PFFs Top 25 Cornerbacks of 2018

[T-post Tom]

https://www.profootballfocus.com/new...he-nfl-in-2018

PFFs Top 25 CBs of 2018


With the regular season in the books, we are counting down the highest-graded cornerbacks this season in the NFL. With every throw and catch attributed to someone in coverage this season, here’s who played the best.

[Editor’s Note: The list below purely runs off our Player Grades, which are made available to all of our EDGE and ELITE subscribers.]

1. STEPHON GILMORE, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

It was a career year for Gilmore whom Bill Belichick has taken to employing as a weapon in the secondary. New England shadowed receivers more than any other team in the NFL this season, and it was often Gilmore’s job to take away the other team’s top receiving threat. He tracked receivers in 13 games this year yet still only allowed 42 catches on 90 targets for 466 yards all year.

2. DESMOND KING II, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

The league’s preeminent slot cornerback at the moment, King simply doesn’t allow many first downs. On his 78 targets this past season, only 22 went for first downs. 81 cornerbacks allowed more first downs in their coverage this season.

3. CHRIS HARRIS JR., DENVER BRONCOS

Harris was at the top of his game before ending up on the IR. He may have only played 12 games, but he allowed a passer rating of only 63.6 when healthy. The Broncos corner was back to his stingy ways in the red zone once again, allowing only one touchdown on the year.

4. KAREEM JACKSON, HOUSTON TEXANS

It was a rough Wild Card weekend for Jackson, but during the regular season, he was the Swiss Army Knife for the Texans. Alternating between safety and corner, Jackson had a career revival this past season. He didn’t allow a touchdown all season long.

5. BYRON JONES, DALLAS COWBOYS

One of PFF’s top-10 breakout players from 2018, Jones season at corner was so dominant it makes you wonder why he ever was stuck at safety in the first place. PFF’s first-team All-Pro corner allowed a 53.6 percent catch rate and had 10 pass breakups.

6. JASON MCCOURTY, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

Yet another Patriots corner who had a career year. McCourty allowed a completion percentage of only 58.9 on the season, his lowest for a single season in his career. Arguably his most impressive stat on the year, though, was that McCourty committed one penalty all season long.

7. KYLE FULLER, CHICAGO BEARS

Fuller may not have been the stingiest cornerback in coverage this season, allowing 745 yards, but few had his playmaking ability. Fuller’s seven interceptions led the NFL while his 12 pass breakups were second at the position.

8. PATRICK PETERSON, ARIZONA CARDINALS

While the rest of the Arizona defense crumbled around him, Peterson continued his elite play. He allowed 30 catches all season long. That’s fewer than two per game. His 0.63 yards allowed per coverage snap was the lowest in the league.

9. BRYCE CALLAHAN, CHICAGO BEARS

Callahan made himself some money with his play for Chicago this season in the slot. His 0.72 yards per coverage snap was the fifth-lowest at the position in the NFL, and he only allowed a passer rating of 80.5 in his coverage.

10. JOHNATHAN JOSEPH, HOUSTON TEXANS

At 34 years old, Joseph had a bounce-back year in a big way. After allowing the highest passer rating in almost a decade last season, Joseph only allowed a passer rating of 76.0 this season.

11. PRINCE AMUKAMARA, CHICAGO BEARS

While Amukamara’s career has been plagued by injury, he’s been one of the most consistent corners in the NFL when healthy. That was finally the case again in 2018, and he earned a career-high grade because of it. Amukamara allowed a passer rating of 82.9 this past season.

12. DENZEL WARD, CLEVELAND BROWNS

The highest-graded rookie cornerback on this list, Ward lived up to his top-five billing. He allowed a catch rate of 53.7 and passer rating of 70.7 to immediately transform the Browns secondary. We’ll be seeing his name on this list for years to come.

13. MARLON HUMPHREY, BALTIMORE RAVENS

After a solid rookie season, Humphrey quite comfortably established himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL this year. His 52.5 catch rate allowed was the seventh-best in the league this season and his 22.5 percent forced incompletion rate was third-best.

14. CASEY HAYWARD JR., LOS ANGELES CHARGERS

It wasn’t quite the production we saw from Hayward in 2017, but some of that wasn’t his fault. Quarterbacks simply stopped targeting Hayward as much this season. He was the third-least targeted cornerback per coverage snap. The Chargers corner allowed only 32 catches all season.

15. PIERRE DESIR, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

While Desir had a career year in coverage, his ability against the run was key in the Colts’ cover-2 heavy defense. He finished the season with the second-best run defense grade of all corners.

16. XAVIEN HOWARD, MIAMI DOLPHINS

Howard had a very boom-or-bust season. His 50.9 percent catch rate was third-best in the NFL, but at the same time, his 16.2 yards per catch allowed was the second-worst among corners. Still, seven picks in only 12 games is pretty absurd production for the Dolphins corner.

17. A.J. BOUYE, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

Bouye wasn’t near the level we saw over the last two seasons, but it’s difficult to complain about still being the 17th-best corner in the NFL. Bouye only allowed 417 yards on the season, but his 67.2 percent catch rate allowed was nearly 20 percentage points higher than a season ago.

18. DARIUS SLAY, DETROIT LIONS

The interceptions might not have been there this season, but targeting Slay still wasn’t beneficial for opposing quarterbacks this season. He had the sixth-best forced incompletion rate at 19.8 and was third in the NFL was 12 pass breakups.

19. TRUMAINE JOHNSON, NEW YORK JETS

After a down 2017, Johnson was once again at the top of his game when healthy. He played in only 10 games this season but still managed to nab four interceptions.

20. MARSHON LATTIMORE, NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

It wasn’t the year Lattimore had hoped for after a dominant rookie season, but he had one of the toughest draws of any corner this season. Lattimore tracked Mike Evans, Odell Beckham Jr., Michael Crabtree, Alshon Jeffery, Calvin Ridley, Amari Cooper, Mike Evans and Antonio Brown this year.

21. STEVEN NELSON, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

He may have allowed the second-most yards of any cornerback in the NFL (825), but it’s only because he was targeted eight times more than any corner in the league. His 53.1 percent catch rate and 76.8 passer rating allowed show how good Nelson really was this year.

22. WILLIAM JACKSON III, CINCINNATI BENGALS

While the Bengals’ pass defense was atrocious, Jackson more than held his own. He allowed only 38 catches all season long and had 10 pass breakups on the year.

23. ADOREE’ JACKSON, TENNESSEE TITANS

Jackson was picked on ruthlessly in the Titans’ defense, getting 105 passes thrown his way this season. He continued his high-level of play, though, allowing a catch rate of 62.9 and had seven pass breakups.

24. JALEN RAMSEY, JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

While Bouye took a small step back from 2017, Ramsey took an even bigger one. He allowed 163 more yards this season and had four fewer combined pass breakups and interceptions.

25. JAIRE ALEXANDER, GREEN BAY PACKERS

It was a rocky first year at times for Alexander, who also battled through injury, but the high-level play from him was as good as anyone in the NFL. His five pass breakup game against the Rams was one of the best from any corner this year.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

I just look at Ward for comparison and can say that I really think Charvarius was a noticeably better CB than Nelson in the games he played. And he was an undrafted rookie. Have to remember that with Sutton’s stubborn scheme, teams could put receivers on whatever corners they wanted to because the DBs didn’t move.

Nelson doesn’t run real fast and is small. If you’re gonna have that combo, you’d better have great technique, ball skills, be a super smart player, or hopefully some combination of those. But Nelson’s ball skills suck, and his technique fell apart far too often resulting in penalties.

He’s average IMHO.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Not really; his rate stats compared favorably to the best CBs in the league. They weren't successful with any great frequency against him but teams had to score a lot against us and play a fair amount of catchup so they attacked through the air a ton.

I mean c'mon - a 53% completion percentage and 77 QB rating is ass. That's worse than Blake Bortles and that's how QBs did when throwing at Nelson.

The hate Nelson gets here is laughable - that guy had a good year and is a solid NFL starting quarterback. The market is gonna reward him handsomely for it and while he may never be that solid again, it's silly to say he wasn't a good player for the Chiefs this season.

He was. Not great, but good.

He was complete ass against any QB that was considered good. Brady straight up torched his sorry ass for huge gains in each game.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

I just look at Ward for comparison and can say that I really think Charvarius was a noticeably better CB than Nelson in the games he played. And he was an undrafted rookie.

Nelson doesn’t run real fast and is small. If you’re gonna have that combo, you’d better have great technique, ball skills, be a super smart player, or hopefully some combination of those. But Nelson’s ball skills suck, and his technique fell apart far too often resulting in penalties.

He’s average IMHO.

The ball skills are certainly a problem and limit his ceiling for sure. I'll note that those are STILL reflected in the QB rating against as that number would've been elite if he could've brought in a few more of those potential INTs. But it's definitely his worst trait.

I think his speed is sometimes underrated - he's not a burner, but he's not slow. He has a genuine catchup gear. The problem is one you alluded to and that's simply size - there were times he did everything right and just didn't quite have the length to get a hand in there.

I actually do think his technique and general coverage savvy are pretty good. I mean you just called the guy a slow, dumb, small, stiff DB with shitty technique - c'mon now, something's gotta give there. He'd be among the worst CBs in football if you went line by line on your list of nits to pick.

His penalties weren't generally technique issues - they were size problems as often as not. He just has to play so damn physical to keep from getting bodied out entirely that he'd have to commit a penalty on occasion. Though again - 7 'coverage' penalties all season and I'm betting you'd have said he committed as many as twice that if you were going by memory. The penalty issue isn't as extreme as some are making it out to be.

And he has a good feel for movement more often than not. He's actual pretty decent at matching routes, especially for a smaller DB. But the fact that he doesn't have great ball awareness makes people think that he was torched - more often than not he's where he's supposed to be. That's why those comp% and Rating #s are pretty good.

He's just a guy who makes ugly mistakes. He plays an ugly style of game and when he doesn't bring a pick in it looks awful. And again - he's a shitheel. So his bad stands out more than his good.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Re: DJ

All fair points, and so with that being said, what’s the max AAV you pay to keep a guy like that?

Because for me it ain’t much. Certainly not realistic for what he will see on the market. I’ll find someone else who tries their ass off and gets beat here and there for pennies in the draft before I bring Nelson back for more than $4-5M per year.

[staylor26]

Originally Posted by RunKC

He was complete ass against any QB that was considered good. Brady straight up torched his sorry ass for huge gains in each game.

But we played good QB’s throughout the year.

If this were the case, the #’s would reflect that.

[O.city]

Chiefs fans expect a corner to be an absolute shut down corner for him to be good.

Which is fine I guess, but if you want one of those, you're gonna have to trade a few high ass picks for him or suck and draft him at 5.

[FAX]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

...

...

We just forget the times he did his job well because he's easy to dislike. He's an undersized, mouthy, physical corner who seems to get a kick out of antagonizing fans and needs that chip on his shoulder to get up to play. That's easy to root against. But he still didn't suck last year as a general rule.

I'm not a Nelson "hater". Not at all.

And I buy in that his completion percentage is commendable.

I would merely say this; our season would have been significantly better (even as good as it was) if the d-backfield (including Nelson) had made the critical play at the crucial time. You know the story as well as anyone, so there's no point in recounting the specific plays. But one could argue that trading a worse Completion % for key stops in critical moments would be a good deal for us. Super Bowl good, even.

But overall ... if you know what's coming. Stop it. Football 101.

Anyway, since we're talking Corners here, that's my focus. But honestly, I'm not sure I'd rank them as the #1 problem position group this season.

FAX

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Originally Posted by O.city

Chiefs fans expect a corner to be an absolute shut down corner for him to be good.

Which is fine I guess, but if you want one of those, you're gonna have to trade a few high ass picks for him or suck and draft him at 5.

Ehh I wouldn’t say that.

For instance, Fuller isn’t a shutdown corner but I do think at 24 years old he holds a lot of value and would be a wise extension to make ASAP. He will be much improved in this defense as it compares to Sutton’s. And again, he isn’t a lockdown corner, but he does possess a bunch of above average skills. He’s extremely smart, quick, solid ball skills. Versatile.

It’d be awesome to have a lockdown guy but there’s plenty of above average level players who are upgrades from Nelson imo.

[T-post Tom]

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

I never felt comfortable with Nelson going against good receivers or big receivers. I was always expecting him to get beat deep at least once a game and to have at least one big penalty.

I just go with my gut and eyes with this deal. I’ve rarely ever watched Chiefs games with Nelson in them and thought, damn, that’s a really solid CB. He just gives up too many big plays either via catch or flag, especially in big moments. He rarely ever played well in big games, and his ball skills are far below average.

Can't argue with you. But I also think our safeties did a very poor job helping the CBs. The safeties seemed to be out of position most of the time.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by pugsnotdrugs19

Re: DJ

All fair points, and so with that being said, what’s the max AAV you pay to keep a guy like that?

Because for me it ain’t much. Certainly not realistic for what he will see on the market. I’ll find someone else who tries their ass off and gets beat here and there for pennies in the draft before I bring Nelson back for more than $4-5M per year.

I don't. I don't think this team can with the players we have to extend.

I agree that $4-5 million is all I'd pay for him and the market will probably support $8 million. My point is just that I don't think he's going to be as easy to replace as many seem to believe - he's gonna be a loss, IMO.

But it's a loss we're just gonna have to accept.

[RunKC]

Originally Posted by staylor26

But we played good QB’s throughout the year.

If this were the case, the #’s would reflect that.

I don’t hate Nelson, but he is incredibly overrated and I’m glad we aren’t paying him.

I don’t see why people want to pay Fuller big money either when the guy did not look like he deserved it at all last season.

[pugsnotdrugs19]

Originally Posted by RunKC

I don’t hate Nelson, but he is incredibly overrated and I’m glad we aren’t paying him.

I don’t see why people want to pay Fuller big money either when the guy did not look like he deserved it at all last season.

He’s going to be better in a different scheme that isn’t so predictable and well, doesn’t suck so much ass. He even looked really good at times in said shitty scheme, especially right before his injury.

I’m telling you, if they don’t sign him now, they’ll wish they had by season’s end.

[T-post Tom]

Would love to see this next year:

RCB C. Ward
LCB 1st rd draft pick. D.Baker/G.Williams/R.Ya-Sin/L.Johnson/B.Murphy
Slot K. Fuller
S Earl Thomas or Landon Collins
S Not Ron Parker

[lcarus]

Didn't Nelson play as primarily a nickel back a couple years ago? I seem to remember him being good in that role.

[ntexascardfan]

Byron Jones must've been really good last year to make the list twice.