David Amerson was seen as a rising star for the Redskins going into the 2014 season. Many thought he was ready to start opposite of veteran cornerback DeAngelo Hall, but this rising star went from only giving up one touchdown and playing well to close out the 2013 season to allowing the league’s highest number of touchdowns (10) and the highest NFL Passer Rating to opposing quarterbacks while in coverage (140.2). What happened to this rising star? Is his career salvageable or should the Redskins consider Amerson to be a bust and move on from the former 2nd round pick out of North Carolina State?

Stats

Note: Stats are from ProFootballFocus – Cornerbacks with 50% Snaps in Coverage.

2013 Season (Rookie) 2014 Season (2nd Year) Snaps 694 926 Receptions/Targets 45/77 (58.4%) 67/91 (73.6%) Yards and Touchdowns Allowed 684 yds (15.2 ypc), 1 TD 877 yds (13.1 ypc), 10 TDs INTs and Pass Deflections 2 INTs, 7 PDs 0 INTs, 4 PDs NFL Passer Rating Allowed 81.3 – Rank: 30/81 CBs 140.2 – Rank: 73/73 CBs Coverage Snaps/Target 5.6 – Rank: 58/81 CBs 5.6 – Rank: 55/73 CBs Yards Allowed/Covered Snap 1.60 – Rank: 70/81 CBs 1.73 – Rank: 69/73 CBs Coverage Snaps/Reception Allowed 9.5 – Rank: 56/81 CBs 7.6 – Rank: 70/73 CBs

2013 Rookie Season

In the 2013 season the Redskins started DeAngelo Hall and Josh Wilson at cornerback with Amerson only playing in nickel packages. As the Redskins could only rely on safety Brandon Merriweather to play deep coverage, the Redskins ran much Cover 1 Man Free as their primary defensive shell.

http://i.imgur.com/OYfGNTe.jpg

In this scheme, the Redskins had one safety up-top while the cornerbacks primarilly played man-to-man coverage across the board. In the beginning of the season, Amerson struggled due to miscommunications or overcommitting on lateral movements by the wide receivers, but these big plays were far less frequent than in his 2014 campaign.

Amerson CB#39 is on the bottom of your screen in this GIF.

Amerson CB#39 is on the bottom of your screen in this GIF.

Amerson CB#39 is on the bottom of your screen in this GIF.

As the season progressed, Amerson showed flashes of potential. In this play Amerson plays bump-and-run coverage on Keenan Allen and is able to cut off his route and intercept the pass. Amerson CB#39 is on the bottom of your screen in this GIF.

In the second play, Amerson is able to anticipate the out-route run by Rueben Randle and shut it down. Amerson CB#39 is on the top of your screen in this GIF.

Although Amerson was very hit-or-miss to start his first NFL season, he gradually improved to earn the starting spot opposite of DeAngelo Hall for the 2014 season.

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