Following the 53-man roster deadline, the Pittsburgh Steelers have signed cornerback Desmond King. Following the coverage study on him, I will continue the series by looking at data of his 2022 season in run defense, including current and recent Steelers for comparative context. Using data from Pro Football Focus (PFF) and Sports Info Solutions (SIS), I will take a similar approach to the article I did earlier this offseason, and today’s focus will primarily be on King.
Let’s start with run snaps and average depth of tackle for quantity of plays and yardage comparatively:
King played all 17 games for the Texans last season, including 393 run defense snaps which ranked 16th out of the 110 qualifying cornerbacks (minimum of 125 run snaps). This was less opportunity than his coverage snaps (492), for context. His 6.7 average tackle depth was slightly above the league mean and tied for 61st. He allowed more yardage than in coverage (T-first in yards per coverage snap in 2022), and a few highlighted players. Important to recall as we learn more.
Now let’s look at types of tackles, solo versus assisted tackles against the run:
Landing at the extreme top right of the chart, King was the leading tackler at the position against the run in 2022. His 32 solo and 14 assists against the run each ranked first (no ties), giving important context to his average tackle depth at this volume. Very impressive, and hopefully he can bring this presence to the Steelers regardless of snap opportunities.
Next, I wanted to see how the players fared in a ‘hit or miss’ type view with stop percentage, which uses the successful play rates formula (less than 40% on first down, 50% or less on second down, and third or fourth down plays kept from a first down or touchdown) and missed tackle percentage:
Above the mean in both data points again, we see King’s best mark was a 4.4 stop percentage. This ranked a solid fourth in the NFL, best among current Steelers, and encouraging situational quality when pairing with the other data. He was also above the mean at the position in missed tackle percentage, but a higher rate of 16.4% than you’d like to see given his volume, ranking 53rd.
PFF charted him for nine missed tackles, third most of the qualifying cornerbacks. You’re bound to miss if on the field this much, but it was something that Patrick Peterson was able to do in similar run snaps, for example. Definitely worth monitoring. Hopefully, we see a positive trend with all the pieces in the Steelers secondary, perhaps with less quantity and more quality, considering 55.1% percent of his snaps in 2022 were at outside corner and will likely be reduced in 2023.
To close, let’s look at a more total view of how the players fared in the run game with PFF run defense grades along with points above average per play (a players EPA responsibility on run plays using the total points system that distributes credit among all players on the field for a given play, and accounts for defenders in the box, blown blocks forced, broken tackles, and turnovers) from SIS:
Pairing these two data points gives us a great sense of King’s strengths and areas to improve from 2022. He ranked third in the PAA, which focuses more on situational impact and team success. His 69.8 PFF run defense grade (30th) is respectable but focuses more on individual results and really dings players in the missed tackle department. One other concern I came across was penalties, tying for the fifth most at the position in all situations with eight.
So, the run defense findings on King were very encouraging, landing above the mean in every aspect of the charts today. He led NFL cornerbacks in solo and assisted tackles, along with top five ranks in PAA (third) and stop percentage (fourth) in ample opportunity (16th in run snaps) and was well above average in run defense grade (30th).
While he was above average at the position, the lower marks on King from last season were missed tackle rate (53rd) and average tackle depth (T-61st). The former is the main concern I’ll have my eyes on, along with penalties. Overall, the data from today and the coverage study have me amped about the King addition.
One thing’s for sure, can’t wait to see how it pans out, and stay tuned for more.
What are your thoughts on the data and the addition of Desmond King? Thanks for reading and let me know your thoughts in the comments.
