New York Jets: EDGE Jordan Jenkins
Speaking of New York-based football teams with negligible pass-rush… the Jets managed just 35 sacks and 137 total pressures in 2019. Jenkins was the exception, as he led the team in sacks with eight (to give you an idea of the state of the rest of the line, safety Jamal Adams placed second with 6.5) with an effort-based, persistent style that often saw him either dropping into coverage and then converging to the quarterback, or running around the backfield until he could catch up with a more mobile passer. The Jets got him back on a one-year, $5 million contract, which is a screaming deal for a guy with 15 sacks and 61 total pressures on less than 700 pass-rushing snaps over the last two seasons.
Philadelphia Eagles: S Rodney McLeod
March 17 was a busy day for the Eagles. That was the day the team refused to exercise the 2020 option on safety Malcolm Jenkins, deciced to move cornerback Jalen Mills to more of a safety role, and signed McLeod to a new two-year, $12 million contract. The one seeming sure thing out of those three moves is the third, as McLeod recovered from ACL and MCL injuries in 2018 to become a defensive stalwart with 16 receptions allowed on 30 targets for 163 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 52.5. Cornerback Darius Slay is the big new addition to Philadephia’s secondary, but McLeod is the constant.
Pittsburgh Steelers: S Minkah Fitzpatrick
The Steelers had been looking for an elite deep safety since Troy Polamalu retired in 2015, to little avail. That’s why the draft-focused franchise did something two weeks into the 2019 season it basically never does, trading its 2020 first-round pick to the Dolphins for the services of 2018 first-round pick Minkah Fitzpatrick. Both at Alabama and in Miami, Fotzpatrick was more of a multi-position guy, but when the Steelers’ coaching staff got hold of him, they saw the safety they’d been looking for all along.
They were absolutely right. Fitzpatrick immediately announced his presence with authority in the deep third, allowing just eight receptions on 16 targets for 89 yards, no touchdowns, five interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 27.3. More than anybody else, Fitzpatrick turned Pittsburgh’s defense from middle of the pack to near-top of the heap in 2019.
San Francisco 49ers: CB K’Waun Williams
Richard Sherman is of course the main man in San Francisco’s secondary, but as the 49ers played nickel on 70% of their snaps last season and led the NFL with a 29% rate of using six or more defensive backs, the other guys matter. That’s where Williams comes in as the team’s primary slot defender, and one of the league’s best at that position. From Week 1 through Super Bowl LIV, Williams allowed 50 receptions on 69 slot targets for 389 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 73.9.
Seattle Seahawks: CB Quinton Dunbar
When I compiled my recent lists of the best cornerbacks in both man and zone coverage, three players made both lists: New England’s Stephon Gilmore, the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, Buffalo’s Tre’Davious White, generally acknowledged as the league’s second-best cornerback behind Gilmore, and Dunbar, who played out of his mind for the Redskins last year and was traded in March to the Seahawks for a fifth-round pick. It was an inexplicable move on Washington’s part given Dunbar’s excellence in 2019 (he allowed just 29 receptions on 52 targets for 344 yards, two touchdowns, four interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 56.9), and if Dunbar is able to extricate himself from his current legal issues, he’ll be Seattle’s best cornerback since Richard Sherman patrolled the Legion of Boom defensive backfield.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: WR Chris Godwin
Godwin willingly gave up his jersey number 12 to the Buccaneers’ new free -agent quarterback — some guy named Tom Brady. Maybe that’ll work out. It’ll certainly work out for Brady, who goes from a Patriots receiver group that was basically Julian Edelman and the Pips to a receiver corps with Mike Evans, Godwin, and tight ends Rob Gronkowski, Cameron Brate, and O.J. Howard. A fascinating upgrade, and Godwin — who has traditionally fallen behind Evans in recognition but not production — will be a major part of that. In 2019, Godwin outpaced Evans in receptions (86 to 67), receiving yards (1,333 to 1,157), and receiving touchdowns (nine to eight). Godwin also ranked first among all NFL receivers in Football Outsiders’ DVOA (efficiency per play) metric, and second in DYAR (cumulative efficiency). He did all of that with Jameis Winston as his quarterback, so the upgrade goes both ways.
Tennessee Titans: EDGE Harold Landry III
The Titans made it all the way to the AFC Championship game despite a pass-rush that was sub-optimal for the most part. Tennessee did total 43 sacks, but its defense generated pressure on opposing quarterbacks on just 21.1% of all defensive snaps, which was one of the lowest pressure rates in the NFL. Signing Vic Beasley to a one-year deal may help a bit, especially with multi-gap pass-rusher Jurrell Casey heading to Denver in free agency, but the real key to improvement in this area is the continued development of Harold Landry, who led the Titans with 66 total pressures. The 2018 second-rounder from Boston College has the potential to do even more, and he showed that early in his NFL career.
Landry tries the inside move on Lane Johnson. No dice. Also, no problem. Dude gets all peripheral and chases Carson Wentz down for a near-sack. This is a special player. pic.twitter.com/Mr6pBKBLND
— Doug Farrar (@NFL_DougFarrar) October 1, 2018
Washington Redskins: DL Matt Ioannidis
With the addition of second overall pick Chase Young, the Redskins now have five (!) first-round picks along their defensive line. But Ioannidis, the 2016 fifth-round pick out of Temple, was the team’s most productive pass-rusher in 2019 with 8.5 sacks, eight quarteback hits, and 38 quarterback hurries. Ioannidis also led all Washington defensive linemen with 37 total stops and 11 tackles for loss. He’s not the biggest name on that line, nor will he ever be, but especially if Young goes off in his rookie season as expected, Ioannidis’ numbers could be even more impressive in 2020.
Now, about that Redskins secondary…