9. Emmanuel Moseley, San Francisco 49ers
As good as the 49ers’ defense was in 2019 (and it was arguably the second-best in the NFL behind New England’s), one wonders how great it would have been had defensive coordinator Robert Saleh and his staff put Moseley out there as Richard Sherman’s bookend instead of Ahkello Witherspoon, who wound up getting sidelined more than once with injuries and poor performance. The 49ers were smart enough to make Moseley the main guy as their postseason run amplified, and he responded accordingly in a San Francisco defense that played zone defense 62% of the time. In those schematic instances, Moseley allowed 16 catches on 32 targets for 137 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and a Positive Play Rate of 40.6%. He’s the reason the 49ers are the only team with two cornerbacks on this list.
Oh. As for Witherspoon in zone coverage? Yikes. He allowed 13 receptions on 30 targets for 171 yards, but a league-high five of those catches went for touchdowns. This should be an easy call for the 49ers in 2020 and beyond.