Rookie Patrick Surtain II also showed a lot of promise and looks like a star in the making. Howard has struggled so far in 2021, but the same can be said for the entire Dolphins defense. Six cornerbacks played over 100 snaps for the Jaguars in 2021 and only one Shaquill Griffin produced a coverage grade above 60.0. A.J. 29. Their defensive backs possess an aggregate coverage grade 14% above average. 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. Above-average press man cornerback with NFL bloodlines and a well-rounded but not spectacular all-around game. 1 cornerback who will allow them to play more man coverage if they desire. Sign up and be the first to receive exclusive stats, news, and updates from the Analyst. The 49ers brought in veteran Josh Norman out of necessity at the start of the season, and it didnt go well. Prior to landing his big-money extension in 2020, not many truly understood White's value to . He also had 81 tackles, three sacks and seven tackles for loss. Houston Texans: Whitney Mercilus, OLB. 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 The Eagles aren't the best NFC East team on paper. 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. Darius Slay, Philadelphia Eagles Fuller allowed just 53% of the passes into his coverage to be completed with four interceptions and nine pass breakups. 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. 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. Only three Power 5 defenders gave up fewer. His 17.3% forced incompletion rate ranks second among cornerbacks who have seen at least 100 targets over those two years. Witherspoon allowed a burn on half of his 28 targets last season. With modern NFL rules, its a disadvantage not to have the type of foot speed Ward possesses. New York Jets 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. 2020 Yards-Allowed Rank: No. He gets to passes that most receivers cannot get to, making his multiple near-INTs in 2021 as impressive as his 7 actual interceptions. 6 and . 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. Hes intelligent and has ideal size and athleticism. However, Miamis cornerback really blossomed in 2020, intercepting a league-high 10 passes. Washington possessed one of the better defenses in the NFL in 2020;Jacksons addition should only improve it, giving them a No. Top 32 cornerbacks in the NFL for the 2021 season | 1-10, Top 32 cornerbacks in the NFL for the 2021 season | 11-32, Jaire Alexander is responsible for my favorite troll of all time on a football field. Quarterback Josh Allen, cornerback Tre'Davious White, wide receiver . via Seth Galina. Those struggles wouldnt last, though. 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. 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. 10. It doesnt matter where Ramsey is at, though hes been a top-tier player at either position. 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. Kendall Fuller was one of the three most valuable cornerbacks of the 2021 season and helped a great deal in Washington ranking even this high. 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. His 71 forced incompletions since 2014 are fewer than only Darius Slay and Stephon Gilmore. . David Carr constructs his own ranking of the top 10 cornerbacks, but All-Pro . Contract: three years, $18.6 million. No Jaire Alexander? 2022 NFL Cornerback Rankings. 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. Taron Johnson, Buffalo Bills Hayward has been one of the highest-graded cornerbacks in the league for much of his career, spanning across time spent with both the Packers and the Los Angeles Chargers. In truth, he could be there already. So this is one of the worst cornerback trios in the NFL, not just the NFC West. Donte Jackson, Carolina Panthers Nik Needham was an underrated player among the group by producing a top-10 slot coverage grade in the NFL. With more than 20 pending free agents, the front office will have a lot of work to do. The Rams' pass-defense unit regressed some from 2020, but make no mistake: This is still an above-average group. The Bengals' pass coverage finished the regular season as the seventh-most improved group year over year in terms of EPA allowed per pass. 2020 Points-Allowed Rank: No. In his first two seasons, A.J. Darious Williams, Los Angeles Rams And there are a couple of surprise names feature among those secondaries who look ready to take a leap in 2021. With that said, here are my cornerback rankings for the 2022 NFL draft: 1. Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones has not played since the 2021 season. Only one defensive back nickel cornerback, Galina: The shortcomings of the Kellen Moore-Dak Prescott connection for the Dallas Cowboys. Now the question is, are they able to maintain that if they undergo another coaching change? who passed away in February 2021 at age 81, played cornerback for the Eagles from 1961 to 1965, earning two Pro Bowl nods, and . The lack of talent and experience was apparent, especially without safety, Houstons fielded the lowest-graded secondary in the NFL by a whopping eight grading points. Jacksons grading profile has been consistent across his first three seasons in the NFL after joining New England as an undrafted free agent in 2018. Jaire Alexander is responsible for my favorite troll of all time on a football field. The Bills defensive backs rank 15 points above the average in aggregate coverage grading. 1. TreDavious White has been one of the top cornerbacks in the league since the minute he stepped on an NFL field. The 2021 second-round pick is a valuable piece to this secondary moving forward, but the other cornerback spots need some work. Eric Kendricks 639 # . Terrell has flashed the ability to become one of the truly . No team covered the slot better in the 2021 regular season than the Patriots. 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. 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 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. Verrett exceeded all expectations in his return from a string of injuries last season for San Francisco. No cornerback in the league has been more productive on passes 20 or more yards downfield over that span. The Bengals handed out two big contracts on the defensive side of the ball last offseason. Ward was one of the first to fit the new modern mold of NFL cornerback. He ranks in the 80th percentile of qualifying cornerbacks in forced incompletion rate and the 70th percentile in coverage grade while in single coverage since entering the league in 2014. Cleveland also received some sneaky high-quality play from 2020 undrafted free agent A.J. Free-agent signing William Jackson III was an up-and-down performer. Episode 2 of the "Top 100 Players of 2022" aired on Sunday, with three cornerbacks making the list between Nos. Thats a tip of the cap to everyone in the secondary for stepping up, including 2020 seventh-rounder Dane Jackson, who didnt allow a touchdown in any regular-season start after replacing White. The amount of top-level play from NFL cornerbacks is astonishing. 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. 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. . Despite that, the Buccaneers outside cornerbacks still combined for the highest unit coverage grade in the NFL. 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. > 2021 NFL > Advanced Stats. Humphreys seamless inside-outside versatility is a big reason why he ranks so highly here. 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. We use our own and third-party cookies to improve your experience and our services. Cross, who was 81 when he died Feb. 28, 2021, suffered from stage 4 chronic traumatic encephalopathy, Boston University researchers said Tuesday. Consequently, defenses are more stressed than ever before. Ranking the 11 worst plays of the 2021 NFL regular season. 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). Humphrey impacts the games in all the ways you want him to. Slot corner Mackensie Alexanders down season didnt help matters, either. Cowboys: 6-10. 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. A cause for concern may come across from White after a mediocre year for Levi Wallace, whose adjusted open percentage (30.85) was close to double that of White, but the Bills have to be impressed by the progress of nickel Taron Johnson, who allowed a big play on only 14 of his 74 targets at inside corner last year. Donte Jackson, Carolina Panthers Nik Needham was an underrated player among the group by producing top-10... 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