The Top Secondary Players And Teams
Patriot J.C. Jackson has allowed the lowest passer rating over the last two seasons for secondary players that were targeted at least 13 times a season. His per season average for the last two seasons was 38.9.
The Patriots have another talented secondary player in Stephon Gilmore. Gilmore made All-Pro First team each of the last two seasons. He averaged the lowest completion percentage over the last two seasons among players that had an allowed passer rating of less than 80 for each of the last two seasons.
In 2019 the Patriots defense was
1st – passing touchdowns allowed,
1st – passing first downs allowed,
2nd – passing yards allowed,
2nd – net yards gained per pass attempt,
2nd – Yards after catch on completion.
They allowed a league low 13 passing touchdowns. They allowed only 150 passing first downs and the league average was 194.
From a team perspective the next best team for secondary play would be the Baltimore Ravens. In 2019 the Ravens defense was
2nd – Passing Touchdowns
4th – Passing 1st Downs
5th – Pass completions
6th – Passing Yards
6th – Net Yards per Pass Attempt
The combination oi Jimmy Smith and Marlon Humphrey is the basis for a formidable secondary. Marlon Humphrey made All-Pro First Team in 2019. Jimmy Smith has produced three seasons with a Pro Football Focus grade of 77.0 or better throughout his career.
Buffalo has the following team rankings for their 2019 pass defense
3rd – passing touchdowns,
3rd – net yards per pass attempt,
4th – passing yards,
4th – Yards after catch on completion,
6th – passing 1st Downs.
Bill’s cornerback Tre’Davious White made 2019 First Team All-Pro in his third season. He allowed only a 45.0 passer rating when targeted in 2019. His two year average passer rating allowed of 58.4 was fifth best among players that had an allowed passer rating of less than 80 for each of the last two seasons. His 17 passes defended in 2019 was fourth best in the league.
The Bears had an above average pass defense. Their star secondary player is strong safety Eddie Jackson. His two year average passer rating allowed of 49 was second best among players that had an allowed passer rating of less than 80 for each of the last two seasons. Jackson was a 2018 First Team All Pro. At the end of the 2018 season Eddie Jackson’s 2018 season was selected by Pro Football Focus as the best performance by a safety in the fourteen years they had been collecting data.
Another talented secondary player is free safety Kevin Byard of the Titans. His two year average passer rating allowed of 51.9 was third best among players that had an allowed passer rating of less than 80 for each of the last two seasons. Byard was 2017 First Team All Pro. His eight interceptions that year led the league. In 2018 the Titans pass defense was
6th – passing yards,
5th – passing touchdowns,
8th – net yards per pass attempt,
7th – passing 1st downs,
2nd – Yards after the catch on completion.
Harrison Smith is a talented safety on the Vikings. Smith made the Pro Bowl each of the last five seasons. His two year average passer rating allowed of 52.6 was fourth best among players that had an allowed passer rating of less than 80 for each of the last two seasons. According to Pro Football Focus the Viking safeties combined coverage stats from the 2018-2019 had them 1st in passer rating allowed, forced incompletion percentage, coverage grade on plays with no pressure, zone coverage grade and overall coverage grade.
The NY Giants
The Giants currently have 18 players on the roster for the secondary. Last season their final roster had ten on the active roster, one on reserve and one on the practice squad.
James Bradberry is one of thirteen players that have 8+ career interceptions and an active streak of an interception every season of their career. He had three interceptions in 2019 and allowed only a 70 passer rating when targeted.
Rookie Xavier McKinney made 2019 All Sec First Team. He is a versatile athletic player with a high football IQ and good tackling skills. He played all over at Alabama – slot, deep zone and up at the line. He plays with great urgency. He has good coverage instincts and burst. Pro Football Focus has him earned grades of 84.7 in run defense, 90.9 as a pass-rusher, and 91.2 in coverage for his college career. McKinney has actually improved his grade in every facet from 2018 to 2019.
Last season among 21 year old secondary players Julian Love allowed the second lowest passer rating (81) when targeted. He had the 15th lowest yards per target (6.6 yards) for secondary players under 25 years old. In his last year in college in 2018 Love was tie for sixth in the FBS in passes broken up with 16.
In his 2017 last season in college Sam Beal allowed the lowest passer rating in the MAC on throws into his coverage with a 35.2. Beal missed all of his 2018 rookie season with a shoulder injury. In 2019 a hamstring injury kept him out until week 10. He started weeks 14-16 which were two wins and a loss. He had one pass defended and one safety in those three weeks.
Jabrill Peppers was a first round draft pick by the Browns in 2017. He has had an interception in each of his three years. Peppers performance has improved since coming to the Giants in 2019. His passer rating when targeted dropped from 110 on the Browns in 2018 to 84 on the Giants in 2019. He played only 11 games on the Giants due to injury. Yet he matched his 2018 tackle totals from 16 games on the Browns. He was utilized more on the Giants when he was healthy than the Browns used him in games.
Rookie Deandre Baker had a poor start to his rookie year. However he improved at the end of the season. After the bye week in week eleven Baker had the 6th best coverage grade among all qualified cornerbacks over the next 4 games. He had 8 total passes defended in 2019 and 5 of those were in the last four games.
Rookie Darnay Holmes was one of only ten 2019 draft eligible players that over the last three seasons in college had 8 interceptions, 17 passes defended and 80 solo tackles.
In 2019 the Giants defense was
21st in pass completions,
28th in passing yards,
26th in passing touchdowns,
29th in net yards per pass attempt,
24th in passing 1st Downs.
The new Giants defensive backs coach, Jerome Henderson, has not had recent success in his previous coaching position. From 2016 thru 2019 Henderson was the Atlanta Falcons Defensive Passing Coordinator. Over that time frame the Falcons were in the bottom quarter of the league in defensive passing yards, passing touchdowns, passing first downs and passer rating allowed. His four prior years as Dallas Defensive Backs coach was a little better. He was in the bottom quarter of the league in Opponent Passer Rating, Opponent Passing Yards, On a bright note the Cowboys were tenth in opponent passing touchdowns over that period. They were 21st in opponent passing first downs.
I have optimism for the performance of Xavier McKinney, Julian Love and Jabrill Peppers in 2020. All three have shown good performance and/or improvement in 2019. I believe James Bradberry will be a solid performer with a high ceiling. DeAndre Baker also showed significant improvement as the 2019 season progressed. Darnay Holmes is said to have an unbelievable work ethic according to his UCLA coach. Sam Beal’s college coach, Tim Lester, had similar thoughts – ““He was a joy to coach, I wanted to coach him one more year. When it comes to talent and work ethic, he’s one of the best I’ve ever been around.” Here’s to a much improved Giants secondary in 2020.
