In the 2019 NFL season, per Sports Info Solutions, there were 19,933 total quarterback dropbacks. Against those dropbacks, NFL defenses put four defensive backs on the field just 18% of the time (3,579 snaps), while nickel defense (with five defensive backs) ruled the league by far with 59% of all snaps (11,780). And if you want to know how much the NFL isn’t a base defense league anymore, consider this: Defenses lined up in dime coverage (six defensive backs on the field) on 20.9% of total dropbacks (4,091), which means that teams played more dime defense than base defense. The Seahawks were the only team to play base defense more than 50% of the time (67%), and the Cardinals finished second at 37%.

• Dallas Defense Vs Slot Receivers Rankings
• Dallas Defense Vs Slot Receivers Week

And if you want to know how much the NFL isn’t a base defense league anymore, consider this: Defenses lined up in dime coverage (six defensive backs on the field) on 20.9% of total dropbacks (4,091), which means that teams played more dime defense than base defense. Fantasy Football position vs. Defensive stats from CBSSports.com. In a year that saw him fifth amongst receivers in terms of YPRR from the slot, Marques Colston also had the safest pair of hands from a wide receiver from the slot, dropping just one of the 44 catchable passes thrown his way in the regular season. 'Seattle has allowed opposing slot receivers 264 yards receiving in two games.' He goes on to say their starting slot DB is injured and his replacement is a 4th rd. Defender with only 1 start. I think I know how this game turns out for CeeDee. It ain't going to be pretty for Seattle. CeeDee says 'feed me, too'. Randall Cobb caught 55 passes for 828 yards as the slot receiver. Lamb will fill that role now that Cobb is in Houston. Cowboys preview: 5 things to know about the Dallas defense, like its.

Dallas Defense Vs Slot Receivers Rankings

All this is to say that unless you’re the Seahawks, you’d better have some top-level slot defenders if you want to put a credible pass defense out there in a league where offenses are implementing more kinds of receiver sets and route combinations than ever before.

And it’s not as if the skill sets required to be a slot defender are the same as those for an outside cornerback. You might be up against a 6-foot-5, 250-pound tight end on first down who can body you right out of the paint, and on the next play, you may have to deal with a small, speedy option-route receiver whose job is to juke you right out of your shoes. And as Richard Sherman once told me in his Seattle days, the thing about playing outside cornerback is that the boundary is your friend. That’s not the case when you’re in the slot, where you’re defending in space pretty much all the time.

So, which slot defenders were the most effective and valuable to their teams in 2019, and thus should be set up to do the same in 2020? With help from Pro Football Focus’ metrics, and a whole lot of tape study, here’s one list. To avoid small sample-size results, each of these defenders played at least 50% of their snaps in the slot.

Dallas Defense Vs Slot Receivers Week

Mike Hilton Chris Harris Jr. Jourdan Lewis Tramon Williams Mackensie Alexander Nickell Robey-Coleman Marlon Humphrey D.J. Hayden Brian Poole K’Waun Williams Tyrann Mathieu