Coming off of a season where we saw some of the worst cornerback play that we’ve seen in recent memory in Washington, the defense isn’t getting enough credit for how big of a turnaround they’ve had. Several of the players from last season are gone, and the new group is highlighted by free-agent signings like Kendall Fuller and Ronald Darby.
With them, though, are some mainstays like Jimmy Moreland and Fabian Moreau. While the latter has not seen too much time on the field this season, Moreland has really stepped up this season and his playing a valuable role on the defense, bringing a highly-physical mentality to the team and contributing valuable minutes to the defense.
But where do Washington’s corners stack up against the rest of the league? This graph, which shows Target Rate vs. Completion Rate Over Expectations gives us a good idea of where Washington’s guys stand.
CPOE and target % for CBs who have played more than 300 coverage snaps this year.
Xavier Rhodes is having a remarkable comeback season, but tonight we'll see maybe the best corner combo in the league in Ramsey & Darious Williams. pic.twitter.com/IeOBl5oOUt
— Anthony Reinhard (@reinhurdler) December 10, 2020
Maybe somewhat surprisingly, Moreland ranks among the best CBs in the NFL this season with a minimum of 300 coverage snaps, coming in with a high percentage of targets, with good defense played on most, shown by being placed in the upper-right-hand quadrant of the graph. Not far behind him is Ronald Darby, who has played above expectations this season, followed by Kendall Fuller, who had a scorching hot start to the year, but has fallen back to earth a bit since then.
Regardless of where they stand in the entire NFL, it is at the very least a win to say that Washington’s cornerback group is much-improved from last season, and they have some young players on cheap contracts that can hopefully be with the team for years going forward.
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