There is little doubt that Green Bay Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander is one of the best defenders in the NFL. Last season, Alexander set a career high with five interceptions while deflecting 14 passes and racking up 56 tackles. He also allowed just a 59.8% completion percentage while targeted while holding opposing quarterbacks to a 63.7 pass rating when targeting him, the best mark of his career. Additionally, his 6.7% missed tackle percentage also marked a career-best. For his efforts, Alexander was named Second Team All Pro for the second time in his career and also made his second Pro Bowl.
Green Bay Packers Cornerback Jaire Alexander Named in Top-6 of Two Different Rankings
Of course, it is not surprising that a player with the talent that Alexander possesses would be ranked high among his peers. However, what makes Alexander so special is that he ranks high no matter what kind of measurements are used. It is easy for statisticians to manipulate data to tell the story that they want to tell. However, no matter what data is used, Alexander ALWAYS comes up near the top of any best-cornerbacks list.
PFF Rankings of the Top 32 Cornerbacks in the NFL
Every year, PFF ranks the top 32 players at each position. In their rankings of cornerbacks, Alexander slotted in fifth:
“Alexander bounced back in 2022 having missed the majority of the year before with injury. Last season, he allowed just a 66.2 passer rating when targeted, earning an 82.1 PFF coverage grade in the process. Alexander also set a new career high with five interceptions and is still just entering the prime of his career at 26 years old.”
Alexander’s 80.3 overall defensive grade by PFF in 2022 was seventh among NFL cornerbacks, but his 82.1 coverage grade ranked fourth.
Next Gen Stats Ranked the Top 10 Cornerbacks in the NFL
Many fans love advanced stats because they show a bigger picture of how well a player performs. Next Gen Stats is one of the best in measuring these advanced stats, and their rankings had Alexander as the sixth-best cornerback in the NFL:
- Passer rating allowed: 66.4
- Catch rate allowed below expectation: -1.7%
- Tight-window percentage: 29.1%
- Target rate: 20.1%
- Average separation: 2.6 yards
- TARGETED EXPECTED POINTS ADDED: -19.9
Alexander’s two second-team All-Pro nods and Pro Bowl selections confirm what we already know about him: He’s a top-tier cornerback who thrives when asked to match opposing pass catchers step for step. Alexander owns the second-highest tight-window rate in the NFL since 2018 (33.3%) and he posted the 11th-best ballhawk rate in man coverage (24%) among all defenders (minimum 20 targets in man coverage) in 2022. In those situations, he forced a tight window on 44 percent of his 25 targets and recorded six passes defensed.
Alexander saw one of the highest target rates of any defender on this list, yet he consistently produced, posting a ballhawk rate of 17.7 percent thanks to 14 passes defensed and five interceptions (the top total on this list) on 79 targets. Those numbers also propped up his targeted EPA, which finished sixth among all qualifying defenders, and his passer rating allowed of 66.4 was the fourth best among those defenders.
What it most interesting about these stats is that Jaire Alexander was targeted more than any other player on the list. This proves that, no matter how often he is challenged by opposing quarterbacks and wide receivers, he is going to win the matchup more often than not.
This season will be the first of Alexander’s four-year $84 million contract extension. If he continues to put up these kinds of numbers (and let’s face it, he will probably be even better), he will be worth every penny and then some.
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