Okay, so I’ve been messing around with this idea for a while now, trying to figure out who the best cornerbacks have been since 2000. It’s a tough one, right? There are so many great players.
First, I started by just brainstorming, you know? I wrote down every name that popped into my head. Champ Bailey, Darrelle Revis, Richard Sherman – the usual suspects. My list got pretty long, pretty fast.
Then I thought, “I need some criteria.” Otherwise, it’s just a popularity contest. So I decided to focus on a few things:
- Coverage Skills: Could they lock down a receiver? Were they a shutdown corner?
- Ball Skills: Did they get interceptions? Did they break up passes?
- Tackling: Were they willing to come up and make a tackle? Did they shy away from contact?
- Impact: Did they change games? Were they feared by quarterbacks?
With these in mind, I went back to my list and started crossing guys off. Some were good, but maybe not “all-time great.” It was tough, but I had to be honest with myself.
After that, I dove into the stats. I looked up interceptions, passes defended, tackles, Pro Bowl appearances, All-Pro selections – all that good stuff. This took a while, but it helped me see who really stood out.
I also watched a bunch of old game footage. It’s one thing to look at numbers, but it’s another to actually see these guys in action. I wanted to see how they moved, how they reacted, how they covered. This was probably the most fun part, to be honest.
Finally, after all that, I came up with my own personal list of the greatest cornerbacks post-2000. I won’t spoil it here – gotta save something for the blog post, right? But I’m really happy with how it turned out. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it. It really made me appreciate how much talent there’s been at that position over the years.
A sneak peek
I can tell you that there are a couple of surprises, but I think some people will agree. Some names everyone will recognize, others may not, but they should. I hope everyone else gets just as fired up about these players as I did. It was a lot of fun, and I hope I did them justice.
