Safety Jimmie Ward was the teams highest-graded defensive back in coverage (73.7). J.C. Jackson isnt the most consistent cornerback in the world, but hes not necessarily the gambler that Howard and Marcus Peters tend to be. The cornerback room was more in the middle of the pack, ranking 16th in PFF WAR generated. The Patriots will look for that bounce-back season in 2021. James Bradberry, New York Giants, 21. These rankings are solely analyzing the performance and impact of every secondary in the NFL from the 2021 regular season. Davis and Dean form one of the best cornerback pairings in the NFL. he 2021 NFL regular season is over. At his advancing age, two underwhelming seasons in a row would be a strong signal to sell him in these cornerback rankings moving forward. 12. 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. Melifonwu was tied for ninth in the fewest burn yards per snap (1.23) allowed among Power 5 corners in his final season with Syracuse. Verrett exceeded all expectations in his return from a string of injuries last season for San Francisco. Pittsburgh also went from second to 29th in passer rating allowed on deep targets year over year. If Ramsey is the freak, Alexander is the new mold. increasing that usage from 21 percent in 2021 (29th in NFL . 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. It doesnt hurt that Washington can feel comfortable playing him at multiple positions in their secondary, either. In a pass-heavy league, the cornerback position has grown into one of the most important positions on the football field. Subscribe to PFF+ to unlock . A ranking of the 2021 Best NFL Cornerback Players. 10. 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. The strength of this group comes from two former Washington Huskies. His -37.2 EPA when targeted is twice as productive as any other defender in the league. The final four rounds will conclude this year's draft on April 29. worst 2021 cornerback. It doesnt matter where Ramsey is at, though hes been a top-tier player at either position. 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. As the passing game has furthered its position as the dominant and most critical aspect of NFL attacks, the need for a secondary with the talent to regularly withstand aerial assaults led by a deep crop of quarterbacks has become an increasingly pressing one. The 6-foot-2, 202-pounder earned a few poor game grades early on, but he soon righted those wrongs. Still, the Saints defense was great last season and has continued to be so in 2021. 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 Pro Bowl free safety will have an exciting mix of experience and youth alongside him. Fuller was back in Washington for the 2020 season following a two-year stint in Kansas City. Only three inside corners gave up fewer burn yards per snap than Ugo Amadi (1.14) in 2020 while safety Jamal Adams was not the coverage liability many made him out to be; the Seahawks sack leader last season gave up a big play on 10 of his 41 targets. Marlon Humphrey, Baltimore Ravens. 1 cornerback who will allow them to play more man coverage if they desire. His technical inconsistencies are the only thing keeping him from being among that next tier up. It shouldnt come as a shock if he wins that starting job and rebounds from a down 2020 season. The 49ers brought in veteran Josh Norman out of necessity at the start of the season, and it didnt go well. The veteran had a career year, earning the highest coverage grade (83.9) of his nine years in the NFL ranks. Galina: The shortcomings of the Kellen Moore-Dak Prescott connection for the Dallas Cowboys Chidobe Awuzie, Cincinnati Bengals With some personnel tweaks, the Chiefs secondary revived itself. Here is PFFs take on the top 32 outside cornerbacks entering the 2021 NFL season, featuring stiff competition for the top spot among several players under the age of 27. After a few poorly graded games in the first quarter of the season, the first-round pick stepped up and was a legitimate CB1 for Denver. Jalen Ramsey, Los Angeles Rams His 3,546 regular-season defensive snaps over the past four seasons are a top-10 mark at the position. 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. Reader, yet neither made an impact last season due to injury. 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. His on-field and sideline hijinx make it look like he legitimately loves every second of playing football. Free-agent signing William Jackson III was an up-and-down performer. Pro Football Focus graded rookie Sauce Gardner as the best corner in the NFL. His 84.6 PFF grade finished as the third-best at the position. Christian D'Andrea. This season, the division is up for grabs yet again. In both 2019 and 2020, he recorded a pressure rate below 9% (per SIS Datahub). From Week 7 on, Ward allowed more than 50 yards in coverage just once. 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. It hasnt taken Alexander very long to establish himself as one of the leagues best coverage cornerbacks. Its too early to say Gilmore cant get back to that level, though. NAME SEASON TM GP TKL AST COMB SCK SCKY INT INT YDS INT TD FF FR FR TD; Jahleel Addae: 2021: IND. Ahmad Gardner, Cincinnati . A few coverage lapses have led to big plays this year, but that happens in a scheme that relies on communication both pre- and post-snap. With the defense surrounding the young CB, he could easily be higher on the list heading into next season. Hes 61, 210 pounds, and his spider chart might as well have been colored in by a nine-year-old. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. 32. The low-level play ultimately led to his benching by the seasons end. name season tm gp tkl ast comb sck scky int int yds int td ff fr fr td; jahleel addae: 2021 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. Awuzie was the second-highest graded cornerback of the regular season, while Hilton was the seventh-highest graded slot corner in coverage. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. But it's easy to know who the favorite is. 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. 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. In 2020, Howard led the league in interceptions (10) and pass breakups (20) for his first All-Pro nod. Those struggles wouldnt last, though. 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. 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. 1. Since 2019, Marlon Humphreys done exactly that in Wink Martindales aggressive man-to-man scheme. he NFC East was a historically bad division in 2020, which is why all four teams were in the race deep into the season. With modern NFL rules, its a disadvantage not to have the type of foot speed Ward possesses. Detroits secondary has been problematic over the past few years, and it didnt get any better in Year 1 under Dan Campbell. While Gang Green endured a turbulent 2019, Poole was one of the team's top performers week in and week out. 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. 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. David Carr constructs his own ranking of the top 10 cornerbacks, but All-Pro . Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. His addition, along with the signing of Joe Haden, helped stabilize a turbulent cornerback position in Pittsburgh over these last two seasons. White is right there with Howard as one of the best playmaking cornerbacks in the league. Terrell. They consistently ranked near the bottom of the league in every metric imaginable, including defensive back PFF WAR generated: 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. 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. 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. Still, they held up well, ranking sixth in coverage grade and second in EPA per pass play allowed on such plays. Pro Football Network strives to passionately deliver purposeful, captivating, and exceptional football content. This kind of ranking for the Chicago Bears was expected this season, considering their cornerback situation outside of Jaylon Johnson. Another of those factors was health, as Darby played over 600 defensive snaps in 2020 for the first time in four seasons. Henderson. In 2021, the two 25-year-olds each missed several games but allowed under 700 yards in coverage combined. 90-81. Ward and Newsome, in particular, produced top-10 coverage grades when in single coverage. Which teams have the best -- and worst -- running back units? Adoree Jackson, New York Giants 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. . He finished with the lowest slot coverage grade in the NFL. 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. Green allowed only six receptions for 70 yards on 22 targets while breaking up five and picking off one. 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. Safety Jayron Kearse was the highest-graded defensive back on the roster, due in large part to his strong tackling. All 259 picks have been made and the 2021 NFL Draft is officially in the books for all 32 franchises. 2020 Points-Allowed Rank: No. It shouldnt be a surprise that the group finished with one of the three-lowest unit coverage grades of the year. Minnesota put forth some of the worst cornerback play in the NFL. In the News: Patrick Mahomes, Derek Carr, Aaron Rodgers, Jalen Hurts, Tom Brady, Brock Purdy. Rankings&Projections |WR/CB Matchup Chart |NFL & NCAA Betting Dashboards | NFL Player Props Tool | NFL & NCAA Power Rankings Contract: three years, $18.6 million. 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. Greg Newsome, Cleveland Browns, 26. Cowboys: 6-10. Things got off to a rough start when the Lions lost 2020 No. 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. Williams is Denver's long-term answer at running back . The Detroit Lions were, by most metrics, the worst defensive team in the NFL last year and they probably won't be much better . 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. Even if the young Jaycee Horn hadnt gone down to injury, this would have been an outstanding move for the Panthers. 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. MORE: The 10 most intriguing prospects in the 2023 NFL draft class. Theyre simply on a tier of their own for the time being. Cornerback Adoree Jackson and safety Xavier McKinney helped claw this secondary to a No. 1. Ive already written my story on Trevon Diggs. 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. His 17.3% forced incompletion rate ranks second among cornerbacks who have seen at least 100 targets over those two years. Gilmore was comfortably the No. 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. Prior to landing his big-money extension in 2020, not many truly understood White's value to . March 1, 2023 7:01 am ET. 11. William Jackson III, Washington Football Team Opposing offenses simply werent able to attack him in coverage. 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. This is the worst front seven in the NFL. Check out the 2021 NFL Opposition & Defensive Statistics including AFC and NFC results and standings on Pro-football-reference.com Defensive rookies. Greedy Williams, Cleveland Browns He returns to the field in 2022, a huge boost . When hes been asked to man up against some of the best receivers in the NFL, hes delivered. 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