During his introductory press conference back in February, Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson expressed his desire for defensive backs who offer versatility.
Well, the Titans just landed themselves one in cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, who was acquired in a trade with the Kansas City Chiefs on Friday night.
Sneed is best known for being one of the elite boundary cornerbacks in the NFL, and he’s someone the Titans can rely on to shadow another team’s best receiver, as he did plenty of with the Chiefs in 2023.
The veteran corner shadowed quite the gauntlet of wideouts last season, too, per ESPN’s Mike Clay.
That group that included Calvin Ridley, DJ Moore, Garrett Wilson, Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill (twice), A.J. Brown, Davante Adams (twice), Stefon Diggs (twice), Ja’Marr Chase, Brandon Aiyuk, Zay Flowers, Courtland Sutton, Jerry Jeudy and Josh Palmer.
New #Titans CB L’Jarius Sneed vs Tyreek Hillpic.twitter.com/LCclvyRDZA
— Mike Herndon (@MikeHerndonNFL) March 23, 2024
Despite the plethora of difficult matchups, Sneed surrendered a 51.9% completion rate, a passer rating of 55.9 and 406 receiving yards (9.7 yards per reception), while adding two interceptions and 10 passes defensed, per Pro Football Focus.
His PFF coverage grade was an impressive 71.9, and the only No. 1 wide receiver of that group to tally 100 yards or more in a game was Flowers.
the chiefs didn't give up over 100 yards to a WR1 the entire season until zay flowers https://t.co/y2po8fsoO7 pic.twitter.com/npBjzwttYP
— Tej Seth (@tejfbanalytics) January 31, 2024
But playing on the outside and shadowing isn’t the only thing Sneed can do, as he also has plenty of experience playing out of the slot. Granted, he only played 2% of snaps in the slot in 2023, but he saw a 52% slot rate in 2021 and 2022 combined, per data analyst Arjun Menon.
In fact, according to PFF’s Zoltan Buday, Sneed is one of only three players to see more than 1,000 snaps on the perimeter and inside over the last four seasons combined.
And, among cornerbacks who have played at least 1,000 snaps on the outside in that same span, his slot grade of 77.1 ranks third out of 25 players who met the aforementioned requirement.
What L'Jarius Sneed gets on the open market will be very interesting to watch:
2021-2022: 52% slot rate
2023: 2% slot rate, 91% wide CB rate, highest WR1 shadow rate
Versatility on displaySince 2021: 1st in defensive stops, 1st in pressures, 1st in sacks, 1st in snaps of press
— Arjun Menon (@arjunmenon100) January 31, 2024
Roger McCreary will be the main slot cornerback in 2024 and Sneed will do the vast majority of his work on the perimeter, but his ability to move with another team’s top wide receiver, no matter where they go, is huge.
Another area where Sneed has thrived is in the pass-rush, although his numbers expectedly dropped once he moved to the boundary full time.
Since 2021, no cornerback in the NFL has more pressures (26) or sacks (seven). He’s also first in defensive stops, which is defined as a player making a tackle on a play that is considered successful for the defense.
Wilson made it quite clear he wants versatility out of his defensive backs, and Sneed is just what the doctor ordered.
