By: Kevin
Looking at the Patriots depth chart at cornerback, you could actually make the argument that if they were to stand pat and not do anything in free agency or the draft they actually would not be in that bad of a situation. That’s even with their top cornerback Jonathan Jones and utility defensive back Myles Bryant heading to free agency. With the Jones boys and Jalen Mills they would actually be okay if they had to play tomorrow where Jack Jones and Mills would be on the outside and Marcus Jones in the slot.
Even though this is not a glaring need, do not be surprised if the Patriots were to either spend big in free agency or drafted another corner in the top 3 rounds of the draft. As we discussed previously in our 5 Step Plan to Bring the Patriots back into Contention, the Patriots defense has always been its best when they’ve had a lockdown corner i.e. Ty Law, Asante Samuel, Aqib Talib, Darrell Revis, and Stephon Gilmore. Also, looking back on last year the defense was exposed when playing any of the top offenses in the league by not having a cornerback that could match up with the top WRs across the league.
With the Patriots having not shied away from paying at that position with Revis and Gilmore being the latest examples, it is highly probably they may pay again if they see the right talent at the position. With free agency looming, here is a look at 5 available cornerbacks who the Patriots may target.
1. Jamel Dean (Buccaneers)
Jamel Dean is rated as the top cornerback on the market and has plenty of good years ahead of him since he’s only 26 years old. He was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2019 NFL draft out of Auburn and has helped solidify the Buccaneers secondary. He does have some injury history but would give the Patriots the size (6’1” 206lbs) and lock-down presence needed with a PFF coverage grade of 89.9 and allowed just 55.4% of throws against him to be completed. Spotrac is projecting Dean to command a $16.9 M per year valuation and based on what the Patriots have paid previously to Revis and Gilmore, I could definitely see them spending that much if they view him as a top 5-10 corner in the league.
2. James Bradberry (Eagles)
James Bradberry is a little different than Dean in that he’s 29 and will be 30 by the start of the season and he’s primarily known as a zone corner which doesn’t bode well for the type of heavy man the Patriots’ like to deploy with their top shutdown cornerbacks. Bradberry last year signed a 1 year prove it deal with the Eagles after leaving the Giants and helped propel him to being one of the top corners available this year. Bradberry earned second-team All Pro and had 44 tackles with 3 interceptions and a completion percentage of 45.3%. Bradberry is projected a little less than Dean (~$15 M AAV) by Spotrac. My guess is Patriots won’t probably sign Bradberry.
3. Cameron Sutton (Steelers)
Cameron Sutton has slowly been rising through the ranks and has turned himself into a pretty good player with the Steelers defense. Sutton is 28 years of age putting him in between Bradberry and Dean and has progressed pretty much every year of his career. This year being the best of his career so far with 15 PBUs, 3 INTs and a 47.9% completion percentage against. Like Bradberry, Sutton with the Steelers has played in a lot of zone coverage which is tough to try and see how he would make the transition from zone to man. If the Patriots like the progression, then maybe they’ll bite but him being at 5-11, 188 lbs they may look for a larger CB to pay/draft.
4. Byron Murphy (Cardinals)
Byron Murphy is another ascending young player and is only 25 years old. He continued to show value this year by transitioning form slot corner to outside (similar to Jonathan Jones with the Patriots) before being hampered by a back injury that caused him to miss almost half the season and was up and down the year because of it. He had 5 PBUs, 0 interceptions and a career best 63.8% completion percentage against. Byron is another case where he’s a little undersized for what the Patriots like at shutdown corner (5’11”, 190lbs) so it’ll be interesting to see how they value that.
5. Isaiah Oliver (Falcons)
Isaiah Oliver is not really on many peoples lists for top corner free agents but I thought some of the comments Dean Pees made about him put him on the Patriots radar with Bill’s respect for Dean. Dean called him “one of the best defensive back games I’ve been around” late in the season last year. Oliver had some injuries as well last year and tore his ACL in 2021 but gives a little more of the size that the Patriots are looking for (6’0”, 210 lbs). He played in 12 games in 2022, had 7 PBUs, 1 INT, and a completion percentage of 69.0%. Also of note, had a pass rating against of a 76.2%, the best of his career. I could see Oliver being one of those under the radar signings that Bill makes that many don’t get that turn out to be a steal in the end.
