Jones matched his interception total across the first five seasons of his career last year with Miami, but it was his worst season from a production allowed standpoint since making the switch to cornerback in 2018. And yet, the Bills still 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. Opposite him for most of the season was Kindle Vildor, who posted a 45.6 coverage grade that ranked in the bottom five in the NFL. Buffalos offense carried the load last season as the Bills progressed to the AFC Championship Game, though the talent in the secondary is such that they can afford to have confidence in putting more of the burden on their pass coverage in 2021. Hill had his best seasons in LA . Giants: 6-10. It was only natural that the prototype for cornerback shifted as well. The slot was also a considerable issue all year long, as Chicago produced the sixth-worst coverage grade at the position this season. Gilmore was comfortably the No. Nelson ranks among the top 10 cornerbacks in the league in both completion rate allowed (53.9%) and passer rating allowed (75.1) among 68 players at the position to see at least 100 targets since 2019. He led the position in interceptions (11), yards allowed (1,026) and penalties (11) this regular season. 32. . 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. Hes a unicorn playing cornerback in a world of 511, 190-pound movers, and we dont acknowledge that enough. Led by Denzel Ward, Greedy Williams and rookie Greg Newsome II, the Browns' cornerback grade finished with the third-best coverage grade in the NFL. Should the Giants opt to move on from the 27-year-old cornerback, they would clear $8.6 million . Lavonte David 6943. The Patriots boast what could very well be the best of the top cornerback duos in 2021 if Stephon Gilmore has a bounce-back season. 6 on the list, as his 86.2 coverage . 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). 30. They consistently ranked near the bottom of the league in every metric imaginable, including defensive back PFF WAR generated: 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. Hes never recorded a PFF grade lower than 70.0 impressive consistency for a cornerback often tasked with tough assignments and is coming off the best PFF grade since his second year in the league. The Bills defensive backs rank 15 points above the average in aggregate coverage grading. 4-overall prospect). increasing that usage from 21 percent in 2021 (29th in NFL . 1. If that remains the case, Buffalos secondary should stay among the best in the league even with only marginal improvements made by his teammates. It doesnt matter where Ramsey is at, though hes been a top-tier player at either position. Ramsey continued his stellar play for the Rams in 2021, forcing 16 interceptions, breaking up 12 passes, generating four interceptions, and racking up 77 total tackles. While Surtain will go early in the 2021 NFL Draft, he is not as good of a prospect as Jalen Ramsey or C.J. NAME GP TKL AST COMB SCK SCKY INT INT YDS INT TD FF FR FR TD; Tom Farris: 11: 4: 43: 0: 1: 0: Steve Filipowicz Darious Williams, Los Angeles Rams Since 2019, Marlon Humphreys done exactly that in Wink Martindales aggressive man-to-man scheme. He recorded coverage grades of at least 72.0 in each of his first three seasons in the league and has allowed just 51.4% of the passes thrown into his coverage to be completed. Opposing offenses simply werent able to attack him in coverage. 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. Its part of what makes identifying the leagues best at the position so challenging. 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. But his play has been up and down over that four-year stretch. Las Vegas Raiders . The newly minted Super Bowl champion is not only the top cornerback in the NFL, but also one of the best football players, period . Six cornerbacks played over 100 snaps for the Jaguars in 2021 and only one Shaquill Griffin produced a coverage grade above 60.0. Yet, despite his All-Pro name, Mercilus has not been great the last couple of years. The 6-foot-2, 202-pounder earned a few poor game grades early on, but he soon righted those wrongs. Age: 28 (29 on 8/4/23) Playing time: 16 games, 316 special teams snaps (77.07% of team total), 63 defensive snaps (5.99% of team total) Key statistics: 19 tackles, 1 quarterback hit, 4 pass . . We often bring up the difficult coverage assignments that No. 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. As the teams big free-agent acquisition at the position, Griffin does bring plenty of experience for a younger player. Carolina ranked 24th in outside coverage grade and allowed the fourth-worst passer rating to the outside (107.8). The strength of this group comes from two former Washington Huskies. Terrell has flashed the ability to become one of the truly . 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. TreDavious White has been one of the top cornerbacks in the league since the minute he stepped on an NFL field. Cornerback was a clear need for the Jaguars entering this offseason. 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. TreDavious Whites continuing success is a reason for that, as the two-time Pro Bowler first among all cornerbacks in adjusted open percentage allowed (16.20%) in 2020. Personally, I want a guy who travels up and down the field on an assignment basis against the opposing teams best receivers. In the worst case scenario, Surtain could be a good safety in the NFL, but he looks like a safe pick . 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. Those struggles wouldnt last, though. Considering the team introduced new starters on the outside in Jackrabbit Jenkins and Kristian Fulton and in the slot in Elijah Molden, thats still above preseason expectations. Copyright 2019-2023. Its too early to say Gilmore cant get back to that level, though. Those three cornerbacks shared a combined 17 years of experience in the NFL. Questions remain at cornerback, however, after Avonte Maddox struggled while playing outside corner last year and Darius Slay underperformed. Who led the NFL in receiving in 2021? 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 . Another of those factors was health, as Darby played over 600 defensive snaps in 2020 for the first time in four seasons. Verrett exceeded all expectations in his return from a string of injuries last season for San Francisco. Its challenging to rank these guys with the multitude of schematic differences and responsibilities. Greg Newsome, Cleveland Browns, 26. The Eagles now have one of the NFL's most talented cornerback trios, with both Bradyberry and Slay making PFF's top 32 cornerbacks list. His addition, along with the signing of Joe Haden, helped stabilize a turbulent cornerback position in Pittsburgh over these last two seasons. 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. Opposing quarterbacks netted a 71.8 passer rating when throwing at one of Clevelands outside cornerbacks this season, the lowest among the 32 defenses. A.J. 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. 11. Minnesotas defensive backs rank 10th in aggregate coverage rating, performing 5% better than average. His 3,546 regular-season defensive snaps over the past four seasons are a top-10 mark at the position. Humphrey impacts the games in all the ways you want him to. Data modeling by Kyle Cunningham-Rhoads. 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. That larger role didnt lead to less impressive coverage numbers. March 1, 2023 7:01 am ET. They each produced coverage grades above 70.0 for the season. As I said in last week's Schein Nine, NFL offenses are more creative and dynamic than ever before. 5. 25. I still expect a lot from Stephon Gilmore, and with those expectations will come quick criticism if he doesnt perform to his standards. Who looks to be a top-10 cornerback in the NFL right now? 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. In both 2019 and 2020, he recorded a pressure rate below 9% (per SIS Datahub). However, he was overly aggressive at times and susceptible to giving up the big play. They were among the five least valuable secondaries in the league, and the cornerback room, in particular, finished as the second-lowest graded group. Jan 10, 2022. James Bradberry, New York Giants, 21. Buffalos secondary endured a crushing blow in Week 12 when CB1. Casey Hayward, Las Vegas Raiders Bryce Hall, New York Jets, XFL Fantasy Football Rankings Week 2: Josh Gordon, Jeff Badet, Max Borghi, and More, Final Fantasy PPR Rankings for the NFL Playoffs: Tony Pollard, Ezekiel Elliott, James Cook, and More, NFL All-Time RB Records: Season and Career Leaders, College football Week 6 live reactions, results, and takeaways. Health remains the biggest concern for Verrett heading into next season. Ex-NFL cornerback Irv Cross, who died in 2021 years after being diagnosed with dementia, had Stage 4 CTE after nearly a decade of playing in the NFL, researchers said Tuesday Hes one of the few thatll travel anywhere on the defense to cover an offenses best weapon. Pro Football Network, LLC. Nonetheless, this year's class doesn't boast a marquee, Denzel Ward or Jalen Ramsey type bound to land inside the top five. And we mustnt forget about the impact of rookie safety Jevon Holland. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. At his advancing age, two underwhelming seasons in a row would be a strong signal to sell him in these cornerback rankings moving forward. The Bengals' pass coverage finished the regular season as the seventh-most improved group year over year in terms of EPA allowed per pass. The three highest PFF grades of Fuller's career came with Fangio as the defensive coordinator in Chicago from 2015 to 2018. Much of the Raiders presence in the top 10 is tied to the astute acquisition of veteran corner Casey Hayward, whose adjusted open percentage of 17.3 was the fifth-best in the NFL among players at all defensive positions, though a less impressive burn yards per target average of 11.20 reflects how often he was left on an island for the Los Angeles Chargers last year. 17. 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. 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. . Only one defensive back nickel cornerback, Galina: The shortcomings of the Kellen Moore-Dak Prescott connection for the Dallas Cowboys. Jalen Ramsey, Los Angeles Rams Some cornerbacks are tasked with shutting down their side of the field in zone, while other top cornerbacks are given the unenviable job of following the opposing teams No. They made a league-leading 23 plays on the ball from the slot en route to allowing the lowest passer rating (71.1). This is the worst front seven in the NFL. Outside of safety Derwin James, the Chargers' secondary left a lot to be desired in 2021. However, Miamis cornerback really blossomed in 2020, intercepting a league-high 10 passes. In truth, he could be there already. 32. Cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon . In the last six years, Darius Slay Jr. has made it to the Pro Bowl five times, a remarkable stretch of dominance. Detroits secondary has been problematic over the past few years, and it didnt get any better in Year 1 under Dan Campbell. The Jets might have the best group of cornerbacks in the NFL a far cry from 2021, when they might have had the worst. Sign Up. Subscribe to PFF+ to unlock . 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. 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. 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. 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. No group of cornerbacks played more man coverage than the Miami Dolphins. Browns honorable mention busts: Courtney Brown, (2000, first overall pick), Trent Richardson (2012, third overall pick) 8. The Detroit Lions were, by most metrics, the worst defensive team in the NFL last year and they probably won't be much better . Jalen Ramsey, Los Angeles Rams. With modern NFL rules, its a disadvantage not to have the type of foot speed Ward possesses. The Vikings invested heavily in the secondary in recent years and the numbers suggest that decision could pay dividends in the coming season. 1. And he only got better as the season progressed. Humphrey impacts the games in all the ways you want him to. 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. Cleveland also received some sneaky high-quality play from 2020 undrafted free agent. Receivers started getting smaller and more shifty. To look exclusively at the secondary, the results for defenders who spend their playing time almost exclusively in the box have been filtered out. 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. Pittsburgh also went from second to 29th in passer rating allowed on deep targets year over year. Heck, he played more snaps in the slot in 2020 than he did on the outside. The Lions rebuild under Dan Campbell is likely to be a slow and painful one and his first season at the helm looks set to be one in which Detroit will give up a lot of points if the secondary cannot improve. Last season, he allowed 46 slot catches on 72 targets for 392 yards, 167 yards after the catch, one touchdown, no . Rookie Eric Stokes stepped up and grew into his role as the season wore on. 1. Safety, The Rams' pass-defense unit regressed some from 2020, but make no mistake: This is still an above-average group. worst 2021 cornerback. By continuing and using the site, including by remaining on the landing . Only one defensive back nickel cornerback Tavierre Thomas didnt produce a sub-60.0 coverage grade. Its unfortunate hes not more widely regarded as a ballhawk, but many cant look past the paltry INT numbers to his. Both players were among the 15 most valuable players at their respective positions, according to PFF WAR. The Panthers get a physical and sticky man coverage cornerback who will be an interesting fit on an incredibly young defense. 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. Injuries held him to just over 300 snaps for San Francisco last season, but Sherman was the highest-graded cornerback in the league (90.3 overall) back in 2019. Hes picked off nine passes over the past three seasons, and that total should be even higher, as Hadens nine dropped interceptions since 2018 are tied for the most at the position. Sticky man coverage than the Miami Dolphins want him to played over 100 snaps for the Jaguars in (! 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