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New York Giants cornerback James Bradberry had a career year in 2020, recording a personal-best 18 passes defensed and three interceptions en route to his first-ever Pro Bowl.
Despite that level of dominance, Bradberry was snubbed from the All-Pro team and has been left off various top cornerback lists this offseason. And that’s why Cynthia Frelund, NFL Network’s analytics expert, recently named him one of the league’s most “under-appreciated” players.
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With 474 snaps on the left and 396 on the right in 2020, per NGS, Bradberry traveled more than most CBs. In fact, he was one of just two corners to play 350-plus snaps on each side last season. Measuring his computer vision-derived coverage ability (passes defensed, targets resulting in no catch, interceptions and allowing fewer than 1 yard of YAC per catch), Bradberry had his best season to date. PFF agrees with my data, showing that Bradberry allowed just a career-low 70.1 passer rating last season.
It’s odd to consider Bradberry “under-appreciated” after what he accomplished in 2020, but some still are not sold on the 27-year-old.
Should Bradberry string together consecutive seasons of Pro Bowl-level play, perception will obviously change. Although he flashed skill in Carolina, he took it to a new level in New York and now his critics need to see some consistency.
The good news? With Adoree’ Jackson coming in to play alongside of him and the team’s secondary among the deepest in football, Bradberry should be positioned to perform at an even higher level than he did a year ago.
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