Atlanta Falcons cornerback Desmond Trufant recently signed a five-year contract extension worth $68.75 million, including approximately $41.5 million guaranteed, per numbers provided by Spotrac.

Trufant’s $41.526 million guaranteed is fourth-highest among cornerbacks. Only Josh Norman ($50 million), Patrick Peterson ($47,368,114) and Cleveland’s Joe Haden ($45,078,193) received more total money guaranteed. Is Trufant really worth top-five cornerback money, though? Absolutely.

Trufant is the clear front man in the Atlanta secondary and has shown he can shadow an opponent’s best receiver. Robert Alford is quite good in his own right, but Trufant stands alone in his coverage ability in the Falcons’ budding Legion of Boom. It may not be as productive or star-studded as the group in Seattle, but the talent and the continuity are there.

Last season a pectoral injury suffered in Week 9 against the Buccaneers prematurely ended Trufant’s season. He finished with 25 solo tackles, two sacks and one interception, coming in Week 1 against Tampa Bay. Part of the reason for the low production is due to how quarterbacks were looking away from Trufant in general.

Not counting the Week 9 game against Tampa, Trufant played no less than 97.3 percent of the Falcons’ snaps in any given game. In five of the eight full games he played in, he never came off the field on defense, playing 100 percent of the time.

Watching Trufant, you get a sense how smooth and fluid his movements are. His ability to latch onto receivers in press coverage, click and close in zone coverage is fantastic.

Take his Week 1 performance against Tampa Bay, for example. Trufant was covering Vincent Jackson, who was targeted seven times by Jameis Winston. He caught just two of those passes for just 18 yards. Trufant also showed excellent ball skills in this first-quarter interception:

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Trufant is also extremely quick both in coverage, and when he has to get after the quarterback. Just ask Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and New Orleans’ Drew Brees.

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Like all defensive backs, Trufant gets beat from time to time. However, his skillset allows him to minimize the how much damage he allows per game.

A vast majority of completions Trufant allows, he’s right on the receiver almost immediately, preventing any yards after the catch. Even if he is trailing, Trufant is fast enough to reach the receiver in time. One play that illustrates this is his forced incompletion against Amari Cooper in Week 2 against Oakland. Cooper runs a crossing route and looks to have Trufant beat, but as Derek Carr lets the ball go, Trufant recovers and tips the ball away, forcing the Raiders to punt.

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If you look at the numbers for Atlanta’s opponents over the first eight weeks of the season, only two receivers posted over 100 yards receiving and one was a tight end. They were Saints tight end Coby Fleener (seven receptions, 109 yards, one touchdown) and Chargers wide receiver Tyrell Williams (seven catches, 140 yards). Trufant was not assigned to either of them.

Mike Evans did record 99 yards in Week 1, but again, Trufant was covering Vincent Jackson. Now that Jackson is no longer in Tampa, I imagine Trufant would cover Evans when the two teams match up this season and may put in time shadowing DeSean Jackson.

Even in the regular season thriller against Green Bay, I charted just six targets against Trufant, who split time covering Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams. Considering we’re talking about one of the best quarterbacks in Aaron Rodgers, that’s saying something.

In 2016 Trufant faced Winston twice, as well as Derek Carr, Drew Brees, Cam Newton, Paxton Lynch, Russell Wilson, Philip Rivers and Aaron Rodgers. With the exception of Lynch that’s quite a list and the Falcons secondary, namely Trufant, held their own. Yes, the team ranked near the bottom of the league in pass defense, but remember they were playing with a lead more often than not.

2017 won’t be much different as Rodgers will return to Atlanta in Week 2, plus they’ll meet up with Tom Brady in Week 7 in the epic Super Bowl LI rematch. Trufant did not play in that game, so it’ll be interesting to see how they line Trufant up, especially with Brandin Cooks now in the mix for New England.

All in all, some may not think Trufant ranks as an overall top-five cornerback in the NFL, but his value makes him worth every penny the Falcons paid him.