PFF Record Books: Safety signature stats

Mike Mitchell takes home three records: The Pittsburgh Steelers safety's excellent 2015 season earned him multiple safety signature records.
Eddie Jackson‘s 2018 and Jairus Byrd‘s 2012 lead the way in terms of coverage grade: Both safeties parlayed dominant seasons in coverage to a PFF record.
Joshua Kalu‘s 2022 earns him two PFF records: Kalu barely met the minimum stat threshold, which enabled his outstanding run defense to be highlighted in the PFF record books.

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

The PFF database is a vast expanse of grades and statistics encompassing nearly two decades' worth of NFL action. The goal has always been to help better understand the game of football and bridge the gap between the past and present generations.

PFF data goes as far back as 2006, which may be a small sample size of the game’s entire history but serves as a tremendous asset in determining which performances truly stand the test of time.

These are the official PFF records for Safeties signature stats.

Coverage

PFF Coverage Grade

Eddie Jackson, Chicago Bears (2018) & Jairus Byrd, Buffalo Bills (2012) – 94.7

While Jackson and Byrd may not be household names around the league, their performances in each respective season are as impressive as they come. In the PFF era, just four players have ever earned a coverage grade exceeding the 93.0 threshold – the aforementioned Asante Samuel (2006), Ed Reed (2009), Jackson and Byrd. The 94.7 coverage grade earned by both Jackson and Byrd is significantly higher than the next best season and flirts with an unheard-of 95.0 coverage grade.

Completion Percentage

Mike Mitchell, Pittsburgh Steelers (2015) – 23.53%

In his second season in Pittsburgh, Mitchell produced the best coverage season of his career. That season, Mitchell allowed just four completions on 17 targets as the primary coverage defender, breaking this PFF signature stat record set by Sean Taylor back in 2007. In the PFF era, no other coverage player has ever finished with a sub-26% completion percentage allowed in a single season.