Recently, Mark Schofield and I compiled 14 different lists of the 11 best players at every position. From those names, we then compiled this list of the top 101 players in the NFL today. In this top 101, we forced ourselves to stick to players we had named in the positional lists, to avoid overdoing “skill position players” at the expense of slot cornerbacks, guards and interior defensive linemen. By drawing from a full list of positions as opposed to loading this with the most popular or highest-paid players, hopefully it gives a better and wider sense of the talent around the league than some other lists might.

The top 11 lists: Slot defenders Outside cornerbacks Safeties Linebackers Edge defenders Interior defensive linemen Offensive tackles Offensive guards Centers Outside Receivers Slot receivers Tight ends Running backs Quarterbacks

1. Do the 2020 Steelers have their best cornerback room since Rod Woodson left? Mike Hilton fits the linebacker/cornerback role that is the Steelers slot defender, while Cameron Sutton can play.
2. Marlon Humphrey’s 15th-ranked 76.3 coverage grade helped him secure a spot alongside Peters on PFF’s list of the top 25 cornerbacks of the 2019 regular season. And a fter posting a top-20 forced incompletion rate (16.8%, 17 th) last season, Humphrey has developed a level on confidence that could make him one of the league’s elite corners in 2020.

Best Slot Cornerbacks 2020 Draft

That said, this policy made for some weird decisions. Because when you limit yourself to the top 11 players at any position, you’re invariably going to leave some players out who deserve to be in. What if there are three or four really great slot cornerbacks, and 14 to 15 really great quarterbacks? You still have to leave Ryan Tannehill and Matthew Stafford off the list, which seems odd. Or, if Stefon Diggs doesn’t make your top 11 in a league where the group of outside receivers is absolutely stacked, you have to omit him, too. Not ideal.

The PFF unit-ranking series moves to the secondary as we look forward to the 2020 season. Depth is key when projecting the secondary in today's NFL, as the best teams are rolling three or four deep at cornerback now that the nickel is a starting position. Safeties are also taking on a more prominent role in many schemes, doubling as linebacke. Kendall Fuller didn't perform that well this past season because of an injury, but he has been an excellent slot cornerback in the past. At just 25, Fuller figures to rebound. Brian Poole, CB, Jets. Re-signed with Jets (1 year, $5 million) Brian Poole was the Jets' top cornerback this past season.

Why 11 instead of 10? As the noted musical philosopher Nigel Tufnel once noted, it’s one louder.

But as they say, perfect is the enemy of good, and we wanted to stick with this particular paradigm. So, there are quite a few honorable mentions who didn’t make it, but certainly would have if the list were 10 to 20 players longer (and louder).

Chris Carson, Mark Ingram, Joe Mixon, Austin Hooper, Tyler Higbee, Dallas Goedert, Hunter Henry, Darren Waller, Jared Cook, Kenny Golladay, Joel Bitonio, Graham Glasgow, Richie Incognito, Brandon Scherff, Ryan Kelly, Jason Kelce, Alex Mack, Nickell Robey-Coleman, Jaylon Smith, Deion Jones, Cory Littleton, La’el Collins, Laremy Tunsil, and Taylor Lewan are among the players who just missed the cut. This should in no way be seen as us maligning their value as players… it’s just that there are only so many slots for any of these guys.

Best Slot Cornerbacks 2020 Nfl

So, here are the ones who did make the cut. Here is Touchdown Wire’s list of the top 101 players heading into the 2020 NFL season.

The Top 101: 101-91 90-81 80-71 70-61 60-51 50-41 40-31 30-21 20-11 10-1

The NFL has turned into the ultimate passing league and one way that some of the top offenses in the league manipulate coverage and matchups is by attacking via the slot receiver.

Guys like Tyreek Hill, Adam Thielen, Keenan Allen, Julian Edelman, Cooper Kupp, and Larry Fitzgerald make a living at dominating mismatches in the slot against outmatched cornerbacks and safeties alike.

The remedy for the top NFL defenses lies with the slot or nickel cornerback, a guy capable of translating that outside cornerback production inside where there’s less room to utilize and less margin for error.

Doug Farrar and Touchdown Wire recently ranked the top-11 slot cornerbacks in the NFL and new Eagles defender, Nickell Robey-Coleman landed high on the list at No. 6.

Though he’s primarily known as the instigator on one of the most infamous non-calls in recent NFL history, Robey-Coleman has been one of the league’s better slot defenders for a while now — he’s one of just three-slot defenders (along with Chris Harris Jr. and Mackensie Alexander) to make this list in both 2019 and 2020. Last season, Robey-Coleman allowed 32 catches on 52 targets for 272 yards, 144 yards after the catch, one touchdown, and an opponent passer rating of 80.1.

Last season with the LA Rams, Robey-Coleman only allowed a passer rating of 80.1 — good for 13th among all CBs– and was sixth in yards per slot coverage snap (0.63), according to Pro Football Focus.

Best Slot Cornerbacks 2020 Draft

The move greatly improves the Eagles secondary tremendously and he should combine with Darius Slay to help the Birds have one of the secondary’s in the NFL.