After fielding a middling secondary last season, the Tennessee Titans went out and made a big splash by acquiring star cornerback L’Jarius Sneed from the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this offseason.
Sneed, 27, hasn’t received much in the way of individual accolades over his career, but it’s abundantly clear how important he was to the Chiefs’ defensive success. Last season may have been his best yet, as he recorded 78 total tackles, 14 passes defended and two interceptions while allowing a passer rating of just 56.2.
What immediately stands out about Sneed is his physicality. While he’s not a huge player at 6-1 and 192 pounds, he’s not afraid to get up close and personal with any opposing receiver.
The numbers back up that observation, as according to Pro Football Focus, Sneed made contact with route-running receivers on 33 percent of plays last season. The only players with a higher rate of contact are A.J. Terrell of the Atlanta Falcons (40.9 percent), Michael Davis of the Washington Commanders (38.2 percent) and Joey Porter Jr. of the Pittsburgh Steelers (34.2 percent).
“Sneed’s reputation as a physical cornerback is confirmed. He used his physicality to great success, as he allowed a low 30.3% completion percentage, forced an incompletion 21.1% of the time, surrendered a 46.0 passer rating and gave up a first down or touchdown on just 18.2% of his targets when making contact with a receiver,” PFF writes.
Sneed’s approach as an physical, aggressive corner should be a breath of fresh air for Titans fans given the team’s passive approach in the secondary recently. With Sneed and free agent pickup Chidobe Awuzie, defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson should have a field day with his new set of corners.
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Source link : https://www.si.com/nfl/titans/news/tennessee-titans-ljarius-sneed-among-nfl-most-physical
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Publish date : 2024-06-18 18:01:06
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