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. 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. Things got off to a rough start when the Lions lost 2020 No. Terrells breakout to elite status, Atlanta would be threatening to place last on this list. Another of those factors was health, as Darby played over 600 defensive snaps in 2020 for the first time in four seasons. 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. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Those struggles wouldnt last, though. Its too early to say Gilmore cant get back to that level, though. His goal is not to make it so a quarterback doesnt want to throw the ball his way. The outlook isnt nearly as rosy heading into 2021 after a noticeable decline in play last season. 18. Bradberry was the fourth-most valuable cornerback in the league in 2020 per PFF WAR, with career-best coverage numbers across the board. Carlton Davis, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 16. In a pass-heavy league, the cornerback position has grown into one of the most important positions on the football field. Devon Witherspoon is a player who has had the best production throughout 2022 and has been simply elite while . Both players were among the 15 most valuable players at their respective positions, according to PFF WAR. The seven touchdowns allowed into his coverage this past season were tied for second-most of any cornerback in the league. Jenkins has been about as consistent as they come over his nine-year career. Chidobe Awuzie, Cincinnati Bengals 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. 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. Kendall Fuller, Washington Football Team 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. 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. Safety Jayron Kearse was the highest-graded defensive back on the roster, due in large part to his strong tackling. 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. Marshon Lattimore struggled a bit relative to expectations in 2020, but hes back with a vengeance in 2021. Hes 61, 210 pounds, and his spider chart might as well have been colored in by a nine-year-old. 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. One was to Waynes, and the other was to interior defensive lineman D.J. That's when deals are officially negotiated and reported signings fly across . 22. Tennessees loss has turned into the Giants gain. 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. Its unfortunate hes not more widely regarded as a ballhawk, but many cant look past the paltry INT numbers to his. Those three cornerbacks shared a combined 17 years of experience in the NFL. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. Free safety Tracy Walker (12.85), though, offered little to suggest he can help Detroit turn the ship around quickly on defense. Its part of what makes identifying the leagues best at the position so challenging. Arnettes average of 11.69 suggests he has further to go, and he may face competition with Hayward for the starting role across from Mullen. Ward and Newsome, in particular, produced top-10 coverage grades when in single coverage. 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. 25. 10. New York Jets Humphreys seamless inside-outside versatility is a big reason why he ranks so highly here. He should give the Broncos some playmaking ability at cornerback if he can stay healthy. Episode 2 of the "Top 100 Players of 2022" aired on Sunday, with three cornerbacks making the list between Nos. 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. Congratulations, Arizona. All 259 picks have been made and the 2021 NFL Draft is officially in the books for all 32 franchises. These rankings are solely analyzing the performance and impact of every secondary in the NFL from the 2021 regular season. increasing that usage from 21 percent in 2021 (29th in NFL . His 71 forced incompletions since 2014 are fewer than only Darius Slay and Stephon Gilmore. Butler allowed the 10th-most burn yards per snap among corners with at least 200 coverage snaps (2.42) while Alford has not played since the 2018 season. 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. 32. 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. Top 32 cornerbacks in the NFL for the 2021 season | 1-10. He also ranks in at least the 87th percentile in coverage grades at both alignments. NFL Player Grades - current. Meanwhile, McKinney ranked in the top 10 in coverage grade among safeties. They each produced coverage grades above 70.0 for the season. 23. Still, the Saints defense was great last season and has continued to be so in 2021. Reader, yet neither made an impact last season due to injury. 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. 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. Jamel Dean, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31. Houston Texans: Whitney Mercilus, OLB. 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. 27. To look exclusively at the secondary, the results for defenders who spend their playing time almost exclusively in the box have been filtered out. Cross, the former NFL defensive back who became the first Black man to work full-time as a sports analyst on national television, is the latest football player diagnosed with the brain disease CTE. Jalen Ramsey, Los Angeles Rams. 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. 3 Darius Slay Jr. - 93 OVR. Pro Football Network, LLC. Only one defensive back nickel cornerback Tavierre Thomas didnt produce a sub-60.0 coverage grade. 4) New England Patriots: Stephon Gilmore & J.C. Jackson. Only one defensive back nickel cornerback, Galina: The shortcomings of the Kellen Moore-Dak Prescott connection for the Dallas Cowboys. However, if White can keep up his torrent pace in 2021, he could easily elevate into the same conversation for CB1. As you can probably expect, the quarterbacks are at the top and there are plenty of wide receivers. The fifth-year cornerback out of Alabama has recorded at least 800 coverage snaps in the slot and out wide throughout his NFL career. Henderson. 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. His 71.5 overall grade in 2020 was his highest single-season mark since back in 2017 with the Broncos. Heck, he played more snaps in the slot in 2020 than he did on the outside. David Carr constructs his own ranking of the top 10 cornerbacks, but All-Pro . Cincinnatis passing offense wasnt the team's only unit to take a major leap in 2021. Brian Poole (not re-signed) was the only cornerback to hold opponents to negative EPA per target in 2020. . 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. Pro Football Network strives to passionately deliver purposeful, captivating, and exceptional football content. Cornerback Adoree Jackson and safety Xavier McKinney helped claw this secondary to a No. He was 10th in the NFL at his position in adjusted open percentage (21.58). Here is the fourth version of our Vikings 2023 Mock Draft Tracker, which features 16 recent predictions from around the world of . 2021 stats: 11 games (11 starts), 1 INT, 6 PBUs, 1 FF, 1 FR, 0.5 sacks, 41 combined tackles (27 solo). The 49ers brought in veteran Josh Norman out of necessity at the start of the season, and it didnt go well. 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. Xavien Howard has always been an outstanding blend of consistency and aggression. 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