10. Earl Thomas III, Baltimore Ravens
Earl Thomas III has been a mainstay of lists such as these since his days with the Seahawks’ “Legion of Boom,” and with good reason. Thomas is perhaps the prototype at free safety, with sideline-to-sideline ability and the eye skills to match. His first season with the Ravens after a decade in the NFC West did see his play slip a bit, but when you start at such an elite level any slippage still sees you check in as one of the game’s best.
His coverage skills remain elite. Thomas was targeted in the passing game just 14 times last season, allowing just six receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown, to go with his pair of interceptions. He allowed an NFL passer rating of just 47.9, which was the lowest mark surrendered by him since the 2016 season in Seattle. His ability to read the eyes of a quarterback remains elite, as he displayed on this interception of Ryan Fitzpatrick:
INTERCEPTION @Earl_Thomas ‼️ pic.twitter.com/JOlsdWRxcc
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) September 8, 2019
Unfortunately, for many their lasting impression of Thomas from last season was from the DIvisional Round, when Tennessee Titans’ running back Derrick Henry gave him the stiff-arm of all stiff-arms on a long run, but with some recent additions to the Ravens’ defensive front, Thomas should get to focus on what he does best in 2020: Shutting down opposing quarterbacks.