KC Warpaint 3,251 Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 https://www.arrowheadpride.com/2019/3/13/18264666/report-free-agent-cornerback-ronald-darby-is-scheduled-to-visit-chiefs-wednesday-night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Balto 723 Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 Sooo Joes BBQ and a pen? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FANATIC 852 Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 Is he better than Nelson ? I sure hope so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetlord 10,210 Posted March 13, 2019 Share Posted March 13, 2019 9 minutes ago, FANATIC said: Is he better than Nelson ? I sure hope so. He could be one of the better ones............if his ACL is good to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FANATIC 852 Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 The plan looks better now with all the older guys cut or traded. Cutting Berry was so needed. So it looks like getting younger is #1 priority as the defense is redone. I can live with this even if its not greatly improved year one. Dumping those higher contracts for older guys makes sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen 1,010,220 Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 Top-10 Free Agent Cornerbacks in 2019 BY BEN LINSEY • JAN 29, 2019 PHILADELPHIA, PA - AUGUST 17: Ronald Darby #35 of the Philadelphia Eagles plays against the Buffalo Bills the preseason game at Lincoln Financial Field on August 17, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Eagles defeated the Bills 20-16. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) Unlike some other positions, such as edge defender, there is no truly elite, top-end talent to be had at the cornerback position via the free agency market in 2019. That doesn’t mean there isn’t the talent to be had though, as there is a solid crop of free agent cornerbacks coming off strong 2018 seasons. The top-10 list of those available cornerbacks begins with… 1. RONALD DARBY Set to hit free agency at the ripe age of 25, Darby offers consistency – he graded above 70.0 in three of his four seasons alongside a respectable 68.3 in 2016 – and upside with an overall grade that ranked 22nd out of 120 qualifiers in 2017. He has shown a knack for disrupting passes with 50 regular-season forced incompletions since entering the league, ranking 12th among all cornerbacks who have seen at least 100 targets over that span. Though coming off a torn ACL, Darby is likely the best free agent option available for cornerback-needy teams. 2. BRYCE CALLAHAN Once an afterthought, the importance of the slot cornerback has begun to come to light in recent seasons and Callahan was one of the best in 2018. He shut down the slot week in and week out, allowing just 0.69 receiving yards per coverage snap in the slot which was the fewest among the 30 cornerbacks who played at least 200 coverage snaps. Having increased his overall grade from 62.9 in 2016 to 77.7 in 2017 to 81.4 last season, Callahan is on the rise and will likely cash in on that improved play in the coming months. 3. KAREEM JACKSON One of the “elder statesmen” of the cornerback free agent class, Jackson has played at least 600 defensive snaps each season since he was drafted by the Houston Texans back in 2010. Coming off one of the best years of his career in which he recorded an overall grade of 79.5 behind 10 pass breakups and no receiving touchdowns allowed, Jackson will be one of the more sought-after veterans if he hits the market. 4. JASON MCCOURTY After a few down seasons at the end of his time with the Tennessee Titans, McCourty has revitalized his career in the last two seasons with Cleveland Browns and the New England Patriots. Of the 90 targets into his coverage this season, only 53 were completed for a completion percentage of 58.9 which ranked 34thout of 125 cornerbacks that played at least 250 defensive snaps. Though he doesn’t offer the upside of some of the younger options, McCourty offers the safety of an immediate starter that can step in on the perimeter. 5. STEVEN NELSON No player was tested more in coverage this season than Nelson, who was targeted 113 times in total during the regular season. He responded with a career-best grade of 72.1 – making him an intriguing free agent option at the age of 26. That grade has risen each of his first four seasons in the NFL; prospective suitors will be banking on that trend of improved play continuing. 6. BRADLEY ROBY The ideal scenario is not to enter free agency off a career-worst year, but unfortunately for Mr. Roby, that is the situation he finds himself in. Roby recorded just a 59.9 overall PFF grade in 2018 while allowing a passer rating of 117.3. He finds himself on this list, though, because he has shown throughout his career that he can be an impact player in the defensive backfield. One need not look further than 2017 when he ranked in the top-five forced incompletion rates at nearly 30 percent. Any team taking a shot on Roby will be hoping that version returns for 2019. 7. PIERRE DESIR Before this season, Desir had not played over 400 defensive snaps in a season after coming out of Lindenwood. Now, heading into free agency, Desir cracks the top-10 at the position after being an integral part of a much-improved Colts defense. It’s always a risk signing a player to a long-term contract with just one year of proven production under their belt, but Desir’s 77.5 overall grade this past season will give teams reason to take a chance. 8. JASON VERRETT Verrett is perhaps the most interesting free agent decision for the Los Angeles Chargers and others this upcoming offseason. There is an argument to be made for him as the best option available given his very strong showings in a limited rookie season (85.1 overall grade) and his only complete season in 2015 (88.4 grade). Unfortunately, though, Verrett has only played 323 snaps since that 2015 season due to an onslaught of serious injuries. Teams will have to decide if the risk is worth the potential reward. 9. MORRIS CLAIBORNE Claiborne doesn’t offer the upside of options such as Darby or Verrett, nor does he offer the safety level of Jackson or McCourty, but he has shown that he can be a serviceable – albeit uninspiring – option at cornerback with his play for the New York Jets over the last two seasons. His overall grade in 2018 of 62.7 ranks 75th of 112 qualifiers at the position. Seven seasons into his career, it’s unlikely that Claiborne will ever live up to his high first-round selection, but he can provide decent play for a team in the right conditions. 10. RASHAAN MELVIN Similar to Roby, Melvin followed up a promising 2017 campaign with a lackluster 2018 performance that saw his overall grade fall from 77.9 to 60.5 and his passer rating allowed balloon from 60.3 to 101.6. That upside that he flashed two seasons ago, though, still makes him an intriguing option moving forward. With the Indianapolis Colts in 2017, Melvin broke up ten passes on 55 targets while intercepting another three; that kind of playmaking ability is coveted league-wide and will put him in the free agent conversation once again in 2019. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen 1,010,220 Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 Jason Verrett also has a visit with KC scheduled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tges58 33 Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 2 hours ago, xen said: Jason Verrett also has a visit with KC scheduled He's a little injury prone, isn''t he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen 1,010,220 Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 2 hours ago, tges58 said: He's a little injury prone, isn''t he? 2014 Verrett had labrum and rotator cuff tears in his left shoulder, which limited him to just six games in his rookie season. 2015 pro bowl 2016 A partial tear of his ACL in his knee ended his third season, which last all of four games. 2017 In a Week 1 loss to the Broncos, his knee acted up again, and he was put right on to injured reserve not long after that. 2018 Torn Achilles Has missed 55 of possible 80 games in career. Good player when healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xen 1,010,220 Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 This is way old... from 2016. Lots of injuries after this. But a little about his potential. Jason Verrett could be NFL's best CB next season BY NATHAN JAHNKE • JUN 15, 2016 SAN DIEGO, CA - DECEMBER 06: Cornerback Jason Verrett #22 of the San Diego Chargers celebrates after intercepting a pass in the third quarter against the Denver Broncos at Qualcomm Stadium on December 6, 2015 in San Diego, California. The Broncos won 17-3. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) Coming in at No. 44 on Sam Monson’s list of the best 101 players in the NFL right now is Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett. He falls a little below Patrick Peterson at No. 32, Josh Norman at No. 36, as well as other cornerbacks yet to be named in the top 25. He was tied with Tyrann Mathieu for the highest coverage grade among CBs at 91.5 last year, but has only managed to play in 20 of a possible 32 games in his NFL career so far. Despite the injury concerns, I believe he will be the best outside cornerback in the NFL in 2016. VERRETT’S 2014 AND 2015 PLAY On a per-play basis, no outside cornerback has been better than Verrett over the course of the last two years. He just hasn’t received the attention or the awards because he’s been unable to stay healthy. When it comes to making a positive impact on defense, no outside cornerback has received a positive grade more from our analysis on a per-coverage-snap basis than Verrett. Below are the top 10 cornerbacks in that category including a few other noteworthy names. A cornerback needed at least 400 coverage snaps on the outside rather than in the slot over the last two years to qualify for this particular table. Rank Name Coverage Snaps Percentage of Coverage Snaps with a Positive Grade 1. Jason Verrett 510 7.3% 2. Malcolm Butler 623 7.2% 3. Delvin Breaux 505 6.7% 4. Ronald Darby 526 6.7% 5. Vontae Davis 1,059 6.5% 6. Johnathan Joseph 999 6.3% 7. Marcus Peters 627 6.2% 8. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie 933 6.0% 9. Ross Cockrell 467 5.8% 10. Bradley Roby 658 5.8% 16. Josh Norman 1,070 5.3% 36. Darrelle Revis 952 4.6% 39. Patrick Peterson 1,136 4.6% 45. Richard Sherman 1,113 4.5% League Average 77,289 4.5% One reason he’s so high is because he’s been great at intercepting passes, often in key situations. He has five when lined up on the outside, and an additional pick from the slot. That’s an interception on 1 percent of his coverage snaps, which is only bested by Trumaine Johnson, Marcus Peters, and A.J. Bouye. Those interceptions include one returned for a touchdown, one occurring in the end zone, and another that clinched a victory for the Chargers. He’s also been great at preventing completions, thanks to his close coverage. This is where Desmond Trufant and Richard Sherman excel, and Verrett has had close coverage just as consistently as they have. He has allowed a completion on just 56 percent of passes thrown his way. Even after he’s allowed a reception, Verrett has been among the best at making a play after the catch. Of the completions Verrett has allowed, 58.8 percent of them have gone for fewer than 10 yards. Only Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie, Adam Jones, and Chris Harris Jr. have allowed more passes while lined up outside and have a better rate. Verrett has also been very good at not allowing negative plays. Below is how often each cornerback has received a negative grade in coverage relative to how many outside coverage snaps they played over the last two seasons. Only Verrett and the Saints’ Delvin Breaux appear on both lists. Verrett was able to stay high on both of these lists while consistently tracking the opposition’s top outside wide receivers. Broncos’ Chris Harris is known for his slot cornerback play, but when he’s lined up outside, he’s played very well. Rank Name Coverage Snaps Percentage of Coverage Snaps with a Negative Grade 1. Chris Harris Jr. 658 5.6% 2. Sean Smith 1,080 5.6% 3. Richard Sherman 1,113 5.8% 4. Jimmy Smith 843 6.8% 5. Adam Jones 1,071 6.8% 6. Patrick Peterson 1,136 6.9% 7. Delvin Breaux 505 6.9% 8. Darius Slay 1,208 7.0% 9. Antonio Cromartie 1,099 7.0% 10. Jason Verrett 510 7.1% 11. Josh Norman 1,070 7.1% 20. Darrelle Revis 952 7.6% League Average 77,289 9.1% Positive plays for cornerbacks are more consistent one year to another compared to negative plays, so the players on the positive list are more likely to stay the same than the ones on the negative list. This means that it’s more likely Verrett is able to move above some of the elite cornerbacks on the avoiding negatives list than other cornerbacks have of catching Verrett on the positives list. VERRETT’S HEALTH Obviously missing playing time in each of the last two years is concerning and has kept Verrett’s name from being part of the elite cornerback discussion in the past. To find out how concerning it should be going forward, I looked for similar players and how much playing time they missed. In order to qualify for the below graph, a player had to have played in at least four games each of the previous two years, but not in all 16 games, and then have played in at least one game the following year. To ensure only high-quality players were included, these were players that started every game they played over the three-year time span. There is also a bar on the right for players who played in all 32 games the previous year and at least one the following year for comparison purposes. Typically, players who have played in all 32 games the last two years play more the following year than players who haven’t, which is to be expected, but the gap isn’t that large. For someone like Verrett who has played in 20 games the previous two years, he is expected to play in 13.5 games, which is just one less than someone who didn’t have an injury history the past two years. While we often expect players who have been injured often to keep getting hurt, there are plenty of cases where they are able to stay healthy at least for a full season. One promising note to differentiate Verrett from others in this study is that the Charger has been healthy over the offseason, and was even healthy enough to play in the Pro Bowl. While the likelihood of Verrett missing time this season is larger than other elite cornerbacks, the odds aren’t that much worse for Verrett. CORNERBACK PROGRESSION At every position of football, in general we expect players who are young to improve over time with added knowledge and experience, while players who are older are expected to decline. To quantify this, I looked at all cornerbacks who played in two consecutive seasons and if they improved or declined from one year to the next based on PFF grade. Below is a graph that shows the percentage of cornerbacks who improved compared to the previous year at a given age. Cornerbacks who were 25 or younger were more likely to improve than decline compared to the previous season. Once a cornerback reaches 28, they are more likely to decline than improve. Verrett will be celebrating his 25th birthday in a few days, and has a decent chance to at least keep playing at the same level he’s been performing at. Elite cornerbacks like Josh Norman, Richard Sherman, and Darrelle Revis have all reached the age of 28. While there is a chance they could improve, the more likely option is that they will take a step back, which would widen the gap between Verrett and others. In most years, the top outside cornerback finds his way into the top-10 players of the previous year. Come February, when we revisit the 2016 season, as long as Verrett can stay healthy, odds are that he will be the best of the outside cornerback group. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquidfriend 1,151 Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 I think it gets done tonight if they can sort out compensation. That'll be pretty tricky to accomplish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mloe68 1,521 Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 2 hours ago, xen said: 2014 Verrett had labrum and rotator cuff tears in his left shoulder, which limited him to just six games in his rookie season. 2015 pro bowl 2016 A partial tear of his ACL in his knee ended his third season, which last all of four games. 2017 In a Week 1 loss to the Broncos, his knee acted up again, and he was put right on to injured reserve not long after that. 2018 Torn Achilles Has missed 55 of possible 80 games in career. Good player when healthy. Verrett isn't a guy I would sign to any big guarantee but he's got some big time value...I think he and Darby are clearly the guys when healthy who upgrade from Nelson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lamardirts 2,121 Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 We provide him as good a shot as any to win a SB and I doubt anyone is giving him a long term deal. For us he would be a great one year stopgap but we shouldn’t stop addressing our secondary by signing just him. I could live with Darby and Verrett but wouldn’t that rule us out of getting a decent pass rusher? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfscall 204 Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 Looks like the 49ers are signing Verrett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reesebobby 5,663 Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 Effin A Cotton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tges58 33 Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 4 hours ago, xen said: 2014 Verrett had labrum and rotator cuff tears in his left shoulder, which limited him to just six games in his rookie season. 2015 pro bowl 2016 A partial tear of his ACL in his knee ended his third season, which last all of four games. 2017 In a Week 1 loss to the Broncos, his knee acted up again, and he was put right on to injured reserve not long after that. 2018 Torn Achilles Has missed 55 of possible 80 games in career. Good player when healthy. Yeah, I think I'd call that a little injury prone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhitter 1,426 Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 The Darby thing feels eerily similar to the Breeland visit last year. Hope the results are different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEMO 6,812 Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 NFL Network says he is signing with Houston. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iluvhouse24 1,808 Posted March 14, 2019 Share Posted March 14, 2019 28 minutes ago, SEMO said: NFL Network says he is signing with Houston. I literally cannot find this anywhere, including NFL network. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dksww 484 Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 Here we go: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEMO 6,812 Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 I was just going to post that. Roby signed with Houston. Stupid Siciliano. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KC Warpaint 3,251 Posted March 15, 2019 Author Share Posted March 15, 2019 3 hours ago, dhitter said: The Darby thing feels eerily similar to the Breeland visit last year. Hope the results are different. ironically breeland is a FA again as well 😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calichief 3,024 Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 Don’t let Darby leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mloe68 1,521 Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 3 hours ago, dhitter said: The Darby thing feels eerily similar to the Breeland visit last year. Hope the results are different. Both injured too. I wonder if Darby can pass a physical that Breeland couldn’t. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilkie 1,518 Posted March 15, 2019 Share Posted March 15, 2019 Are we in a Troy Vincent moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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