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Believe it or not, Tennessee Titans cornerback Johnathan Joseph has made Pro Football Focus’ list of the top-25 highest-graded cornerbacks through seven weeks of the 2020 NFL season.
Per PFF’s Sam Monson, Joseph, who has shown some flashes this season but certainly hasn’t been great, cracked the top-25 list, coming in at No. 20 thanks to his overall grade of 70.8.
Here’s what Monson had to say about the ranking:
Somehow, Johnathan Joseph is still playing football at a pretty high level despite being 36 years old. This time with Tennessee, Joseph has struggled some — notably against Minnesota in Week 3, when he was torched for over 100 yards and two touchdowns — but he has made some plays of his own as well, notching three pass breakups and an interception. We have definitely reached the realm of players who are solid rather than excellent in the rankings, however.
When looking at Joseph’s coverage numbers, they are pretty impressive. The veteran has been targeted 31 times this year and has allowed a completion rate of 48.4 percent, which is lower than his two previous seasons.
However, Joseph has been susceptible to letting up big plays, as evidenced by his 16.6 yards per completion allowed, and opposing quarterbacks have posted a passer rating of 94.7 and thrown three touchdowns against him.
As Monson points out, his worst showing was against the Minnesota Vikings, and that lackluster performance has skewed his numbers a bit or else he’d be looking even better.
Overall, it has been a mixed bag for Joseph and he’s clearly not the same corner he once was, but it’s also important to note that he’s been pressed into more action than was originally planned because of injuries.
If the Titans can get healthy at cornerback at some point, Joseph will provide the kind of solid depth he was supposed to when the team signed him back in April.
