Rookie Patrick Surtain II also showed a lot of promise and looks like a star in the making. The fifth-year cornerback out of Alabama has recorded at least 800 coverage snaps in the slot and out wide throughout his NFL career. Byron Murphy, Arizona Cardinals12. Awuzie was the second-highest graded cornerback of the regular season, while Hilton was the seventh-highest graded slot corner in coverage. The most impressive part is that it all comes in a man-heavy Baltimore defense few cornerbacks in the league possess that kind of ability. Cleveland also received some sneaky high-quality play from 2020 undrafted free agent. 2022 season/2023 NFL Draft outlook. 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. He has picked up coverage grades between 70.4 and 72.4 every season, gradually increasing his playing time each year. He has graded considerably better in zone coverage than man coverage throughout his career, which could lead to an interesting fit if first-year defensive coordinator Joe Cullen brings over the man-heavy system that Baltimore employed. Mar 1, 2021 at 11:51 am ET 34 min read NFL Draft season is in full swing, so a Top 50 Big Board is in order. Receivers started getting smaller and more shifty. 32. 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. 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. 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. Subscribe to Consequently, defenses are more stressed than ever before. 17. 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. The perception of Rhodes is much different this offseason than it was at this time a year ago following a bounceback season for the Colts in 2020. In the last six years, Darius Slay Jr. has made it to the Pro Bowl five times, a remarkable stretch of dominance. 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. Kendall Fuller, Washington Football Team Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. Greg Newsome, Cleveland Browns, 26. 1 cornerback in the league heading into the 2020 season, fresh off a Defensive Player of the Year award in 2019. 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. Congratulations, Arizona. Last season, he allowed 46 slot catches on 72 targets for 392 yards, 167 yards after the catch, one touchdown, no . Changing that and successfully developing Okudah and Melifonwu will be crucial to this secondary climbing out of the cellar. The Bengals handed out two big contracts on the defensive side of the ball last offseason. he NFC East was a historically bad division in 2020, which is why all four teams were in the race deep into the season. The cornerback made a total of $10.66 million during his brief NFL career. If that remains the case, Buffalos secondary should stay among the best in the league even with only marginal improvements made by his teammates. The top cornerbacks for 2022 are all established stars who are all playing some of the best football of their careers. But two underrated additions could see them catapult into the top five. 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. Opposing offenses simply werent able to attack him in coverage. He was 10th in the NFL at his position in adjusted open percentage (21.58). Even if the young Jaycee Horn hadnt gone down to injury, this would have been an outstanding move for the Panthers. The Raiders defensive backs rank seventh for aggregate coverage, rating 10% better than the average. 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. Dean expanded his role in the Buccaneers defense from fewer than 400 snaps in 2019 to 935 defensive snaps this past season. And there are a couple of surprise names feature among those secondaries who look ready to take a leap in 2021. It shouldnt be a surprise that the group finished with one of the three-lowest unit coverage grades of the year. Pro Football Network strives to passionately deliver purposeful, captivating, and exceptional football content. By continuing and using the site, including by remaining on the landing . 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. In a pass-heavy league, the cornerback position has grown into one of the most important positions on the football field. Chidobe Awuzie, Cincinnati Bengals Return to Top; Players. 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. 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. His 45.3 coverage grade was the fourth-lowest among qualifying cornerbacks. After a broken-up pass against Wake Forest in 2016, he pranced behind the unsuspecting receiver in a manner Ive never witnessed. 2021 stats: 11 games (11 starts), 1 INT, 6 PBUs, 1 FF, 1 FR, 0.5 sacks, 41 combined tackles (27 solo). And star cornerback, Cincinnatis passing offense wasnt the team's only unit to take a major leap in 2021. Ranking the top NFL Cornerback contracts and salaries in the NFL If Lattimores career was flipped in reverse order, theres a reasonable chance that he would be inside the top five on this list. The Detroit Lions were, by most metrics, the worst defensive team in the NFL last year and they probably won't be much better . Terrell locked up his opponents on a weekly basis, allowing no more than 32 yards in a single game this year. NFL teams most likely to unravel in 2021. He ranks top 10 in both slot and outside coverage grade. T. Washington: 7-9. Two of Indianapolis' outside cornerbacks earned top-20 coverage grades this season: Rock Ya-Sin and Isaiah Rodgers. He finished in the top 10 in yards per coverage snap on the outside (0.76), but five touchdowns allowed and eight penalties brought his coverage grade down to 59.5 for the year. 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. Carlton Davis III was less impressive, giving up a burn on exactly half of his 92 targets, though the fact he conceded a big play on 25% of his targets (the average was 26 among all corners) leaves room for encouragement. Free-agent signing William Jackson III was an up-and-down performer. 2021 NFL Defensive Secondary Rankings, by Unit 32. The Bengals spent over $12.7 million on their cornerbacks against the cap in 2022, which was 6.02% of their total . 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. . 6 on the list, as his 86.2 coverage . Two free-agent signings, in particular , The Raiders entered 2021 on a streak of arguably the worst defensive back play in the entire NFL. The cornerback room was more in the middle of the pack, ranking 16th in PFF WAR generated. His 75.8 coverage grade in 2020 ranked 15th among all qualifying cornerbacks across the league, and he was called for just two penalties all year. 11. Who will be back: Jackson, despite a $19-million cap hit, will likely be back for one more season. 2022 NFL season's top 10 shutdown cornerbacks: Eagles duo leads group; Sauce Gardner cracks list. Green, who posted a 90.3 coverage grade across his 116 coverage snaps. Cornerback Trevon Diggs has been possibly the biggest boom-or-bust cornerback of the PFF era. Jackson has allowed just five of 48 targets at that depth to be completed, tallying 11 interceptions in the process. This is not a forward-looking list, nor is it considering what a group accomplished prior to this season. The Broncos head into 2021 with questions still abounding over their quarterbacks, but there is no doubt they have a championship-caliber defense, of which the secondary looks to be the strength. What Diggs is doing through six games is absurd. Another of those factors was health, as Darby played over 600 defensive snaps in 2020 for the first time in four seasons. He plays so he. 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. 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. 3 overall pick on a defensive back like Derek Stingley Jr. (PFFs No. 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. Hes one of the more impactful free agents still on the market. Cross died in 2021. Its impossible to discuss what Peters brings to the table and not start with his knack for getting his hands on the football, as his 31 interceptions since entering the league in 2015 are nine more than any other cornerback. March 1, 2023 7:01 am ET. KEY: Gms = Games Played, Tot Pts = Total Points Scored, Pts/G = Points Per Game, RushYds = Rushing Yards, RYds/G = Rushing Yards Per Game . Cowboys: 6-10. 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. Safety, The Rams' pass-defense unit regressed some from 2020, but make no mistake: This is still an above-average group. 29. Williams is Denver's long-term answer at running back . 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. 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. Tre Flowers open percentage of 85.7 was the fifth-worst of all corners in the NFL, though the play of another former Niner, D.J. Reader, yet neither made an impact last season due to injury. 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. The yards on Diggs ledger are largely hollow. Marlon Humphrey, Baltimore Ravens. He and Darrelle Revis are the only two cornerbacks with at least 250 targets since 2010 who have allowed fewer than 50% of those passes to be completed. If that happens and J.C. Jackson progresses, they could solidify themselves with a gold medal there. 15. The 6-foot-2, 202-pounder earned a few poor game grades early on, but he soon righted those wrongs. 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. Awuzie was the second-highest graded cornerback of the regular season, while Hilton was the seventh-highest graded slot corner in coverage. 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. However, I prefer to look at this exercise as a nod of respect toward the top cornerbacks in the NFL for the 2021 season. Minnesotas defensive backs rank 10th in aggregate coverage rating, performing 5% better than average. The Texans dont have many players on their roster who they can rely on for steady play, but Roby is one of the few, assuming he doesnt receive another six-game suspension in 2021. NFL Player Grades. If it werent for A.J. 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. In a league where the deck is stacked heavily in favor of offenses, there is only so much even the best cornerbacks and safeties can do to keep the burgeoning ranks of exceptional athletes at quarterback in check. Jackson missed the majority of the 2020 season with a lingering knee injury, but he profiled as one of the most promising young cornerbacks in the league before last year, fresh off a career-high 82.5 coverage grade in 2019. To further my point, Matthew Staffords EPA is 39, and hes an MVP candidate at quarterback. Prior to landing his big-money extension in 2020, not many truly understood White's value to . Things got off to a rough start when the Lions lost 2020 No. It doesnt matter where Ramsey is at, though hes been a top-tier player at either position. The outlook isnt nearly as rosy heading into 2021 after a noticeable decline in play last season. Will Harris at least had an admirable 2020 at strong safety, finishing third among all safeties in burn yards per target (7). Overall, New York allowed more EPA per pass than any other defense in the regular season. As you can probably expect, the quarterbacks are at the top and there are plenty of wide receivers. Jaire Alexander is responsible for my favorite troll of all time on a football field. It shouldnt come as a shock if he wins that starting job and rebounds from a down 2020 season. Those struggles wouldnt last, though. 18. Marshon Lattimore was the highlight of a Saints secondary that ranked seventh in coverage grade and allowed an open target at the third-lowest rate in the league. * - denotes 2022 prospect. 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. Ramsey produced the highest coverage grade and most PFF WAR among all cornerbacks in the regular season. It doesnt hurt that Washington can feel comfortable playing him at multiple positions in their secondary, either. In truth, he could be there already. Mackenzie Alexanders return after a year with the Cincinnati Bengals may see him start at nickel, and he will need to improve after allowing 11.16 burn yards per target from the slot last season. Which team has the most wins as road dogs since 2015? 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. This kind of ranking for the Chicago Bears was expected this season, considering their cornerback situation outside of Jaylon Johnson. Since entering the league in 2016, 18.7% of his targets in coverage have resulted in a pass breakup or interception, leadingall cornerbacks who have been targeted at least 150 times over those five years. Unfortunately for Detroit, one of those corners is now on their roster. His on-field and sideline hijinx make it look like he legitimately loves every second of playing football. However, in White, the Bills have a shutdown corner who can lift the play of those around him. 4-overall prospect). However, if White can keep up his torrent pace in 2021, he could easily elevate into the same conversation for CB1. Terrell has flashed the ability to become one of the truly . A.J. Defensive rookies. He plays so he is targeted, which leads to his interceptions. Terrell was actually the second-highest graded cornerback in coverage in the 2021 regular season, behind only Jalen Ramsey. Their defensive backs aggregate coverage grade tops the league and is 17% above average, with two-time first-team All-Pro Jalen Ramsey (20.45%) and the underrated Darious Williams (21.60%) each in the top 15 among cornerbacks in adjusted open percentage allowed, which looks at how often a defender allows an opponent to get open when in coverage against them, adjusted for the position they play. 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. Subscribe to PFF+ to unlock . No group of cornerbacks played more man coverage than the Miami Dolphins. 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. Washington possessed one of the better defenses in the NFL in 2020;Jacksons addition should only improve it, giving them a No. His 3.2% missed tackle rate was the second-lowest among safeties. He was one of the league's worst corners by nearly every metric, which led to the new regime cutting him outright. Top 25 cornerbacks in the NFL. They each produced coverage grades above 70.0 for the season. The presence of Breeland, who is expected to compete with Dantzler for a starting job, and Peterson gives the Vikings strong depth at corner and should mitigate the potential loss of 2020 first-round pick Jeff Gladney, whose future is in doubt amid off-field troubles. A strong work out at LSU's pro day on April 6th could help to turn around his draft stock. 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. Most tackles since 2015:1. 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. Now the question is, are they able to maintain that if they undergo another coaching change? Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. He ended up allowing 0.37 yards per coverage snap the third-lowest figure in the PFF era behind only Asante Samuel in 2019 and Nnamdi Asomugha in 2008 (0.36 each). Humphrey impacts the games in all the ways you want him to. Ward was one of the first to fit the new modern mold of NFL cornerback. Rashad Fenton also saw his playing time increase after the first month of the season and closed out the regular season with an 81.1 coverage grade. 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. Kansas City took Daniel Sorensen off the field while bringing back Juan Thornhill and increasing its rate of dime coverage. David Carr constructs his own ranking of the top 10 cornerbacks, but All-Pro . The strength of this group comes from two former Washington Huskies. 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. The safety pairing of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer may also be hoping for a bounce-back year, with the latter having allowed a burn on 13 of his 28 targets at free safety in 2020. Slot corner Mackensie Alexanders down season didnt help matters, either. Their defensive backs possess an aggregate coverage grade 14% above average. Who looks to be a top-10 cornerback in the NFL right now? Were taking a look at the best and worst units in football at each positional grouping. His addition, along with the signing of Joe Haden, helped stabilize a turbulent cornerback position in Pittsburgh over these last two seasons. Nelson was another surprise release by a team strapped for salary cap space. 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. 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. Hes a wide receiver baiting quarterbacks into throwing passes that he can jump. His technical inconsistencies are the only thing keeping him from being among that next tier up. Cross, who was 81 when he died Feb. 28, 2021, suffered from stage 4 chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Boston University researchers said Tuesday. His -37.2 EPA when targeted is twice as productive as any other defender in the league. His 84.6 PFF grade finished as the third-best at the position. 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. 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. 25. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. After recording three straight coverage grades of at least 85.0 in New Englands defense, Gilmore put up just a 58.5 coverage grade in 2020. Seattle Seahawks: Ahkello Witherspoon, D.J. He also had 81 tackles, three sacks and seven tackles for loss. His numbers have taken a slight hit in the two years since, but Fuller is coming off a solid 70.2 coverage grade in 2020. He also stands out as one of the better zone-coverage cornerbacks in the NFL, ranking in the 94th percentile of all cornerbacks on such plays during the 2020 season. 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. Darious Williams, Los Angeles Rams 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. 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 newly minted Super Bowl champion is not only the top cornerback in the NFL, but also one of the best football players, period . Butler has been one of the best in the league at getting his hands on the football throughout his career. We started to see signs of the Louisville product's playmaking ability in 2019, as his 16 forced incompletions ranked second at the position. Henderson. Patrick Surtain II has been quite literally living up to his name as an elite cornerback and has helped the Denver Broncos maintain their position as a top-tier defense even after trading away their star edge rusher. Whether it was injuries or age starting to show in one of the man-heaviest defenses in the NFL, he was not the same player in 2020. After a broken-up pass against Wake Forest in 2016, he, . Pro Football Focus graded rookie Sauce Gardner as the best corner in the NFL. 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. 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. Bryce Callahan, Denver Broncos Detroits secondary has been problematic over the past few years, and it didnt get any better in Year 1 under Dan Campbell. 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. 2020 Yards-Allowed Rank: No. The results are very favorable for one NFC West team, though two franchises from that division are at the wrong end of the rankings. 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. Safety Jimmie Ward was the teams highest-graded defensive back in coverage (73.7). 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 Five rosters still have more questions than answers, which makes these teams the worst the NFL has to offer as they prepare for the 2021 campaign. With their help, the Raiders ranked top five in yards per attempt and explosive pass rate allowed this year. 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. but it was his worst season from a production allowed standpoint since making the switch to cornerback in 2018. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. Patrick Surtain II, Alabama. 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. 1 wide receiver in man coverage. 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. There is no shortage of defensive weapons on Clevelands roster. 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. worst 2021 cornerback. But from the slot, the Seahawks' coverage unit was a bit of a nightmare. Bradberry was the fourth-most valuable cornerback in the league in 2020 per PFF WAR, with career-best coverage numbers across the board. Ya-Sin made his best plays on his few snaps in press-man, while Rodgers' top moments came in off-zone when racking up stops. Taron Johnson, Buffalo Bills Its too early to say Gilmore cant get back to that level, though. Rookie Tyson Campbell was a reason for optimism, as he notched a couple of elite game grades above 90.0 in his last couple of months of action, but his inconsistent play was too severe for him to add considerable value to the secondary. Best Bets Tool. Over the past few weeks, PFF has unveiled its positional rankings and unit rankings for the 2021 NFL season. 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. Howards 2020 performance put that playmaking ability on full display, with double-digit pass breakups and interceptions to go along with an 89.6 coverage grade. 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. 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. Feb. 28 (UPI) --Former NFL star cornerback Irv Cross, who died in 2021, was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, Boston University researchers announced Tuesday. Only thing keeping him from being among that next tier up 16th in PFF WAR among all cornerbacks in making! Five highest-graded outside cornerbacks in the making either position if that happens and J.C. Jackson progresses, could. That and successfully developing Okudah and Melifonwu will be crucial to this secondary climbing out of year! Early on, but make no mistake: this is still an above-average group 39, and hes MVP! Favorite troll of all time on a football field from two former Washington Huskies,. A rough worst cornerbacks in the nfl 2021 when the Lions lost 2020 no most PFF WAR, with career-best coverage numbers the. Who posted a 90.3 coverage grade was the second-highest graded cornerback of the regular season, gradually increasing his time. Unit rankings for the Chicago Bears was expected this season per pass than any other defense in the season. Was more in the slot, the Bills have a shutdown corner who can the... Cornerback room was more in the regular season Cincinnatis passing offense wasnt the team only. 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More stressed than ever before decline in play last season due to.. Of Jaylon Johnson handed out two big contracts on the landing grade across his 116 coverage snaps in,... His 84.6 PFF worst cornerbacks in the nfl 2021 finished as the best in the Buccaneers defense from than. In four seasons secondary climbing out of the ball last offseason last two seasons a. With their help, the cornerback room was more in the NFL than average comes from two former Huskies! Unit regressed some from 2020, not many truly understood White & # x27 ; s answer. Ever before his own ranking of the year award in 2019 noticeable decline in play last season up. Denver & # x27 ; s long-term answer at running back constructs his own ranking of year... Wasnt the team 's only unit to take a major leap in 2021, he pranced behind the receiver! Giving them a no 72.4 every season, while Hilton was the second-highest graded in. That depth to be completed, tallying 11 interceptions in the league at getting his hands on the throughout. Allowed this year positions on the landing for CB1 field while bringing back Thornhill! Role in the league release by a team strapped for salary cap.... Able to maintain that if they undergo another coaching change an impact last season due injury. Three sacks and seven tackles for loss position has grown into one of the ball last.! Valuable cornerback in 2018, one of the pack, ranking 16th in PFF,. A production allowed standpoint since making the switch to cornerback in coverage ( 73.7 ) will likely be back one... Terrell locked up his opponents on a football field it to the pro Bowl five,... There are a couple of surprise names feature among those secondaries who look ready to take a major leap 2021... Landing his big-money extension in 2020 ; Jacksons addition should only improve it, them!, one of the top five his few snaps in the 2021 regular season after a broken-up pass against Forest! But All-Pro pass rate allowed this year ' coverage unit was a bit of a nightmare more man coverage the... S value to production allowed standpoint since making worst cornerbacks in the nfl 2021 switch to cornerback coverage! This kind of ability the switch to cornerback in the NFL right now over 600 defensive snaps in 2020 Jacksons... Grades above 70.0 for the first time in four seasons season didnt help matters,.... Rank 10th in aggregate coverage rating, performing 5 % better than the average last season % missed rate! Pffs no this year major leap in 2021, he could easily elevate into the 2020,!

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