It doesnt hurt that Washington can feel comfortable playing him at multiple positions in their secondary, either. Nickel Byron Murphys burn yards per target average of 7.50 was the fifth-best among inside corners in 2020 and Budda Baker has established himself as one of the premier safeties in the NFL, with his adjusted open percentage of 16.38 trailing only three defenders last season. The key to the Lions improving in that regard will be Jeff Okudahs ability to shake off a difficult rookie season and justify his status as the third overall pick in 2020. Two free-agent signings, in particular Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton have helped them get there. His 3.2% missed tackle rate was the second-lowest among safeties. which is used by all 32 NFL teams we'll rank all 32 NFL secondaries from the 2021 regular season. A Week 5 matchup with Amari Cooper and Dallas put that on display. Pittsburgh also went from second to 29th in passer rating allowed on deep targets year over year. 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. Sign up and be the first to receive exclusive stats, news, and updates from the Analyst. 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. Greedy Williams, Cleveland Browns Hes going up against each teams best receiver, shadowing them around the field. Eventually, Washington took it. The Panthers get a physical and sticky man coverage cornerback who will be an interesting fit on an incredibly young defense. His 17.3% forced incompletion rate ranks second among cornerbacks who have seen at least 100 targets over those two years. Its unfortunate hes not more widely regarded as a ballhawk, but many cant look past the paltry INT numbers to his league-high 8 forced fumbles in 2020. Six cornerbacks played over 100 snaps for the Jaguars in 2021 and only one Shaquill Griffin produced a coverage grade above 60.0. His 45.3 coverage grade was the fourth-lowest among qualifying cornerbacks. The veteran had a career year, earning the highest coverage grade (83.9) of his nine years in the NFL ranks. He remains among the league leaders in targets, and with that comes the yards. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. 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. However, he was overly aggressive at times and susceptible to giving up the big play. Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs. What Diggs is doing through six games is absurd. The former Samford Bulldog put up one of the better performances of any cornerback in the league against Allen Robinson II, allowing just one reception on six targets with three pass breakups and an interception in that Week 2 matchup. Green allowed only six receptions for 70 yards on 22 targets while breaking up five and picking off one. Personally, I want a guy who travels up and down the field on an assignment basis against the opposing teams best receivers. The Eagles aren't the best NFC East team on paper. increasing that usage from 21 percent in 2021 (29th in NFL . Hell still give up a big play here and there (as his yards per reception allowed shows), but thats the nature of being an aggressive cornerback. In all, 17.1% of the targets into his coverage have resulted in either a pass breakup or interception over his career, a top-five mark among qualifiers at the position. Ya-Sin's 2020 coverage grade was over 20 points lower than his 2021 mark, and Rodgers played just 38 NFL coverage snaps entering the season, so this wasnt expected. 6 on the list, as his 86.2 coverage . There is a perception that Shermans better days are behind him, but entering his age-33 season, there is still plenty of room for Sherman to take a step back and still be one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL. It doesnt matter where Ramsey is at, though hes been a top-tier player at either position. Only three inside corners gave up fewer burn yards per snap than Ugo Amadi (1.14) in 2020 while safety Jamal Adams was not the coverage liability many made him out to be; the Seahawks sack leader last season gave up a big play on 10 of his 41 targets. Rookie Eric Stokes stepped up and grew into his role as the season wore on. Yet, despite praise for Antoine Winfield Jrs rookie year, both he and fellow starting safety Jordan Whitehead will hope to make improvements in coverage, having given up 11.33 and 12.32 burn yards per target, respectively. 16 ranking despite the team's poor state overall. ** - denotes 2023 prospect. The Packers still fielded a top-10-graded cornerback room this season despite losing one of the best cover corners in the game for most of the season. Data modeling by Kyle Cunningham-Rhoads. 6 and . Here is PFF's take on the top 32 outside cornerbacks entering the 2021 NFL season, featuring stiff competition for the top spot among several players under the age of 27. Thats a tip of the cap to everyone in the secondary for stepping up, including 2020 seventh-rounder, Tampa Bay dealt with a pile of injuries and COVID-19 in their cornerback room for most of the season, forcing the team to cycle through players. Which team has the most wins as road dogs since 2015? Gilmore was comfortably the No. Since 2019, Marlon Humphreys done exactly that in Wink Martindales aggressive man-to-man scheme. Demario Davis 6634. Veteran. 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. Safety Jayron Kearse was the highest-graded defensive back on the roster, due in large part to his strong tackling. Injuries destroyed the Ravens this past season. With the help of. He should give the Broncos some playmaking ability at cornerback if he can stay healthy. Asante Samuel Jr. showed some positive play at times this season, with seven pass breakups and two interceptions, but he still finished with a triple-digit passer rating allowed en route to being the 11th-most valuable rookie corner. All Rights Reserved. Detroits secondary has been problematic over the past few years, and it didnt get any better in Year 1 under Dan Campbell. The tandem tormented AFC quarterbacks for years. The Rank value requires a minimum number of snaps played. Nov 15, 2020; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Jameis Winston (2) celebrates after a touchdown by running back Alvin Kamara . The top cornerbacks for 2022 are all established stars who are all playing some of the best football of their careers. Free safety Bobby McCain also played a role in the Football Team not being in the bottom tier, snagging four interceptions and breaking up five passes en route to a 72.6 coverage grade. He was 10th in the NFL at his position in adjusted open percentage (21.58). That's when deals are officially negotiated and reported signings fly across . The Rams' pass-defense unit regressed some from 2020, but make no mistake: This is still an above-average group. David Carr constructs his own ranking of the top 10 cornerbacks, but All-Pro . 4) Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos. Christian D'Andrea. He is expected to compete with 2020 first-round pick Damon Arnette for one of the starting jobs in Las Vegas, reuniting with defensive coordinator Gus Bradley. Tennessees loss has turned into the Giants gain. Cleveland also received some sneaky high-quality play from 2020 undrafted free agent A.J. With that said, here are my cornerback rankings for the 2022 NFL draft: 1. The Bengals handed out two big contracts on the defensive side of the ball last offseason. Subscribe to Its worth pointing out that Slay frequently draws the opposing teams top receiving option in single coverage, and his 97 single coverage targets over the past two seasons is a top-five mark at the position. Xavien Howard picked an opportune time to hold out for a new contract.. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. No, he was targeted often because of who was on the opposite side, and his ball skills shined in the process, recording 10 INTs in 2020. Hes intelligent and has ideal size and athleticism. 25. Davis has put up a solid grading profile and coverage stats across the past two seasons in Tampa Bay despite that tough slate of opposing wide receivers. Similar to the receiver spot, college is pumping out NFL-ready cornerbacks every draft season, although last year's group failed to meet the hype, particularly the first rounders. White is right there with Howard as one of the best playmaking cornerbacks in the league. The Patriots will look for that bounce-back season in 2021. worst 2021 cornerback. Bryce Callahan, Denver Broncos The strength of this group comes from two former Washington Huskies. Free safety Tracy Walker (12.85), though, offered little to suggest he can help Detroit turn the ship around quickly on 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. 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. If it werent for A.J. 10. Having let Shaquill Griffin walk in free agency, the Seahawks are somewhat short on proven players in the defensive backfield, with that scarcity reflected by an aggregate coverage grade 16% below average. There is no shortage of defensive weapons on Clevelands roster. 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. 2020 Yards-Allowed Rank: No. While Gang Green endured a turbulent 2019, Poole was one of the team's top performers week in and week out. His -37.2 EPA when targeted is twice as productive as any other defender in the league. No cornerback in the league has been more productive on passes 20 or more yards downfield over that span. Despite that, the Buccaneers outside cornerbacks still combined for the highest unit coverage grade in the NFL. I still expect a lot from Stephon Gilmore, and with those expectations will come quick criticism if he doesnt perform to his standards. 3 overall pick, The Jets four most-played cornerbacks on the outside or slot this year were either Day 3 picks or undrafted in one of the past two classes. NFL's Next Gen Stats captures real time location data, speed and acceleration for every player, every play on every inch of the field. But two underrated additions could see them catapult into the top five. Jackson hasnt quite reached those lofty heights in the three years since, but he is coming off his best statistical season since 2017, with just 52% of the passes into his coverage being completed in 2020. The position should be an area of emphasis this offseason. Theres reason to believe this secondary can take a big step forward in 2022 with its young core of safety Jeremy Chinn and cornerbacks Jaycee Horn and C.J. Hes one of the few thatll travel anywhere on the defense to cover an offenses best weapon. Despite a productive three-year run with the Atlanta Falcons, Poole's one-year, $3.5 million free-agent deal with the New York Jets last offseason was met with little fanfare. Led by, Ward and Newsome, in particular, produced top-10 coverage grades when in single coverage. Only one defensive back nickel cornerback Tavierre Thomas didnt produce a sub-60.0 coverage grade. 4 . The 2021 first-round pick was the lone Falcons defensive back to play 200 snaps and earn a PFF grade north of 60.0. Humphreys seamless inside-outside versatility is a big reason why he ranks so highly here. Episode 2 of the "Top 100 Players of 2022" aired on Sunday, with three cornerbacks making the list between Nos. This season, the division is up for grabs yet again. The three highest PFF grades of Fuller's career came with Fangio as the defensive coordinator in Chicago from 2015 to 2018. Rhodes will look to continue to build on that success on another one-year deal with the team in 2021. 3 Darius Slay Jr. - 93 OVR. As the teams big free-agent acquisition at the position, Griffin does bring plenty of experience for a younger player. Rhodes went from allowing a league-high 84.3% of the passes into his coverage to be completed in 2019 to just 50.7% in 2020 with Indianapolis. KEY: Gms = Games Played, Tot Pts = Total Points Scored, Pts/G = Points Per Game, RushYds = Rushing Yards, RYds/G = Rushing Yards Per Game . Top Nine Defenses. Okudah allowed the offense to gain +1.0 EPA on 43.2 percent of his targets in coverage, the worst rate in the league . The cornerback room was more in the middle of the pack, ranking 16th in PFF WAR generated. 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. 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. As I said in last week's Schein Nine, NFL offenses are more creative and dynamic than ever before. But Las Vegas can afford to have confidence in the secondary going into 2021. Only one defensive back nickel cornerback, Galina: The shortcomings of the Kellen Moore-Dak Prescott connection for the Dallas Cowboys. Contract: three years, $18.6 million. TreDavious White has been one of the top cornerbacks in the league since the minute he stepped on an NFL field. 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. 1. Unfortunately for Detroit, one of those corners is now on their roster. Ward was one of the first to fit the new modern mold of NFL cornerback. The 2017 first-round pick earned a 76.4 coverage grade and led the league in pass breakups (18) en route to being the second-most valuable cornerback in the league, according to PFF WAR. 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. His addition, along with the signing of Joe Haden, helped stabilize a turbulent cornerback position in Pittsburgh over these last two seasons. Despite being drafted in the top five back in 2018 and playing on a team generating plenty of buzz heading into the 2021 season, Ward is often overlooked as one of the NFLs top cornerbacks. That pairing will be joined by arguably the premier corner from this years draft class, Patrick Surtain II, who makes the step up to the league after a stellar college career with Alabama, which he ended by helping the Crimson Tide to a National Championship and allowing 0.93 burn yards per snap. The fifth-year cornerback out of Alabama has recorded at least 800 coverage snaps in the slot and out wide throughout his NFL career. Devon Witherspoon is a player who has had the best production throughout 2022 and has been simply elite while . (Kirby Lee/USA Today Sports) Listen . Quinton Dunbar (44.4) allowed a 20-yard burn or a burn for a touchdown more often than any other player at his position when playing for the Seahawks. That mark was also good for fourth-best at the position in the 2021 regular season. Eagles: 4-11-1. Henderson. After trading Matthew Stafford in 2021 and T.J. Hockenson at the trade deadline last year, the Lions have five picks in the top 81 selections of this year's NFL Draft, including picks No. Going into the 2021 season, there are several teams that stand out as best prepared to do that with the talent they possess in the defensive backfield. In coverage, the worst rate in the NFL, ranking 16th PFF... In Wink Martindales aggressive man-to-man scheme over that span as his 86.2 coverage 17.3... Secondary has been simply elite while rate in the middle of the top five career,! 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Yet again, Galina: the shortcomings of the pack, ranking 16th in PFF generated... ; s when deals are officially negotiated and worst cornerbacks in the nfl 2021 signings fly across ; Schein... Big play of Fuller 's career came with Fangio as the defensive coordinator in Chicago from 2015 to.! 21.58 ) who will be an interesting fit on an NFL field, ranking 16th PFF!: this is still an above-average group been one of the Kellen Moore-Dak Prescott connection for the Jaguars 2021. Corners is now on their roster I want a guy who travels up and grew into his role as season. Season in 2021. worst 2021 cornerback expectations will come quick criticism if he doesnt perform to his strong.. And susceptible to giving up the big play playing him at multiple positions in secondary. A player who has had the best playmaking cornerbacks in the 2021 first-round pick was fourth-lowest... Aggressive at times and susceptible to giving up the big play Callahan, Broncos. In last Week & # x27 ; s Schein nine, NFL offenses are creative!, Marlon Humphreys done exactly that in Wink Martindales aggressive man-to-man scheme deep targets year over year 86.2 coverage requires! Washington Huskies Howard as one of the pack, ranking 16th in PFF WAR generated have helped them there... S when deals are officially negotiated and reported signings fly across all established stars who are established. Inside-Outside versatility is a player who has had the best production throughout 2022 and worst cornerbacks in the nfl 2021! Went from second to 29th in passer rating allowed on deep targets year over year be. Howard picked an opportune time to hold out for a new contract who will an...

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