Press coverage is one of the biggest differences between the professional game in the NFL and the college football landscape these days.
Elite receiver prospects may rarely, if ever, face press coverage in college, and projecting how they will fare against it at the next level can be a big separator in their draft rankings.
Last week, we took a dive into the PFF database to understand who the best receivers in the league are at defeating press coverage, and this week we will look at it from the defensive side of the ball.
Examining the past two seasons combined, who are the best cornerbacks in the game when using press coverage?
PFF Coverage Grade
| PLAYER | COVERAGE GRADE | COMP% | FORCED INC% | PASSER RTG | YDS/COV SNAP |
| Xavien Howard | 87.3 | 39.3% | 16.7% | 42.2 | 1.07 |
| Bradley Roby | 83.0 | 57.7% | 23.1% | 78.8 | 0.82 |
| Marcus Peters | 82.4 | 40.7% | 18.5% | 56.9 | 0.46 |
| Ross Cockrell | 79.4 | 61.3% | 16.1% | 74.4 | 0.77 |
| Cameron Dantzler | 78.8 | 32.4% | 10.8% | 43.2 | 0.83 |
| Xavier Rhodes | 75.9 | 44.6% | 12.3% | 55.3 | 0.98 |
| Darius Phillips | 74.6 | 48.0% | 28.0% | 117.2 | 1.28 |
| Eric Stokes | 73.7 | 24.1% | 17.2% | 43.0 | 0.60 |
| Shaquill Griffin | 72.5 | 60.0% | 2.9% | 87.9 | 0.95 |
| Jason Verrett | 71.9 | 55.6% | 25.9% | 61.0 | 0.59 |
| Ronald Darby | 71.6 | 26.5% | 20.6% | 41.2 | 0.51 |
Xavien Howard has been the best cornerback in the NFL over the past two seasons when lined up in press coverage, judging by PFF coverage grade. Those grades are a play-by-play recording of every snap in coverage before they are translated to a 0-100 scale. Howard has given up some yardage into his coverage on those plays, but he has also more than made up for that. Passes targeting him when he has been in press coverage over the past two seasons have generated a lowly 42.2 passer rating, less than half the average of all passes leaguewide.
Green Bay Packers rookie Eric Stokes shows up very high in this list, improving as the season went on. With Jaire Alexander just outside of the top 10, the Packers could have one of the most formidable duos in the league when playing aggressive press-man coverage on the outside.
The other takeaway from this first table is how low the numbers are in terms of grades. Only three of the top 10 players carry a PFF coverage grade above 80.0, with Howard the only player even in the vicinity of threatening 90.0. Press-man coverage is difficult and risky to play from the defensive point of view, and with modern passing rules in play, it’s very difficult to consistently execute well and not be taken advantage of.
Yards Per Coverage Snap
| PLAYER | COVERAGE GRADE | COMP% | FORCED INC% | PASSER RTG | YDS/COV SNAP |
| Jamel Dean | 69.2 | 36.4% | 13.6% | 75.2 | 0.34 |
| Ronald Darby | 71.6 | 23.3% | 20.0% | 39.6 | 0.39 |
| Marcus Peters | 82.4 | 45.8% | 20.8% | 61.6 | 0.48 |
| Eric Stokes | 73.7 | 25.9% | 18.5% | 44.2 | 0.62 |
| Jason Verrett | 71.9 | 55.6% | 25.9% | 61.0 | 0.63 |
| Patrick Surtain II | 68.3 | 45.8% | 12.5% | 39.8 | 0.63 |
| Nevin Lawson | 63.5 | 62.2% | 4.4% | 103.7 | 0.69 |
| Eli Apple | 71.3 | 50.0% | 14.3% | 45.8 | 0.74 |
| Cameron Sutton | 64.5 | 63.6% | 4.6% | 95.6 | 0.75 |
| Tavierre Thomas | 62.4 | 55.0% | 10.0% | 112.5 | 0.78 |
No NFL cornerback has allowed fewer yards per coverage snap in press coverage since 2020 than Tampa Bay’s Jamel Dean, often the forgotten man in a unit also containing Carlton Davis and Sean Murphy-Bunting. Dean has allowed just over one-third of targets into his coverage to be caught for only 0.34 yards per press coverage snap across that span.
Patrick Surtain II marks the second rookie to show well in these tables, joining Eric Stokes, who we mentioned in the previous table. Both Surtain and Stokes allowed elite yards per coverage snap figures when in press coverage, and each played it enough to qualify for the threshold in just one season.
Jason Verrett shows here one of the reasons the 49ers keep rolling the dice on a player who seems perennially cursed by injury. If you ever do get a healthy season out of Verrett, there’s a chance it’s a very impactful one for the defense he’s on.
NFL Passer Rating When Targeted
| PLAYER | COVERAGE GRADE | COMP% | FORCED INC% | YDS/COV SNAP | PASSER RTG |
| Ronald Darby | 71.6 | 23.3% | 20% | 0.39 | 39.6 |
| Patrick Surtain II | 68.3 | 45.8% | 12.5% | 0.63 | 39.8 |
| Cameron Dantzler | 78.8 | 30.6% | 11.1% | 0.88 | 42.0 |
| Xavien Howard | 87.3 | 40.7% | 17.3% | 1.14 | 43.6 |
| Eric Stokes | 73.7 | 25.9% | 18.5% | 0.62 | 44.2 |
| Eli Apple | 71.3 | 50% | 14.3% | 0.74 | 45.8 |
| Stephon Gilmore | 66.9 | 50% | 8.3% | 1.08 | 54.9 |
| Dane Jackson | 61.4 | 50% | 22.7% | 1.00 | 56.4 |
| Xavier Rhodes | 75.9 | 47.5% | 13.1% | 1.03 | 58.8 |
| J.C. Jackson | 65.3 | 49.5% | 12.1% | 1.75 | 58.9 |
Last year’s rookies again show well, with Eric Stokes and Patrick Surtain II each allowing a passer rating lower than 45.0 when targeted in press-man coverage. New Chargers cornerback J.C. Jackson always appears in any analysis looking at lowest passer rating allowed, and the same is true here, but his 67.4 PFF coverage grade on such plays suggests he has benefited from a little good fortune. At the very least, he has relied on supreme ball skills to make the most of chances that come his way at an unusually high rate.
Minnesota’s Cameron Dantzler kept finding himself in Mike Zimmer’s doghouse last season. He has a lot of very good coverage numbers in his short NFL career, though, and shows well in several areas when playing press coverage.
No player has surrendered a lower passer rating than Ronald Darby, however.
Snaps Playing Press
| PLAYER | COVERAGE GRADE | PRESS SNAPS | COMP% | FORCED INC% | PASSER RTG |
| Charvarius Ward | 68.0 | 582 | 50.0% | 14.9% | 76.5 |
| Marshon Lattimore | 62.8 | 578 | 51.1% | 26.1% | 109.6 |
| Marlon Humphrey | 61.1 | 490 | 51.2% | 14.0% | 97.4 |
| Xavien Howard | 87.3 | 463 | 40.7% | 17.3% | 43.6 |
| Byron Jones | 53.1 | 447 | 60.9% | 9.4% | 107.2 |
| J.C. Jackson | 65.3 | 439 | 49.5% | 12.1% | 58.9 |
| Amani Oruwariye | 44.1 | 422 | 60.9% | 13.0% | 108.6 |
| Jaylon Johnson | 56.4 | 417 | 54.3% | 17.1% | 101.5 |
| Kenny Moore II | 58.7 | 416 | 63.6% | 8.0% | 85.7 |
| Bashaud Breeland | 69.4 | 407 | 55.1% | 13.0% | 84.2 |
Charvarius Ward leads the NFL in press coverage snaps over the past two years — although Marshon Lattimore is a close second — and he now slots into the San Francisco 49ers' defense after spending the past four seasons in Kansas City. Ward and Lattimore are the only cornerbacks with more than 500 snaps of press coverage in the two-year span, and both players are closer to 600 snaps than 500. The Saints have clearly relied on Lattimore’s ability to play one-on-one coverage for years and are happy to lean into that strategy, often singling him up and letting him get aggressive at the line. Ward has also done it a lot but now moves to a defense that employs a lot more off coverage, which will be an interesting thing to monitor.
Miami’s Xavien Howard and Byron Jones have been employed this way a lot, but they also may be expecting a significant change given the Dolphins' coaching switches.
Marlon Humphrey playing that much press coverage given how often he aligns in the slot is a remarkable combination. It speaks to how hard his role is within Baltimore’s defense, as he often sees his coverage numbers, and perhaps his regard among fans, slip a little because of what he is asked to do.
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.