2010 NFL Season Player Ratings: CBs

Hello SAI Readers! Welcome to the final installment of my 2010 NFL player rankings. I'm going to wrap it up today with the cornerbacks.

1. DeAngelo Hall

One thing I have learned from ranking players is that the Washington Redskins defense is terrible, but has some very good individual players. Hall is second among all cornerbacks with 6 INTs and leads them all with 83 tackles. CBs can sometimes have a tendency to make plays on the ball only and shy away from physicality (see Deion Sanders). However, Hall does not do that. Additionally has defended 20 passes and forced and recovered 2 fumbles. A very nice statistical year for someone who probably wishes he was back on the division-leading Atlanta Falcons.

2. Devin McCourty

Not only is Mr. McCourty having a very good statistical year for the New England Patriots, but he is still only a rookie and has tremendous upside. In regards to these rankings, when a rookie or young player has a stand-out year he gets bonus points due to potential upside he shows for the future. He 67 tackles, 20 pass defenses, and 6 INTs on the year.

3. Ike Taylor

I have the benefit of seeing Taylor play for the Pittsburgh Steelers play on a weekly basis and have been super-impressed with him all season. He does not show up at the top of stat sheets simply because he is a shut-down corner and because the other cornerback slot for the Steelers has been consistently targeted and exploited. The main reason people are not as familiar with Ike is the same reason he has not made a Pro Bowl in his career - he can't catch and therefore doesn't pull down many INTs.

4. Aqib Talib

Talib is another young player that seems to be the real deal. Another cornerback with 6 INTs on the year, Talib has contributed a ton for a middle-of-the-road Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense. One of the more amazing things you will find in his stat line is that out of his 40 tackles, 39 of them are solo. Right there, that tells me he has very good discipline and good tackling form. Talib will be a good corner for a very long time.

5. Asante Samuel

Samuel is one of those infamous cornerbacks that shies away from physical contact and prefers to make plays on the ball. I let him fall a bit in the rankings because of this, but that shouldn't detract from the fact that he is very good at what he does. He currently leads the league in INTs with 7, but has only recorded 23 tackles.

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment if you feel like I have messed up these rankings or left someone off.