2021 NFL Free Agents. Tracking the status and signings of all 2021 NFL free agents. This tool includes all signings that happen during the Free Agency window only. Jan 13, 2020 Last year, Detroit Lions cornerback Justin Coleman generated buzz as one of the top free-agent slot cornerbacks available. He signed a four-year, $36 million contract and then went on to have an.
© Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images Logan RyanThe idea that the New York Giants could play in the deep end of the free agent cornerback pool and chase Byron Jones of the Dallas Cowboys has been gaining traction recently. On a recent ‘Valentine’s Views’ podcast, Bob Glauber of Newsday added his voice to those saying a play for Jones would be a smart one by the Giants.
The Giants, with no truly experienced players at the cornerback position and a glaring weakness in the slot, could use both a veteran presence at the position and a player who familiar with handing slot responsibilities.
How about Logan Ryan of the Tennessee Titans? The seven-year veteran is a slot cornerback who is familiar to Joe Judge and Patrick Graham, having spent his first four NFL seasons with the New England Patriots.
Ryan could bring familiarity, leadership and the ability to handle the slot to the Giants. Let’s take a closer look.
The basics
Age: 29
Height: 5-foot-11 | Weight: 195
Position: Cornerback
Experience: 7 seasons
2019 stats: Games played: 16 | Snaps: 1,099 (99 percent) | Tackles: 113 (73 solo) | Interceptions: 4 | Passes defensed: 18 | Forced fumbles: 3 | Sacks: 4.5 | Quarterback hits: 8
2019 salary: $9.5 million
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Pro Football Focus: Overall grade: 64.9 | Run defense: 69.1 | Pass defense: 60.6 | Missed tackles: 17 (1 every 7.3 attempts — 17th of 30 graded cornerbacks) | Snaps per reception: 1 every 6.6 (worst of six cornerbacks who were in the slot on 375 or more coverage snaps in 2019) | Passer rating against: 98.4
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The skinny
Jimmy Morris of SB Nation’s Music City Miracles says:
“It is looking more and more like Logan Ryan will not be back with the Titans in 2020. They have a lot of things they need to get done in the next couple of weeks, including signing a quarterback and figuring out what they are going to do with Derrick Henry. That’s going to eat up quite a bit of the cap they have left. I think they would love to have Ryan back, but not at the price that someone else will be willing to pay him.
“Ryan is probably getting close to the point in his career where it makes sense for him to move to safety. He has been open about that being a possibility for him. He has lost a step but at this point is still able to play well because of how smart of a player he is. The Titans did a lot with him last year, including sending him on a blitz pretty often. He’s really good at that! There is no doubt that he would be an excellent mentor for young corners. The defensive back room has been one of the strongest on the Titans over the last couple of years and that is due in large part to Ryan’s leadership.
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“Someone will get a very valuable asset on and off the field with him.”
Pro Football Focus ranks Ryan as the No. 3 cornerback available in free agency behind Byron Jones and Chris Harris Jr.PFF writes:
Ryan has had a solid career, and he hits free agency once again after three years in Tennessee. He’s a slot corner who has graded between 62.0 and 76.2 in coverage in all but one year of his seven-year career, and that level of consistency makes him an intriguing candidate for teams looking for help in the slot. Ryan has generally been an excellent tackler, though 20 of his 49 career misses came in 2019.
Even a decade ago, your average slot defender was just that — average. A smaller guy without the speed to take outside receivers up the post routes and down the sideline. But as NFL offenses have defaulted to three- and four-receiver sets, the nickel and dime defender has not only become a de facto starter, but also as important as any other defensive back on the field.
Imagine you’re a slot cornerback in today’s NFL. One week, you have to deal with Minnesota’s Adam Thielen and his array of precise routes — not to mention his ability to streak downfield for a huge play if you make any hint of a mistake. The next week, you’re up against the Eagles’ Zach Ertz, getting bodied out by a 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end in devilish route combinations. The next week, you may have to face Antonio Brown in a week when his coaches decide to make him a primary slot receiver. Good luck with that.
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But hey, at least Rob Gronkowski retired, so that’s one slot nightmare out of the way.
The point is, slot defenders are tested in new and vicious ways in the modern league, and their skill sets to defend speed, option routes and increased uses of receiver space are unique. Most great outside cornerbacks want to stay outside for those exact reasons. As Richard Sherman once told me, the boundary is your friend, and if you have open space on both sides of your coverage, it isn’t a lot of fun.
So, here are the best slot defenders in the business coming into the 2019 season, and what makes each one of them special.
Losing Bryce Callahan to the Broncos in free agency was a blow for Chicago’s defense, but it would have been far worse had McManis not established himself as an estimable slot cornerback in his own right. The 31-year-old veteran doesn’t have top-end speed, but he understands defensive spacing and placement — he’s one of those guys who always seems to be around the ball. In 2018, McManis allowed just 12 receptions on 22 slot targets for 80 yards, 42 yards after the catch, no touchdowns and an opponent passer rating of 62.7. You want to see a larger sample size of targets before moving him up this list, but 2018 was a step in the right direction.