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. His aggression will burn him on occasion, but you cant say that Peters doesnt make up for it with the positives he brings to the table. He also ranks in at least the 87th percentile in coverage grades at both alignments. Still, hes a gifted tactician at the position and will get back on his feet this season. Copyright 2019-2023. He should once again be put in a position to succeed under Fangio next season. The Seahawks appear to be banking on Ahkello Witherspoon making a leap he never managed with the San Francisco 49ers. No Jaire Alexander? Data modeling by Kyle Cunningham-Rhoads. Should the Giants opt to move on from the 27-year-old cornerback, they would clear $8.6 million . Most tackles since 2015:1. They each produced coverage grades above 70.0 for the season. Who looks to be a top-10 cornerback in the NFL right now? If Ramsey is the freak, Alexander is the new mold. Carlton Davis, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 16. No problem. Jaire Alexander is responsible for my favorite troll of all time on a football field. After profiling as one of the top cornerbacks in the league from 2014 to 2018, Slay has taken a noticeable step back the past two seasons. His 17.3% forced incompletion rate ranks second among cornerbacks who have seen at least 100 targets over those two years. 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. He should give the Broncos some playmaking ability at cornerback if he can stay healthy. who passed away in February 2021 at age 81, played cornerback for the Eagles from 1961 to 1965, earning two Pro Bowl nods, and . Contract: three years, $18.6 million. A ranking of the 2021 Best NFL Cornerback Players. The low-level play ultimately led to his benching by the seasons end. Cleveland also received some sneaky high-quality play from 2020 undrafted free agent A.J. We started to see signs of the Louisville product's playmaking ability in 2019, as his 16 forced incompletions ranked second at the position. 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. So, which secondaries were a boon and which were a hindrance this season? Reed and Tre . Opposing quarterbacks netted a 71.8 passer rating when throwing at one of Clevelands outside cornerbacks this season, the lowest among the 32 defenses. 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. 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. Hes a wide receiver baiting quarterbacks into throwing passes that he can jump. Last season, he allowed 46 slot catches on 72 targets for 392 yards, 167 yards after the catch, one touchdown, no . Jamel Dean, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31. He does the razzle dazzle better than any quarterback, but he . 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. Not a single one of Dallas' top eight defensive backs by snaps earned a coverage grade in poor territory below 60.0. Minnesota put forth some of the worst cornerback play in the NFL. Dolphins cornerback Byron Jones has not played since the 2021 season. From Week 7 on, Ward allowed more than 50 yards in coverage just once. The strength of this group comes from two former Washington Huskies. In 2021, the two 25-year-olds each missed several games but allowed under 700 yards in coverage combined. Overall, Philadelphia's cornerback room finished second in coverage grade this season. If that remains the case, Buffalos secondary should stay among the best in the league even with only marginal improvements made by his teammates. 2022 season/2023 NFL Draft outlook. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. With their help, the Raiders ranked top five in yards per attempt and explosive pass rate allowed this year. Terrell was actually the second-highest graded cornerback in coverage in the 2021 regular season, behind only Jalen Ramsey. NFL's Next Gen Stats captures real time location data, speed and acceleration for every player, every play on every inch of the field. As the teams big free-agent acquisition at the position, Griffin does bring plenty of experience for a younger player. The 6-foot-2, 202-pounder earned a few poor game grades early on, but he soon righted those wrongs. The lack of talent and experience was apparent, especially without safety Marcus Maye, who ruptured his Achilles midway through the season. Bradberry's 2021 season, though, was abysmal. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. He allowed just 30 receiving yards on 359 coverage snaps across his final 11 games that season. 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. There is a massive amount of talent currently at the position. His goal is not to make it so a quarterback doesnt want to throw the ball his way. Veteran. As you can probably expect, the quarterbacks are at the top and there are plenty of wide receivers. 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. . Cornerback was a clear need for the Jaguars entering this offseason. Whitney Mercilus has always benefited from the presence of J.J. Watt. By continuing and using the site, including by remaining on the landing . which is used by all 32 NFL teams we'll rank all 32 NFL secondaries from the 2021 regular season. Which team has the most wins as road dogs since 2015? 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. For the most part, the Buffalo Bills invest wisely in the right people and positions. 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. PFF's exclusive metrics provide Cornerback (CB) position rankings, grades, and snap counts. * - denotes 2022 prospect. 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. 2021 stats: 11 games (11 starts), 1 INT, 6 PBUs, 1 FF, 1 FR, 0.5 sacks, 41 combined tackles (27 solo). But from the slot, the Seahawks' coverage unit was a bit of a nightmare. 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. Safety, The Rams' pass-defense unit regressed some from 2020, but make no mistake: This is still an above-average group. Jenkins was part of the facelift at the cornerback position for Tennessee this offseason, replacing Malcolm Butler and Adoree Jackson with Jenkins and first-round pick Caleb Farley. Awuzie was the second-highest graded cornerback of the regular season, while Hilton was the seventh-highest graded slot corner in coverage. Which teams have the best -- and worst -- running back units? The Panthers get a physical and sticky man coverage cornerback who will be an interesting fit on an incredibly young defense. Dean allowed a burn on 30 of his 64 targets, his percentage of 46.9 comfortably better than the average of 52.8 for corners with at least 200 coverage snaps. As I said in last week's Schein Nine, NFL offenses are more creative and dynamic than ever before. Christian D'Andrea. Bradberry was the fourth-most valuable cornerback in the league in 2020 per PFF WAR, with career-best coverage numbers across the board. Howard is one of the best playmaking cornerbacks that the NFL has to offer. 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. 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. Fuller allowed just 53% of the passes into his coverage to be completed with four interceptions and nine pass breakups. 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. While Surtain will go early in the 2021 NFL Draft, he is not as good of a prospect as Jalen Ramsey or C.J. 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. He gets to passes that most receivers cannot get to, making his multiple near-INTs in 2021 as impressive as his 7 actual interceptions. The only outside cornerbacks to allow fewer yards per coverage snap than Dean (0.8) on at least 600 coverage snaps since the start of the 2019 season are Richard Sherman (0.4) and Jalen Ramsey (0.8). Jones allowed 1.4 yards per coverage snap . Jenkins has been about as consistent as they come over his nine-year career. 8 forced fumbles in 2020. Jaylon Johnson, Chicago Bears In a pass-heavy league, the cornerback position has grown into one of the most important positions on the football field. Greedy Williams, Cleveland Browns The Raiders entered 2021 on a streak of arguably the worst defensive back play in the entire NFL. Theres a reason he has received plenty of interest since his release. Discover Next Gen Stats News, Charts, and Statistics. 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 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. 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. The dude still smacks like a truck as a tackler and despite allowing over 60% completions, hes only allowing 5.5 yards per target and under 10 yards per catch. The Vikings invested heavily in the secondary in recent years and the numbers suggest that decision could pay dividends in the coming season. NFL Player Grades. Top Nine Defenses. 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. Tampas secondary arguably already took a step forward as the Buccaneers claimed their second Super Bowl title last season. . ** - denotes 2023 prospect. 2022 NFL Cornerback Rankings. And star cornerback Jalen Ramsey is a huge reason why. Verrett exceeded all expectations in his return from a string of injuries last season for San Francisco. We're ranking the division by position group. targeted, which leads to his interceptions. William Jackson III, Washington Football Team Okudah allowed the offense to gain +1.0 EPA on 43.2 percent of his targets in coverage, the worst rate in the league . If he can replicate that impact as a rookie, the Raiders should be in extremely good shape in the defensive backfield. 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. 4) Patrick Surtain II, Denver Broncos. Only three Power 5 defenders gave up fewer. Byron Murphy, Arizona Cardinals12. 32. via Seth Galina. Its unfortunate hes not more widely regarded as a ballhawk, but many cant look past the paltry INT numbers to his. Hes going up against each teams best receiver, shadowing them around the field. 11. Darius Slay, Philadelphia Eagles 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. Things got off to a rough start when the Lions lost 2020 No. They will be looking for a step forward from last years third-round pick Cameron Dantzler, who was above average in burn yards per target (9.4) and open percentage allowed (62.3) as a rookie. "Mr. Cross was . With that said, here are my cornerback rankings for the 2022 NFL draft: 1. 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. None of their cornerbacks had a quality campaign, but. They were forced to play, Theres reason to believe this secondary can take a big step forward in 2022 with its young core of safety, This kind of ranking for the Chicago Bears was expected this season, considering their cornerback situation outside of, Minnesota put forth some of the worst cornerback play in the NFL. Fuller was back in Washington for the 2020 season following a two-year stint in Kansas City. Still seems like we're waiting for the first domino to fall with the Bears . He grew up in . When hes been asked to man up against some of the best receivers in the NFL, hes delivered. 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 amount of top-level play from NFL cornerbacks is astonishing. All 259 picks have been made and the 2021 NFL Draft is officially in the books for all 32 franchises. 1. Changing that and successfully developing Okudah and Melifonwu will be crucial to this secondary climbing out of the cellar. 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 2021 NFL regular season is over. 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. Greg Newsome, Cleveland Browns, 26. A.J. White is right there with Howard as one of the best playmaking cornerbacks in the league. 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