Finding the Right Player at the Right Price: Javier Arenas, Slot Cornerback

The Ravens should sign Kareem Jackson.

The Ravens should sign Brandon Flowers.

The Ravens should sign Chris Culliver.

Every year, fans look through the list of available free agents and hope that the Ravens will make a splash in the free agent market. That is not what the front office does. The Ravens pride themselves on finding the right player at the right price – a solid veteran on an undervalued deal.

A great example is Corey Graham.

The primary reason Corey Graham signed with the Ravens was that he was promised with an opportunity to compete for a job on defense. Graham played in the league for 5 years primarily on Special Teams. Let’s apply the same formula that was used to sign Corey Graham to this year’s list of free agent Cornerbacks in search of the next Corey Graham. Starting with the Pro Football Focus list of available Free Agent Cornerbacks, we will add overall grades for special teams. The goal is to find a solid special teams player who played well as a Cornerback on a limited number of snaps.

Chris Cook was eliminated due to his off-field issues and perceived lack of motivation. That leaves us with Javier Arenas, a 27 year old Slot Cornerback who played for the Atlanta Falcons last year. Arenas is a small Corner. He is 5’9″ and 195 pounds. He played College Football for Nick Saban at Alabama. Cornerbacks that played in the Alabama are known for 3 traits:

• Tackling ability
• Man to man coverage
• Play the ball in the air

I’ve taken Javier Arenas’ draft report and modified it based on the game tape from the 2010-2014 seasons. Below is a summary of what he could potentially bring to the Ravens:

Let’s look at some examples of Arenas’ play on the field. Have a comment? Discuss this on the BSL board here. 

Man Coverage

Man Coverage is where Arenas shines. Here is an example against the Colts.

Arenas  challenges receivers on the release and jams the receiver within 5 yards of the LOS to disrupt the route.

This puts Arenas in a position to take control of the route and re-direct or ‘flatten’ the route of the receiver.

Tackling

Arenas is a solid tackler for his size. He wraps up and brings his opponent down in the open field. For his career, Arenas missed 4 tackles out of 97 attempts. Arenas has difficulty bringing down bigger receivers due to his size. He is a solid tackler against the run. Bigger backs such as Le’Veon Bell at 244 pounds may pose problems for Arenas primarily due to size.

Penalties

Javier Arenas plays with great discipline. Arenas was flagged for 3 passing penalties on 184 passes thrown at receivers that he covered. Here is an example of a ball knocked down in coverage.

Weaknesses

Arenas’ biggest weakness is his height. He will struggle against bigger and taller receivers. A great example was his matchup against Tony Gonzalez. Arenas was able to stay on the hip of Gonzalez throughout the play, but was unable to deflect the ball due to his height.

Another area where Arenas struggles is that he does not possess long speed. Receivers are able to beat him on long vertical routes. When he is on the field, there should always be Safety help up top. Bigger receivers similar to Damarius Thomas really pose matchup problems for Arenas in that they can shield him from the ball using their body or catch the ball on deep throws with their height advantage.