The decade is drawing to a close, and the NFL is currently reflecting upon 100 years of football, so it seems like a fitting time to place Richard Sherman in his rightful place among the game’s greats. The former Seattle standout has been back to something like his best in 2019 for the San Francisco 49ers, and he has had a huge impact on a defense that has taken important strides this year. Sherman is an excellent cornerback and one of the best-graded in football right now — he's also the best corner of the past decade.
Sherman’s coverage numbers this year match the trend of his career — he has been the most difficult cornerback to pass the ball against since he came into the league. In this decade, only two cornerbacks have allowed a completion rate of under 50% (with 250 or more targets), and those cornerbacks are Richard Sherman (49.6%) and Darrelle Revis (49.8%). They were deployed in dramatically different ways, but Sherman and Revis have undoubtedly been the two best corners of the PFF era (2006 – present).
