THE BEST OF THE DECADE
Sherman’s coverage numbers this year match the trend of his career — he has been the most difficult cornerback to pass the ball against since he came into the league. In this decade, only two cornerbacks have allowed a completion rate of under 50% (with 250 or more targets), and those cornerbacks are Richard Sherman (49.6%) and Darrelle Revis (49.8%). They were deployed in dramatically different ways, but Sherman and Revis have undoubtedly been the two best corners of the PFF era (2006 – present).
If you look at his numbers on a per-coverage snap basis, it is much the same story. Since 2010, only Nnamdi Asomugha was targeted less often or allowed a catch less frequently, and Asomugha benefitted from a disastrous supporting cast of corners who simply drew all the targets as teams stopped testing him entirely. Sherman, on the other hand, was playing within the fabled Legion of Boom when there was no easy target to pick on, so everybody was consistently tested.In terms of passer rating, Sherman has allowed the lowest figure of the decade (54.0) and is one of just four corners to be below a rating of 70.0 when targeted. Elite corners like
Jalen Ramsey have allowed a passer rating of 76.0 during their career, but Sherman maintained one more than 20 points lower for almost an entire decade and counting.
What’s unusual for a cornerback so proficient in limiting catches is that Sherman has also been a relative ballhawk over his career. And typically, there’s give and take when it comes to making plays versus giving up production.