In the modern NFL, cornerback is arguably the toughest position to play. It’s also one of the most thankless because when you play well, most fans don’t notice and when you get burned, it looks really bad. The Atlanta Falcons struggled to defend the pass in 2018 due to a variety of reasons, including injuries at safety and a lack of pass rush. The end result was a 7-9 season in which the Falcons ranked No. 27 against the pass (259.6 passing yards allowed per game).
One standout for Atlanta’s secondary was their top cornerback Desmond Trufant. While it wasn’t his best year and he didn’t record any interceptions, he played mostly solid coverage on the deep passes that came his way. He only allowed two catches on 12 such targets.
Trufant ranked No. 9 among 59 qualifying cornerbacks in Pro Football Focus’ deep target coverage grade for 2018, with a score of 72.3.
Head coach Dan Quinn is taking back the defensive play-calling duties in 2019, which should help the Falcons get back to what made them a successful defense the previous year.
The return of starting safeties Keanu Neal and Ricardo Allen should help as well, as both missed most of the 2018 season.
