Tyreek Hill vs. Morris Claiborne
The Jets haven’t shadowed anyone in coverage since Claiborne shadowed Julio Jones back in week 8. But we might just see it again as the Jets try to contain the Chiefs top wide receiver. It should be a fun matchup to watch as PFF gives Hill just a 2% advantage over Claiborne.
Coming into 2017 there were a lot of questions about Hill’s ability to play the #1 receiver position. Critics often liked to label him as a ‘gadget’ player. For most of 2016 Hill played in less than 50% of the offenses snaps. He made a lot of big plays on special teams, and was averaging over 40 yards per touchdown.
In 2017 Hill has been a consistent if not quite as explosive receiver. Currently Hill has averaged 5 receptions a game for 66 yards with a 70% catch percentage. That puts Hill on pace for 1056 yards on 80 catches, and 6 touchdowns. Which is fairly comparable to Jeremy Maclin’s first year with the Chiefs. In 2015 Maclin had 1088 yards on 87 catches, and 8 touchdowns. For the system the Chiefs run, I think it’s fair to say that Hill has done an excellent job within Reid’s system.
Claiborne for most of his career had been an underwhelming 6th overall pick for the Cowboys. He’s been nagged by the injury bug and has never started a full 16 games. This last offseason he signed a one year 5 million dollar contract to replace now Chiefs cornerback Darrelle Revis. So far in 2017 Claiborne has looked good. He’s allowed just 0.89 y/cs, and a 64.9 passer rating into his coverage. So it should be a fairly even matchup.