Earlier this week, we projected the top 100 players for the 2020 NFL season in our annual NFL Rank. I immediately look for defensive backs on those kinds of lists, and I loved seeing Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore jump into the top 10. He was followed by 17 other cornerbacks or safeties throughout the top-100 ranking, all of whom have elite-level traits including coverage ability, instincts, ball skills and versatility.
It got me thinking about some of my favorite defensive backs in the game today -- not necessarily a ranking of the best of the best but rather a look at the guys I'd love to coach and players I'd build a secondary around. These are my favorite corners and safeties to watch play the game. Here are 12 who jump off the game tape for me, and what makes each so special and fun to watch.
Jaire Alexander, CB, Green Bay Packers
Best trait: Competitive play style
Give me guys who love to compete and challenge wide receivers. That's what I see with Alexander on film. Whether he is aligned in press or breaking on the ball at the top of the route, the 2018 first-rounder has active hands and is extremely sticky in coverage.
In his first two pro seasons, Alexander has already produced 24 pass breakups. And although he has only three interceptions on his résumé, the traits are there for Alexander to develop into one of the league's premier cover corners. I'm talking about guys who travel with and shadow the opposing team's No.1 wide receiver. And I believe Alexander's production will jump if the Packers shift to a more man-heavy approach with more pressure.
Marshon Lattimore, CB, New Orleans Saints
Best trait: Short-area speed
With more bend than Alexander at the top of the route, Lattimore is a very fluid coverage corner. You can see that on tape when he has to flip his hips to transition on the ball. And that's when the short-area speed jumps. He can close in a hurry.
Lattimore also has the physical makeup, in coverage and versus the run game, to play an impact role in the secondary. With Lattimore on your team, you can go with single-high man coverage, mix in zone schemes and bring some real pressure. The traits are there for a player with 27 pass breakups and eight interceptions in his three NFL seasons. I love his game.
Minkah Fitzpatrick, S, Pittsburgh Steelers
Best trait: Awareness
Fitzpatrick has the traits to be a multipositional player in the secondary, especially in sub packages. But I love the fit for the former Alabama star in Pittsburgh as a post/split-safety defender, where his on-the-field awareness shows up. That's where we see his range to overlap the seam ball, like this pick-six in last year's game vs. the Colts (shown below via NFL Next Gen Stats animation).
Fitzpatrick can also cut crossers and over routes and can close on the ball with clean angles. And Fitzpatrick's ability to raise his game as a true playmaker was on display last season, as he recorded five interceptions, three fumble recoveries and two defensive scores. If you are developing a secondary, Fitzpatrick can play the role of the quarterback on the back end.
Jalen Ramsey, CB, Los Angeles Rams
Best trait: Explosive transition ability
Ramsey is the prototype for what you want at the cornerback position. All the traits pop here, including 6-foot-1 size, speed, smoothness and length that flashes when he has to finish on the ball in zone and man schemes. Plus, Ramsey plays with some real swagger, and I love defensive backs who talk on the field.
But the key trait to his game is Ramsey's ability to transition with an elite burst of speed. He is an easy mover, which we don't often see in corners at 6 feet and taller. In four seasons, Ramsey has posted 10 picks and 34 pass breakups. And I'm confident that new Rams defensive coordinator Brandon Staley will put him in a position to maximize his skill set in 2020.
Kevin Byard, S, Tennessee Titans
Best trait: Ball skills
I have no problem calling Byard the best safety in the game. Just look at the tape and the on-the-ball production. Over the past three seasons, Byard has racked up a league-high 17 interceptions. That doesn't happen by accident. Guys who are consistently around the ball play with high-level awareness to put themselves in a position to finish.
Byard also has the versatility to fit into the Titans' scheme, as a movable safety with the athletic and physical traits to spin down or play with depth. You want to build a secondary? I would start with Byard.
Tre'Davious White, CB, Buffalo Bills
Best trait: Fundamentals
With elite coverage fundamentals that could be used in coaching clinics, White is the Tim Duncan of the NFL. And from a coaching perspective, you want defensive backs who are nuanced and measured in coverage. That's White, who is also extremely patient in his backpedal, with the recovery ability to find the ball at the point of attack. There is no panic to his game. Instead, it's controlled technique paired with short-area speed to close on the throw.
White tied for the league lead last season with six interceptions, and he has totaled 12 picks over his first three years as a pro. The production is climbing, and the tape tells us that White is a prime fit for a Bills defense that meshes split-safety coverage with man-coverage schemes.
Stephon Gilmore, CB, New England Patriots
Best trait: Footwork
If I'm coaching a secondary that leans heavily on man coverage, then I absolutely need Gilmore in the mix. In 2019, the Patriots played man coverage on a league-high 68.7% of opponent dropbacks, which catered exclusively to Gilmore's skill set. With more explosive traits than White based on the tape, Gilmore -- who had six interceptions last season -- displays the upper-level footwork to mirror wide receivers off the line.
Given his ability to undercut crossers -- as we saw when he matched to Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper in the NFL Next Gen Stats animation below -- and locate the ball in the air, Gilmore will finish plays. A very instinctual corner who will also tackle in the run game, Gilmore is a Tier 1 player at the position.
Harrison Smith, S, Minnesota Vikings
Best trait: Physicality
Smith has been playing high-level football for quite a while. An established veteran who brings a cerebral approach to the game, he is a physical player with the natural instincts to locate the ball.
In Minnesota, Smith is playing in the ideal scheme to fit his overall traits as a split-field safety who can drop down to create disruption in the front. Over the past four seasons, he has produced 11 interceptions to go along with 35.5 disrupted dropbacks and 338 total tackles. He's a safety who can mix it up in the box and drive top-down on the ball.
C.J. Gardner-Johnson, S, New Orleans Saints
Best trait: Versatility
Gardner-Johnson fits the profile of the league's new multidimensional safety. He's a "hybrid" defender with the ability to play in the slot, stick to tight ends in coverage or close on the ball in space. And with today's defensive schemes, I see Gardner-Johnson as an essential piece in the game plan.
Yes, the numbers from his rookie season don't pop here -- one interception, five pass breakups -- but the tape is telling us that Gardner-Johnson has the foundational traits to develop quickly while playing an impact role in Dennis Allen's scheme. He's a defensive matchup weapon.
Marlon Humphrey, CB, Baltimore Ravens
Best trait: Coverage versatility
When is Humphrey going to get the credit he deserves as one of the top cover corners in the league? We know he can play disciplined coverage outside the numbers, but the versatility is there to bump inside and manage a two-way-go versus slot targets.
In 2019, Humphrey finished with 11 pass breakups, three interceptions and two defensive scores. I love the physical approach he brings in coverage, and he's not shy about tackling in the run game. Humphrey is an underrated player who can produce in any defensive scheme.
Tyrann Mathieu, S, Kansas City Chiefs
Best trait: Instincts
The most instinctual safety in today's game, Mathieu combines his competitive style with high-level playmaking traits in Steve Spagnuolo's system. This is a great scheme fit for Mathieu in Kansas City. He can drop down as a robber safety, as he did on this Cover 2 "robber" scheme to intercept Philip Rivers last season (via NFL Next Gen Stats animation), match in the slot or pressure off the edge.
In 2019, Mathieu registered 13 disrupted dropbacks, including four interceptions and two sacks. Like Byard, he is around the ball for a reason. And in those situations, his natural ability to finish plays takes over. That's stuff you really can't teach.
Budda Baker, S, Arizona Cardinals
Best trait: Play speed
With Baker, just let the tape roll because you will see the sense of urgency in his game and his speed to the ball. He has violent hands at the point of attack and gets downhill to hit the run game. And, like both Gardner-Johnson and Mathieu, the Cardinals' safety has the multidimensional traits to play multiple roles in the secondary, which we will see in Week 1 when he matches to 49ers tight end George Kittle in coverage.
Baker hasn't yet posted an interception in his pro career. But I still see the ball skills when he has to finish in the pass game, and you can win with his play style.
Honorable mention
Derwin James, S, Los Angeles Chargers
James has elite physical traits at the safety position, including coverage ability at 6-2 and 215 pounds. That's rare. The only reason James didn't make the cut for me here is durability. After a really impressive rookie year in 2018 that highlighted his impact ability, James played in only five games in 2019 and will miss the entire upcoming season with a knee injury.
Jamal Adams, S, Seattle Seahawks
With an urgent play style that rivals Baker's, Adams is an ultra-disruptive safety with hybrid traits. That gives you a lot of flexibility as a defensive coordinator. But after he posted 6.5 sacks and 12.5 disrupted dropbacks in the Jets' defensive system last season, I'd want to first see how he is used in Seattle this season before I include him on my list above even though his talent is among the best in the NFL.