did little to address the cornerback position, the onus may again be on that pair to elevate those around them, unless Butler and Alford unexpectedly recapture their form of old. In 2019 and 2020, for instance, he played more in the slot than out wide. 22. The real stars of this group are Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde, who rank second and third, respectively, in coverage grade among safeties. Prior to landing his big-money extension in 2020, not many truly understood White's value to . No team lost more WAR due to injuries this season than Baltimore. > 2021 NFL > Advanced Stats. Jackson has allowed just five of 48 targets at that depth to be completed, tallying 11 interceptions in the process. However, his return came at outside cornerback for the Football Team in 2020, where he put up impressive coverage numbers at his new position. Terrell was actually the second-highest graded cornerback in coverage in the 2021 regular season, behind only Jalen Ramsey. 247Sports Composite. They each produced coverage grades above 70.0 for the season. Led by, Ward and Newsome, in particular, produced top-10 coverage grades when in single coverage. 24. The Patriots will look for that bounce-back season in 2021. Wards dominance in single coverage (96th percentile grade since 2018) has been particularly noteworthy. Howard has struggled so far in 2021, but the same can be said for the entire Dolphins defense. Bears. One was to Waynes, and the other was to interior defensive lineman D.J. . The Cardinals are under pressure to produce a playoff campaign in the third year of Kliff Kingsbury as head coach and Kyler Murray as quarterback and a look at their depth chart in the secondary indicates the offense may have to carry this team to a first postseason appearance since the 2015 campaign. Washington possessed one of the better defenses in the NFL in 2020;Jacksons addition should only improve it, giving them a No. 3 overall pick Jeffrey Okudah in Week 1 for the year with a ruptured Achilles. Devon Witherspoon is a player who has had the best production throughout 2022 and has been simply elite while . PFF's exclusive metrics provide Cornerback (CB) position rankings, grades, and snap counts. Griffin has earned overall grades of 50.7, 78.0 and 64.6 in the past three seasons. . Slay came in at No. No group of cornerbacks played more man coverage than the Miami Dolphins. No group of cornerbacks played more man coverage than the Miami Dolphins. His goal is not to make it so a quarterback doesnt want to throw the ball his way. The Jets might have the best group of cornerbacks in the NFL a far cry from 2021, when they might have had the worst. Byron Murphy, Arizona Cardinals12. The back-to-back AFC champions stood at a 2-3 record, and the secondary was performing at league-low levels. Reed Jr. and safety Quandre Diggs were two of Seattle's bright spots. The Lions have done a disappointing job of drafting and developing talent under previous regimes. 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. 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). Patrick Surtain II, Alabama. Above-average press man cornerback with NFL bloodlines and a well-rounded but not spectacular all-around game. He had one of the highest forced incompletion rates in the league this past year with Washington one of several contributing factors to the multi-year deal that Denver offered him. Two of Indianapolis' outside cornerbacks earned top-20 coverage grades this season: The Broncos' secondary underwhelmed to a certain extent in 2021, with veteran safety, Cornerback was a major area of concern for the Cardinals. He was 10th in the NFL at his position in adjusted open percentage (21.58). Find out which wide receivers to upgrade, downgrade and avoid for Week 1 in fantasy football by using a full cheat sheet that breaks down every WR vs. CB matchup. The hope for Miami will be that he gets back toward the player who earned a five-year, $82.5 million contract last offseason. This kind of ranking for the Chicago Bears was expected this season, considering their cornerback situation outside of Jaylon Johnson. 4) Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos. With that being said, here are four bold predictions for the New Orleans Saints in the 2023 NFL offseason. From Week 7 on, Ward allowed more than 50 yards in coverage just once. Fuller is set to be reunited with Vic Fangio in Denver. He was one of the league's worst corners by nearly every metric, which led to the new regime cutting him outright. That's when deals are officially negotiated and reported signings fly across . Over the past few weeks, PFF has unveiled its positional rankings and unit rankings for the 2021 NFL season. Still, they held up well, ranking sixth in coverage grade and second in EPA per pass play allowed on such plays. T. Washington: 7-9. The Detroit Lions were, by most metrics, the worst defensive team in the NFL last year and they probably won't be much better . Yet, between Mullens progress, the arrival of Hayward and the selection of free safety Trevon Moehrig in the second round of this years draft, the Raiders secondary is one that looks primed to establish itself as one of the better groups in the NFL. The position as a whole combined for the third-fewest WAR among the 32 groups. Outside corner D.J. Ranking The Top 20 Cornerbacks in the NFL 2021Top 20 NFL CB in 2021NFL Cornerback Rankings before the 2021 NFL SeasonTop 20 Corners according to MitchMitch o. He still showcases lockdown man-coverage ability at times, but it has been less consistent of late. Cross, the former NFL defensive back who became the first Black man to work full-time as a sports analyst on national television, is the latest football player diagnosed with the brain disease CTE. Cincinnatis passing offense wasnt the team's only unit to take a major leap in 2021. Cornerback Trevon Diggs has been possibly the biggest boom-or-bust cornerback of the PFF era. Demario Davis 6634. He plays so he. . Defensive rookies. Fuller was back in Washington for the 2020 season following a two-year stint in Kansas City. Heck, he played more snaps in the slot in 2020 than he did on the outside! Having an elite cornerback who is capable of traveling with an opposing team's top receiving threat, such as Jalen Ramsey, can take pressure off other players in the secondary. The league's inaugural 17-game season . Safety Jimmie Ward was the teams highest-graded defensive back in coverage (73.7). We considered putting Humphrey atop the list of the best slot cornerbacks in the NFL, given that he has spent the majority of his snaps lined up in the slot over the past two seasons filling the void left by an injured Tavon Young. 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. Justin Simmons was the best defender in the NFL in terms of adjusted open percentage in 2020, leading the way by allowing pass-catchers to get open against his coverage just 14.99% of the time. If that happens and J.C. Jackson progresses, they could solidify themselves with a gold medal there. The official start of NFL free agency doesn't begin until March 13. Free safety Tracy Walker (12.85), though, offered little to suggest he can help Detroit turn the ship around quickly on defense. Detroits defensive backs aggregate coverage grade is 27% below average. T. The Las Vegas Raiders took down the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday Night Football in an overtime thriller, bringing an end to the 18-week marathon to the postseason. There is a massive amount of talent currently at the position. With the help of. He has been one of the best run defenders (88.5 run-defense grade in five seasons with the Vikings) at the position since entering the league in 2015. 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. Houston Texans: Whitney Mercilus, OLB. Casey Hayward, Las Vegas Raiders 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. I wouldnt have any issue calling White the best cornerback in football if Ramsey and Alexander didnt exist. His 84.6 PFF grade finished as the third-best at the position. sustained a top-five pass defense in terms of expected points added (EPA) allowed per pass down the final stretch of the 2021 regular season. Melifonwu was tied for ninth in the fewest burn yards per snap (1.23) allowed among Power 5 corners in his final season with Syracuse. NAME SEASON TM GP TKL AST COMB SCK SCKY INT INT YDS INT TD FF FR FR TD; Jahleel Addae: 2021: IND. . Giants: 6-10. 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. Sign up and be the first to receive exclusive stats, news, and updates from the Analyst. Yet, with Quandre Diggs coming off a year in which he conceded a disappointing 13.82 burn yards per target, this is a group with more questions than answers. So, which secondaries were a boon and which were a hindrance this season? Jamel Dean, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31. 9: 10: 5: 15: 0.0: 0: 0: 0: 0: 0: 0: 0: . He recorded just one interception and two pass breakups on 42 targets, allowing a career-high 96.7 passer rating into his coverage. * - denotes 2022 prospect. With their help, the Raiders ranked top five in yards per attempt and explosive pass rate allowed this year. Top 32 cornerbacks in the NFL for the 2021 season | 1-10. Buffalos secondary endured a crushing blow in Week 12 when CB1 TreDavious White went down with a season-ending torn ACL. That larger role didnt lead to less impressive coverage numbers. . His aggression will burn him on occasion, but you cant say that Peters doesnt make up for it with the positives he brings to the table. Bradberry was the fourth-most valuable cornerback in the league in 2020 per PFF WAR, with career-best coverage numbers across the board. Reed, provided some grounds for optimism as his burn yards per target average of 8.21 put him 15th among corners with at least 200 coverage snaps. Still, they held up well, ranking sixth in coverage grade and second in EPA per pass play allowed on such plays. He gets to passes that most receivers cannot get to, making his multiple near-INTs in 2021 as impressive as his 7 actual interceptions. NFL defenses will ask very different things of their cornerbacks, depending on the scheme they run. A strong work out at LSU's pro day on April 6th could help to turn around his draft stock. Six cornerbacks played over 100 snaps for the Jaguars in 2021 and only one Shaquill Griffin produced a coverage grade above 60.0. They made a league-leading 23 plays on the ball from the slot en route to allowing the lowest passer rating (71.1). In his first two seasons, A.J. More progress from that duo could lessen the impact of Johnsons exit but, following highly rated defensive backs coach Aubrey Pleasants switch to Detroit, maintaining their status as the gold standard is far from a given for Ramsey and Co. in 2021. Since 2019, Marlon Humphreys done exactly that in Wink Martindales aggressive man-to-man scheme. Darius Slay, Philadelphia Eagles To look exclusively at the secondary, the results for defenders who spend their playing time almost exclusively in the box have been filtered out. His lone interception was a career-worst -- as was his tally of 50 combined tackles and 66.2 completion percentage allowed -- but with a full training camp to come (after having been absent a traditional one in 2020 due to the COVID-19 . The three highest PFF grades of Fuller's career came with Fangio as the defensive coordinator in Chicago from 2015 to 2018. And star cornerback Jalen Ramsey is a huge reason why. The secondary finished 26th in unit coverage grade and ranked in the bottom 10 in passer rating, yards per attempt and separation allowed when the quarterback threw from a clean pocket. A ranking of the 2021 Best NFL Cornerback Players. Not a single one of Dallas' top eight defensive backs by snaps earned a coverage grade in poor territory below 60.0. However, if White can keep up his torrent pace in 2021, he could easily elevate into the same conversation for CB1. Williams career trajectory is very similar to Dean's in that he graded exceptionally well in a limited role in 2019 and didnt take any sort of step back in a full-time starting job this past season. Ramsey is a freak, and on top of it all, hes so good against the run that his late-career safety transition will probably end in an All-Pro berth or two. 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. Browns honorable mention busts: Courtney Brown, (2000, first overall pick), Trent Richardson (2012, third overall pick) 8. Opposing quarterbacks netted a 71.8 passer rating when throwing at one of Clevelands outside cornerbacks this season, the lowest among the 32 defenses.
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