When the Baltimore Ravens finished up their work on draft weekend, one of the main question marks still remaining was at the cornerback position.
They selected Tray Walker from Texas Southern in the fourth round, but with him being the only selection at the position by the team, there was still justifiable concern over depth. Walker’s athleticism could allow him to thrive long term, but realistically, the team won’t expect much from him defensively in 2015.
Thus, there was a necessity for at least one more upgrade at cornerback, and the Ravens did just that with the signing of former New England Patriot Kyle Arrington on Wednesday. When Arrington hit the open market, the seven-year veteran seemed like a logical target for the Ravens. He is an experienced player who can enter Baltimore’s defense with a defined role, and grouped with Jimmy Smith and Lardarius Webb, the Ravens are in a good position from a talent standpoint at the position.
Smith and Webb form one of the AFC’s best cornerback duos when healthy, but the problem is they both rarely are healthy at the same time, necessitating another proven player at the position to provide stability.
With New England, Arrington made his mark as one of the most consistent cornerbacks for the Patriots, particularly in the slot, which is needed during nickel (five defensive back) situations. Webb once proved to be valuable in slot coverage, however his declining quickness makes him better suited for the outside.
Arrington figures to enter as the Ravens’Â top slot cornerback as he provides intrinsic value in that department.
Let’s see how he passes the test as an ideal slot cornerback.
While he is a viable player in the slot, it is justifiable to assume he will not exclusively play inside, as that was not the case in New England. Likewise, depending on matchups, defensive players must shift around, and naturally Arrington will find his way to the perimeter.
That is not a terrible situation, but there is a reason why he is considered more of a slot defender.
When on the outside, Arrington can be prone to vulnerability to receivers with enough straight line speed to slip past him. This was evident during this year’s Super Bowl, when unknown Seahawks receiver Chris Matthews bursted onto the scene in just one game.
One of his key plays was an early-game long reception with Arrington in coverage.
Isolated one-on-one with Matthews, Arrington must be able to match him step-for-step downfield. With the safety rolled over toward the far side of the field, Arrington is on his own for this play.
Off the snap, Matthews, takes the inside route on Arrington, who recognizes the decision by the receiver and positions his body to attempt to cut off the inside lane.
Unfortunately for Arrington, he simply does not possesses the long speed needed to keep up with Matthews, and after an unsuccessful attempt to throw Matthews off his route, Arrington finds himself chasing from behind not even 10 yards into the play.
Matthews eventually gains more separation throughout the play, and though an underthrown ball gives Arrington a chance to recover, the result was a 44-yard reception.
The problem here for Arrington is not route recognition – he correctly diagnosed the inside route by Matthews – but rather long speed downfield. If he loses ground early in the play, it is difficult for Arrington to recover in time.
Luckily for him, the slot cornerback position is a more quick-moving job with more of an emphasis on route recognition, lateral quickness and change of direction, with the latter often being the most important.
Speedy, shiftier receiver are often lined up in the slot. In order to be neutralized, defensive backs with above average change of direction are needed. That is one of Arrington’s best traits, and perhaps the primary quality of his game that allows him to excel inside.
One of the NFL’s toughest slot matchups for defensive backs is Indianapolis Colts receiver T.Y. Hilton. While he has some of the best long speed in the league, Hilton’s shiftiness and quickness in and out of his routes make him difficult to handle.
When Arrington was paired against Hilton in Week 11 of the 2014 season, there were times where Hilton’s pure speed proved to be an issue, but ultimately, Arrington’s ability to change direction to match Hilton’s routes allowed him to make an impact.
With Hilton lined up as the inside receiver on the left, Arrington properly reacts to the initial inside move.
Arrington must be prepared for either a middle destination for Hilton, or a decision by the receiver to kick back out toward the sideline.
Either decision would put Arrington’s short area quickness and agility to the test, and Hilton’s sideline-bound route is met by Arrington’s ability to follow the receiver with each stride and maintain tight coverage.
This is where Arrington can provide value: he may not have ideal deep speed, but his quickness in the short-middle passing game is enough to keep up in coverage. Throw in his consistent route recognition and agility and Arrington proved to be a dependable slot cornerback for the Patriots.
Adding Arrington is not a signing that will put the Ravens defense over the top, but rather one that provides inherent stability and confidence in the cornerback group heading into training camp. The Ravens still cannot be labeled as a team with an above average secondary, but when healthy, a trio of Smith, Webb and Arrington is one to have trust in.
When all three are on the field, Arrington figures to regularly find himself in the slot. But if either Smith or Webb miss time due to injury, Arrington at least provides the experience on the outside that the other backup cornerbacks on the roster do not have. The addition of Arrington also takes the burden off of Asa Jackson, who has struggled early in his career and may not be ready to take on the slot cornerback job just yet, or ever for that matter.
The devil’s advocate to the Arrington addition is: why did the Patriots release him? The logical answer is that he was set to count for $4.625 million against the cap this season, which makes sense in a vacuum. But the big picture is not as clear. Why release him when the fellow top cornerbacks on the roster include the likes of Bradley Fletcher, Logan Ryan and Malcolm Butler? Perhaps the Patriots have plenty of confidence in Fletcher, who was pretty darn terrible for the Philadelphia Eagles last season.
From Baltimore’s perspective, one team’s trash is another team’s treasure, and Arrington should certainly help improve the Ravens’Â secondary.
