Marlon Humphrey

Humphrey's season-ending pec injury in Week 13 was the final nail in what had been a disappointing season for the former All-Pro. Though some of Humphrey's coverage metrics graded favorably, such as his 45 percent completion rate allowed, he surrendered 8.1 yards per pass attempt in coverage and his six touchdowns allowed were more than he had surrendered in the previous two seasons despite coming in 12 games. Humphrey's patented punch that was responsible for 10 forced fumbles in 2019 and 2020 also went by the wayside with just one forced fumble. He'll look to bounce back in 2022 and prove that last year was merely a hiccup.

Humphrey stands out as the lone corner on this list. His 2020 was fairly remarkable — Humphrey is feared in coverage and deters quarterbacks from throwing his way, yet he flies into frame constantly to harass ballcarriers. His 82 tackles were 17 more than what he posted in 2019, and he did it on seven fewer snaps. Not just that, but Humphrey demonstrated solid blitzing ability and, most notably, produced an eye-catching eight forced fumbles. Humphrey went full Charles Tillman last year, so he's in a unique category for leagues that award points for forced fumbles.

Humphrey is on his way toward establishing himself as one of the best corners in the league if he hasn't already. He is coming off of a First-Team All Pro campaign in 2019 in which he racked up five takeaways and two defensive touchdowns in addition to allowing just 4.5 yards per target in coverage. Humphrey saw an average of 5.4 targets per game thrown in his direction but held opposing quarterbacks to a 43.7 percent completion rate. He's entering his fourth NFL season at age 23 and seems to be only getting better with each year of experience.

The Alabama product wasted no time proving he can cut it as a boundary corner in his rookie season, grading out as an above-average cornerback according to Pro Football Focus. Humphrey plays with the physicality, football IQ and technique that's become the trademark of many Crimson Tide defenders. He racked up 11 passes defensed, an impressive mark for someone who didn't play a full complement of snaps, and also picked off two passes. The rub here is whether he winds up seeing a full-time role in 2018. Jimmy Smith is a face of the defense, but he's coming off a late-season Achilles' injury that clouds his availability for the start of the season. If that's the case, Humphrey will start opposite Brandon Carr until Smith returns. If Smith is healthy to start the season, the Ravens will still find ways to get Humphrey on the field as much as possible, but it'll still result in a capped snap count for the former first-rounder.

The Ravens made it clear that they were intent on fortifying the secondary by inking Tony Jefferson and Brandon Carr in free agency, and they doubled down on that strategy by spending their first round pick on Humphrey, a physical corner out of Alabama. Humphrey (6-0, 197) was a two-year starter for the Crimson Tide, racking up five interceptions and 13 pass breakups in that span. He's an excellent athlete who helped solidify his spot in the first round with a 4.41 40-yard dash and a 6.75 second 3-cone drill at the Combine. There are some warts to his game that will require some work at this level, such as his issues limiting separation deep down the field -- as evidenced by his 19.0 yards per completion mark as a starter. The fact that the Ravens have Jimmy Smith, Brandon Carr, and Tavon Young all locked into starting spots, Humphrey is unlikely to be thrown right into the fire and asked to do too much in coverage to start, but he figures to get snaps against four-receiver sets. As a result, Humphrey might not start making his mark until Year 2 unless Baltimore's secondary incurs some injuries.