Detroit Lions' Darius Slay ranked as NFL's 10th-best cornerback – Detroit Free Press
In three seasons, Detroit Lions cornerback Darius Slay has quickly emerged as one of the best corners in the NFL, so it’s nice to see him recognized as such.
USA TODAY Sports blog For The Win ranked the league’s top 10 cornerbacks, and Slay made the cut at No. 10.
The list was based solely on film study from the 2015 season, and “statistics and reputation played a very small role.”
“The Lions moved Slay around to follow top receivers, but it’s not a job he was consistently tasked with,” wrote author Steven Ruiz. “Detroit doesn’t stray too far from its two-deep coverages, so Slay usually had a safety backing him up.
“When he was able to play trail coverage, Slay had no problem sticking with receivers. But when he had to play over top receivers with no safety help behind him, the young corner had trouble with in-breaking routes due to underdeveloped technique.
“Like a young Patrick Peterson, Slay has enough athleticism to make up for his sloppiness. The potential to grow into an elite cover guy is there.”
After an (expected) up-and-down rookie season in which he started four games, the 2013 second-round pick out of Mississippi State broke out in his second season for one of the league’s top defenses. In 16 starts, Slay produced 61 total tackles, had 17 passes defensed (tied for sixth-best) and intercepted two passes.
Slay, 25, gave up a handful of big plays early in the 2015 season, but settled down to have a solid third-year with 59 tackles, 13 passes defensed and two picks.
What does the rest of the list look like?
Arizona’s Patrick Peterson is atop the rankings due in large part to his technique finally catching up with his otherworldly athleticism.
Seattle loudmouth Richard Sherman comes in at No. 2, with San Diego’s Jason Verrett No. 3 and Denver’s Chris Harris Jr. No. 4. New England Super-Bowl XLIX hero Malcolm Butler rounds out the top 5.
Darrelle Revis, Josh Norman, Desmond Trufant and Aqib Talib also rank ahead of Slay.
