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Ouch. Pro Football Focus shared their list of the NFL's best players to hit the field in 20 years of grading, but nobody best known for their time with the New Orleans Saints made the cut. Not Drew Brees, who is being inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame this summer. Neither did Hall of Fame finalists like Jahri Evans or franchise legends like Alvin Kamara, Cameron Jordan, or Jimmy Graham. A handful of former All-Pros did get honorable mentions -- Brees, Michael Thomas, Ryan Ramczyk, and Demario Davis -- but the Saints were shut out of both the first and second teams.
At least as far as players Saints fans would think to claim. That's not to say they weren't represented. A couple of the PFF era's best defensive backs suited up in black and gold, only it was at the wrong time. The legendary cornerback Champ Bailey, a Hall of Famer himself, was recognized on the All-PFF second team while his Denver Broncos successor Chris Harris Jr. made the first team as a slot specialist. Both guys wore Saints jerseys into games, so we're counting it.
PFF analyst Nathan Jahnke noted "roughly half" of Bailey's best years as far as All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors came before the grading window. Saints fans may remember Bailey trying out at the team's 2014 training camp in West Virginia, and he even got into a couple of preseason games. But at that point it was clear he didn't have his legs anymore, and Bailey was let go during roster cuts in August. He retired on a one-day contract with the Broncos in October and, five years later, went into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot.
As for Harris? Jahnke wrote: "Harris was the obvious choice in the slot. His 3,485 coverage snaps while lined up in the slot are the most for all cornerbacks. His 92.7 PFF coverage grade is the best from that group, and his 0.94 yards per coverage snap also ranks first among those with at least 2,000 snaps."
Harris was a favorite of former Saints coach Dennis Allen's from his time coaching the Denver secondary, having found him as a rookie free agent out of Kansas. He eventually joined Allen in New Orleans for the 2022 season and started seven games, splitting time in the slot with Bradley Roby. It would be his last season in the NFL, opting to retire after the 2024 NFL Draft.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: PFF: Saints signed some of this century's best DB's at the worst time
Continue reading...
At least as far as players Saints fans would think to claim. That's not to say they weren't represented. A couple of the PFF era's best defensive backs suited up in black and gold, only it was at the wrong time. The legendary cornerback Champ Bailey, a Hall of Famer himself, was recognized on the All-PFF second team while his Denver Broncos successor Chris Harris Jr. made the first team as a slot specialist. Both guys wore Saints jerseys into games, so we're counting it.
PFF analyst Nathan Jahnke noted "roughly half" of Bailey's best years as far as All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors came before the grading window. Saints fans may remember Bailey trying out at the team's 2014 training camp in West Virginia, and he even got into a couple of preseason games. But at that point it was clear he didn't have his legs anymore, and Bailey was let go during roster cuts in August. He retired on a one-day contract with the Broncos in October and, five years later, went into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot.
As for Harris? Jahnke wrote: "Harris was the obvious choice in the slot. His 3,485 coverage snaps while lined up in the slot are the most for all cornerbacks. His 92.7 PFF coverage grade is the best from that group, and his 0.94 yards per coverage snap also ranks first among those with at least 2,000 snaps."
Harris was a favorite of former Saints coach Dennis Allen's from his time coaching the Denver secondary, having found him as a rookie free agent out of Kansas. He eventually joined Allen in New Orleans for the 2022 season and started seven games, splitting time in the slot with Bradley Roby. It would be his last season in the NFL, opting to retire after the 2024 NFL Draft.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: PFF: Saints signed some of this century's best DB's at the worst time
Continue reading...
