The NFL’s 11 best slot defenders

More and more, your slot defender is your third starting cornerback or safety. Here are the 11 slot defenders who do it best in today’s NFL.

5. Marlon Humphrey, Baltimore Ravens

(Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)

Baltimore’s first-round pick in 2017 out of Alabama, Humphrey found himself manning the slot more and more as the 2019 season went along, and certainly after the Ravens acquired Marcus Peters in a trade with the Rams last October. Humphrey had no issue filling that role, as he totaled 37 receptions allowed on 59 targets from the slot, for 347 yards, 152 yards after the catch, two touchdowns, one interception, and an opponent passer rating of 83.1.

At 6-foot-0 and 197 pounds, Humphrey has the size and physicality to excel outside, but he also has the quick-twitch direction-changing ability and short-area speed required to take a slot receiver across the middle, close on the play, and shut it down.