Best of the AFC West: Cornerbacks

Oct 26, 2014; Kansas City, MO, USA; St. Louis Rams wide receiver Kenny Britt (81) is unable to catch a pass while defended by Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith (21) and safety Kurt Coleman (27) in the second half at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City won the game 34-7. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports

Happy Saturday, Kansas City Chiefs fans. Thanks for checking in for another edition of Best of the AFC West. We last covered the best tight ends in the division where I ranked based on last year’s performance alone and crowned Antonio Gates. Something tells me that will change when I do the rankings again after the first quarter of the season.

This week we’re going to go back over to the defensive side of the field and cover the best cornerbacks in the division. Last year there was great production at the cornerback position in the AFC West compared to the rest of the league. The AFC West actually had four corners in the top 15 graded cornerbacks in the league by Pro Football Focus.

In Kansas City you have Sean Smith who had a very good year statistically and is playing for a big contract in 2015. In San Diego you have a former Chiefs player in Brandon Flowers who’s had better production due to scheme. Denver has a nice tandem with Chris Harris Jr. and Aqib Talib that’s certainly slowed down opposing offenses. Then you have Oakland, where no cornerback is worth mentioning as we are discussing great players.

So who’s wearing the crown of the shutdown corner in the AFC West? Bear in mind this is based on last year.

#1 Chris Harris Jr.

Chris Harris Jr., who went undrafted in 2011, was one of those hidden gems that fell into Denver’s lap in becoming one of the best cover-corners in the league. The former Jayhawk didn’t become a starter officially until 2012 and has gotten better every year which led to his five-year contract extension last December. According to Pro Football Focus, Harris Jr. was thrown at 89 times and only gave up 356 yards (second-best in the league) in coverage for the year among cornerbacks taking 60% of the snaps. He was also ranked 30th in the league in tackles among cornerbacks with 49 and tied for 10th in the league in interceptions with three.

PFF had the average quarterback rating when throwing at Harris Jr. at 47.8 which was second best among cornerbacks in the league among cornerbacks who took 60% of the snaps. He also finished with the best overall grade in the league among cornerbacks at +28.4 for the season. His best individual performance of the season came against the Cardinals where he was graded at a +4.1. His worst performance grade of the season was against New England with a +.01.

The bottom line, Harris Jr. was on lock down in 2014 not giving up a single touchdown pass and was by far the best in west.

Next: Talib or Smith?