but it was his worst season from a production allowed standpoint since making the switch to cornerback in 2018. / by Eric Mullin. 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. Having added Fuller and the most pro-ready corner in the draft, the Broncos secondary could soon mount a challenge to take the crown from the Rams. 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. Bradberry was the fourth-most valuable cornerback in the league in 2020 per PFF WAR, with career-best coverage numbers across the board. He has picked up coverage grades between 70.4 and 72.4 every season, gradually increasing his playing time each year. Taron Johnson, Buffalo Bills 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. He has featured in a versatile role this season, with over 300 snaps each in the slot and on the outside. This group should contend for the top spot next season. Wards dominance in single coverage (96th percentile grade since 2018) has been particularly noteworthy. Receivers started getting smaller and more shifty. Jan 10, 2022. His 71 forced incompletions since 2014 are fewer than only Darius Slay and Stephon Gilmore. White does a fantastic job of toeing the line between aggressive and reckless. 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. 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. 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. 15. PFF's exclusive metrics provide Cornerback (CB) position rankings, grades, and snap counts. They made a league-leading 23 plays on the ball from the slot en route to allowing the lowest passer rating (71.1). Cincinnatis passing offense wasnt the team's only unit to take a major leap in 2021. The cornerback room was more in the middle of the pack, ranking 16th in PFF WAR generated. After being charged with eight receptions allowed in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys, Ramsey proceeded to allow just 24 receptions over the remainder of the regular season, giving upfewer than 25 receiving yards in 11 games. NFL's Next Gen Stats captures real time location data, speed and acceleration for every player, every play on every inch of the field. Published: Oct 20, 2022 at 03:19 PM . With the help of. 30. 11. Not a single one of Dallas' top eight defensive backs by snaps earned a coverage grade in poor territory below 60.0. Nickel Ronald Darby (37.8) and free-agent signing Kyle Fuller (40.3), inexplicably released by the Chicago Bears, each ranked in the top seven in burn percentage allowed for corners with at least 200 coverage snaps. Overall, Philadelphia's cornerback room finished second in coverage grade this season. He also ranks in at least the 87th percentile in coverage grades at both alignments. Its unfortunate hes not more widely regarded as a ballhawk, but many cant look past the paltry INT numbers to his. He was one of the league's worst corners by nearly every metric, which led to the new regime cutting him outright. 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. But with Horn getting shut down after a Week 3 injury and Henderson struggling to get acclimated after getting traded to the team a month into the season, it was a subpar year for the secondary. Sign Up. 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. Safety, The Rams' pass-defense unit regressed some from 2020, but make no mistake: This is still an above-average group. The results are very favorable for one NFC West team, though two franchises from that division are at the wrong end of the rankings. Christian D'Andrea. They made a league-leading 23 plays on the ball from the slot en route to allowing the lowest passer rating (71.1). Which team has the most wins as road dogs since 2015? The newly minted Super Bowl champion is not only the top cornerback in the NFL, but also one of the best football players, period . PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. Minnesotas defensive backs rank 10th in aggregate coverage rating, performing 5% better than average. He grew up in . 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. Overall, New York allowed more EPA per pass than any other defense in the regular season. 16 ranking despite the team's poor state overall. Lavonte David 6943. Howard is one of the best playmaking cornerbacks that the NFL has to offer. 2020 Points-Allowed Rank: No. Terrell has flashed the ability to become one of the truly . 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. Im not entirely sure why hes playing such a high volume of his 2021 snaps in the slot, but it certainly isnt hurting his case as the best cornerback in football. Ramsey produced the highest coverage grade and most PFF WAR among all cornerbacks in the regular season. Unfortunately for Detroit, one of those corners is now on their roster. And we mustnt forget about the impact of rookie safety Jevon Holland. His value is easy to see. 6 on the list, as his 86.2 coverage . > 2021 NFL > Advanced Stats. If that happens and J.C. Jackson progresses, they could solidify themselves with a gold medal there. 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. Figures indicate statistics each team allowed to their opponents. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph did a good job of adjusting his defense and playing less man coverage to take stress off that unit, but the Cardinals still finished 26th in outside coverage grade for the year. 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. 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. 23. Hes a unicorn playing cornerback in a world of 511, 190-pound movers, and we dont acknowledge that enough. While the group combined for the sixth-most interceptions (14) among the 32 secondaries, it also allowed a successful play at a bottom-five rate. The defense endured blows at multiple position groups, including in the secondary with, Detroits secondary has been problematic over the past few years, and it didnt get any better in Year 1 under Dan Campbell. 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. 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. T. Washington: 7-9. In the News: Patrick Mahomes, Derek Carr, Aaron Rodgers, Jalen Hurts, Tom Brady, Brock Purdy. Jalen Ramsey, Los Angeles Rams. Quarterback Josh Allen, cornerback Tre'Davious White, wide receiver . The result was a season where Alexander was worth 1.4 wins above a replacement-level player, almost a full half-win more than any other cornerback. Who led the NFL in receiving in 2021? Ranking who the top 32 cornerbacks in the NFL are for 2021 is like trying to rank your children. The Rams opted to let 2021's slot cornerback Darious Williams leave via free agency, replacing him by bringing back Troy Hill in free agency. With modern NFL rules, its a disadvantage not to have the type of foot speed Ward possesses. Questions remain at cornerback, however, after Avonte Maddox struggled while playing outside corner last year and Darius Slay underperformed. Greedy Williams, Cleveland Browns As I said in last week's Schein Nine, NFL offenses are more creative and dynamic than ever before. These rankings are solely analyzing the performance and impact of every secondary in the NFL from the 2021 regular season. The Eagles aren't the best NFC East team on paper. Theres a reason he has received plenty of interest since his release. On the other hand, safety Justin Simmons sustained his high-level play by finishing as one of the 10 most valuable players at the position. Patrick Peterson was considered to have had a down year last season but his open percentage of 51.9 when playing outside corner was seventh among players to have taken snaps at that spot. But two underrated additions could see them catapult into the top five. That larger role didnt lead to less impressive coverage numbers. It doesnt matter where Ramsey is at, though hes been a top-tier player at either position. 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. 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. He gets his hands on passes left and right without getting himself so out of position that hes unable to recover. 24. Donte Jackson, Carolina Panthers Hes one of the more impactful free agents still on the market. This is not a forward-looking list, nor is it considering what a group accomplished prior to this season. Check out the 2021 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics including AFC and NFC results and standings on Pro-football-reference.com Casey Hayward, Las Vegas Raiders That mark was also good for fourth-best at the position in the 2021 regular season. The cornerback made a total of $10.66 million during his brief NFL career. Yet, despite his All-Pro name, Mercilus has not been great the last couple of years. Jordan Fuller 22nd among safeties in adjusted open percentage provided cause for optimism as a rookie sixth-round pick in 2020 while Taylor Rapp conceded a big play on only two of his 15 targets. White is right there with Howard as one of the best playmaking cornerbacks in the league. Jackson is fluid and explosive with great natural feet to play a sticky brand of man coverage. The Raiders entered 2021 on a streak of arguably the worst defensive back play in the entire NFL. Butler had arguably his best season in coverage since his New England days last year with Tennessee. Cornerback was a clear need for the Jaguars entering this offseason. His 84.6 PFF grade finished as the third-best at the position. 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 Detroit Lions were, by most metrics, the worst defensive team in the NFL last year and they probably won't be much better . Whitney Mercilus has always benefited from the presence of J.J. Watt. NFL Player Grades. No team, this season than Baltimore. As the teams big free-agent acquisition at the position, Griffin does bring plenty of experience for a younger player. Defensive rookies. Which teams have the best -- and worst -- running back units? 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. Jaire Alexander is responsible for my favorite troll of all time on a football field. Heck, he played more snaps in the slot in 2020 than he did on the outside! Las Vegas will hope Hayward can accelerate the development of Mullen, who was an encouraging 15th in burn yards per target (8.67) among outside corners with at least 200 snaps. 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. NFL quarterback rankings 2021. Howard has struggled so far in 2021, but the same can be said for the entire Dolphins defense. Xavien Howard picked an opportune time to hold out for a new contract.. 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. He should give the Broncos some playmaking ability at cornerback if he can stay healthy. It hasnt taken Alexander very long to establish himself as one of the leagues best coverage cornerbacks. Minnesota put forth some of the worst cornerback play in the NFL. It was only natural that the prototype for cornerback shifted as well. 8 forced fumbles in 2020. a 2016 second-round pick has been the worst safety in the NFL this year. The Vikings' gave up the third-most yards on the outside (1,802) while also tying for the third-fewest plays on the ball (18) at the position. Their team slot coverage grade ended up multiple grading points higher than any other NFL franchise. If you built a cornerback in a lab, they would look like Ramsey. 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