by Vincent Verhei

As work on Football Outsiders Almanac 2017 continues, we pause to look back at the 2016 season through the lens of some of our advanced statistics. Today we are going to focus on defeats, and what they can tell us about some of the best defenders in the league. We have lots of statistics to measure quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, even kickers, but our numbers for individual defensive players are a lot more limited. Defeats are one way to account for defenders who make frequent appearances on highlight reels.

As a reminder, a defender is credited with a defeat any time he makes one of the following plays:

A tackle that results in a loss of yardage, including sacks.

Any play that results in a turnover, including tipped passes which are then intercepted.

Any tackle or tipped pass that leads to a stop on third or fourth down.

Over the years, two names have regularly dominated the defeats leaderboard: Houston defensive end J.J. Watt, and Tampa Bay linebacker Lavonte David. From 2012 to 2015, Watt ranked first, third, first, and first in defeats, while David ranked fifth, first, second, and second. Watt, however, missed most of the 2016 season with a back injury. David played in all 16 games and had another outstanding season, but missed out on the defeats crown because an unheralded linebacker flew up the charts with an under-the-radar season.

NFL Leaders in Total Defeats, 2016 Rk Tm Player Pos Pass Defeats Rush Defeats Total Defeats 1 BUF 52-P.Brown LB 10 21 31 2 OAK 52-K.Mack DL 15 14 29 2 DEN 58-V.Miller LB 20 9 29 2 TB 54-L.David LB 19 10 29 5 BUF 57-L.Alexander LB 19 9 28 5 DAL 50-S.Lee LB 12 16 28 5 TB 58-K.Alexander LB 16 12 28 8 ARI 44-M.Golden LB 16 11 27 8 BUF 53-Z.Brown LB 11 16 27 8 JAC 50-T.Smith LB 12 15 27 8 SEA 50-K.Wright LB 14 13 27 12 BAL 54-Z.Orr LB 12 14 26 12 JAC 51-P.Posluszny LB 14 12 26 14 NO 94-C.Jordan DL 11 14 25 14 GB 53-N.Perry LB 15 10 25 14 MIN 54-E.Kendricks LB 18 7 25 14 PHI 53-N.Bradham LB 13 12 25 18 NYG 20-J.Jenkins CB 20 4 24 18 LARM 99-A.Donald DL 12 12 24 18 MIA 93-N.Suh DL 13 11 24 18 ARI 55-Ch.Jones LB 17 7 24 18 ATL 44-V.Beasley LB 17 7 24 18 CLE 58-C.Kirksey LB 11 13 24 18 LARM 52-A.Ogletree LB 12 12 24 18 SEA 54-B.Wagner LB 11 13 24 18 NYG 21-L.Collins SAF 17 7 24

We like to think that our readers are the smartest, most well-informed group of football fans out there, but odds are a lot of you are scratching your heads right now and asking "Who on earth is '52-P.Brown?'" That would be Buffalo linebacker Preston Brown, who has quietly started 46 of 48 games for the Bills since he was drafted in the third round in 2014. Brown hardly fits the profile of a big-play defender, with only three interceptions and one sack in his career. But Brown did a little bit of everything in 2016:

Twelve run tackles for loss.

Nine run tackles for stops on third or fourth down, including four with 1 or 2 yards to go.

Seven tackles on completed passes for third-down stops.

One tackle for a loss on a completed pass.

One sack.

One forced fumble.

As if Brown wasn't surprising enough on top of the leaderboards, we also see his teammates Zach Brown (no relation to Preston) (or to this guy) and Lorenzo Alexander in the top ten as well. The Bills as a team were just 23rd in pass defeats, but they led the league in run defeats, and were sixth in overall defeats. This is all quite shocking, because as you'll recall the Buffalo defense was lousy last year, especially against the run. What's going on here? Part of it is that the Bills faced a lot of runs—489, to be exact, second-most among defenses behind San Francisco. More running plays means more opportunities for run defeats. The Bills defense registered a defeat on 16 percent of opponents' run plays, which was just 15th in the NFL. More to the point, when the Bills didn't get a defeat on a running play, it meant bad news. The average non-defeat run against Buffalo gained 5.6 yards, fourth-most in the league.

One other factor in Brown's ascension to the top: defeats were way down in 2016, at least on an individual level. Brown's total of 31 is the lowest among league-leaders in our database, which goes back to 1997. Brown was also the only player to collect 30 defeats this year. Every other season has seen at least three 30-defeat players, and as many as 13. The average season, including 2016, has produced 6.8 players with 30-plus defeats.

Brown led the league in run defeats, while Von Miller and Janoris Jenkins were tied for the league in pass defeats. David, once again, finished second (well, tied for second) in total defeats. The Bills were the only team with three players with at least 24 defeats; the Cardinals, Rams, Seahawks, and Giants had two each. The Giants also had the only two defensive backs finish in the top 26, which brings us to our next point: The leaders in defeats, not surprisingly, are almost all linebackers. True, some of those are 3-4 types edge rusher types (Alexander, Miller, Markus Golden, etc.) But Khalil Mack, Cameron Jordan, Ndamukong Suh, and Aaron Donald are the only true defensive linemen among the leaders, and the Giants have the only two defensive backs. The other players listed here are all linebackers.



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With that in mind, we're also listing a top 20 at each "position" -- not the traditional DL/LB/DB listings, but the role-based labels that are more appropriate for this sub package era of the NFL:

Defensive Linemen (3-4 defensive linemen and 4-3 defensive tackles)

(3-4 defensive linemen and 4-3 defensive tackles) Edge Rushers (3-4 outside linebackers and 4-3 defensive ends)

(3-4 outside linebackers and 4-3 defensive ends) Linebackers (3-4 inside linebackers and all 4-3 linebackers)

(3-4 inside linebackers and all 4-3 linebackers) Safeties

Cornerbacks

We won't have time to do a detailed breakdown of all players, obviously, but we'll drop notes on the most notable stars.

Defensive Linemen

Defensive Line Leaders in Total Defeats, 2016 Rk Tm Player Pos Pass Defeats Rush Defeats Total Defeats 1 LARM 99-A.Donald DL 12 12 24 1 MIA 93-N.Suh DL 13 11 24 3 NYJ 92-L.Williams DL 10 13 23 4 ARI 93-C.Campbell DL 11 9 20 5 CAR 99-K.Short DL 8 11 19 6 BUF 95-K.Williams DL 6 11 17 6 CHI 96-A.Hicks DL 9 8 17 6 CIN 97-G.Atkins DL 11 6 17 6 TB 93-G.McCoy DL 11 6 17 10 JAC 90-M.Jackson DL 10 6 16 10 NYG 98-D.Harrison DL 4 12 16 10 TEN 99-J.Casey DL 9 7 16 13 NYJ 96-M.Wilkerson DL 9 6 15 13 PIT 91-S.Tuitt DL 7 8 15 15 BAL 99-T.Jernigan DL 9 5 14 16 DAL 95-D.Irving DL 6 7 13 16 PHI 91-F.Cox DL 7 6 13 16 SD 94-C.Liuget DL 3 10 13 19 JAC 99-S.Marks DL 6 6 12 19 LARM 91-D.Easley DL 7 5 12 19 NO 90-N.Fairley DL 8 4 12 19 NYG 95-J.Hankins DL 5 7 12 19 SF 99-D.Buckner DL 6 6 12 19 WAS 92-C.Baker DL 6 6 12

While Donald and Suh tied for the lead among linemen in total defeats, Suh was alone at the position with 13 pass defeats, and the Jets' Leonard Williams was first with 13 run defeats. Muhammad Wilkerson makes it two Jets among the leaders at this position, and Sheldon Richardson would have made it three, but he was technically an outside linebacker in 2016. The Jaguars, Giants, and Rams also have two players listed here. The Jaguars cut Sen'Derrick Marks after the season, but replaced him with Calais Campbell. Marks remains unsigned, and could always return to Jacksonville to give them a three-headed monster up front.

Edge Rushers

Edge Rusher Leaders in Total Defeats, 2016 Rk Tm Player Pos Pass Defeats Rush Defeats Total Defeats 1 DEN 58-V.Miller LB 20 9 29 1 OAK 52-K.Mack DL 15 14 29 3 BUF 57-L.Alexander LB 19 9 28 4 ARI 44-M.Golden LB 16 11 27 5 GB 53-N.Perry LB 15 10 25 5 NO 94-C.Jordan DL 11 14 25 7 ARI 55-Ch.Jones LB 17 7 24 7 ATL 44-V.Beasley LB 17 7 24 9 HOU 90-J.Clowney DL 7 15 22 9 PHI 55-B.Graham DL 7 15 22 11 HOU 59-W.Mercilus LB 9 12 21 11 KC 55-D.Ford LB 12 9 21 11 NYJ 91-S.Richardson LB 7 14 21 11 SD 54-M.Ingram LB 10 11 21 11 SD 99-J.Bosa DL 12 9 21 16 MIA 50-A.Branch DL 11 9 20 16 NYG 54-O.Vernon DL 12 8 20 16 SEA 56-C.Avril DL 14 6 20 16 SEA 55-F.Clark DL 14 6 20 16 WAS 93-T.Murphy LB 10 10 20

Miller, of course, led this group in pass defeats, while Philadelphia's Brandon Graham and Houston's Jadeveon Clowney were first in run defeats. The Cardinals, Texans, and Seahawks were the only teams with a duo of edge rushers among the leaders.

Linebackers

Linebacker Leaders in Total Defeats, 2016 Rk Tm Player Pos Pass Defeats Rush Defeats Total Defeats 1 BUF 52-P.Brown LB 10 21 31 2 TB 54-L.David LB 19 10 29 3 DAL 50-S.Lee LB 12 16 28 3 TB 58-K.Alexander LB 16 12 28 5 BUF 53-Z.Brown LB 11 16 27 5 JAC 50-T.Smith LB 12 15 27 5 SEA 50-K.Wright LB 14 13 27 8 BAL 54-Z.Orr LB 12 14 26 8 JAC 51-P.Posluszny LB 14 12 26 10 MIN 54-E.Kendricks LB 18 7 25 10 PHI 53-N.Bradham LB 13 12 25 12 CLE 58-C.Kirksey LB 11 13 24 12 LARM 52-A.Ogletree LB 12 12 24 12 SEA 54-B.Wagner LB 11 13 24 15 CAR 59-L.Kuechly LB 12 11 23 16 ATL 45-D.Jones LB 14 8 22 17 PIT 50-R.Shazier LB 12 9 21 17 SD 57-J.Brown LB 16 5 21 19 PHI 58-J.Hicks LB 13 7 20 19 SD 56-K.Toomer LB 10 10 20

We mentioned earlier that Brown was the NFL's leader in run defeats, but David was actually the top linebacker when it came to pass defeats. This seems to be a position where teammates frequently put up big numbers together—the Bills, Jaguars, Eagles, Chargers, Seahawks, and Buccaneers each put up two players among the leaders.

Safeties

Safety Leaders in Total Defeats, 2016 Rk Tm Player Pos Pass Defeats Rush Defeats Total Defeats 1 NYG 21-L.Collins SAF 17 7 24 2 ARI 22-T.Jefferson SAF 7 13 20 3 PHI 27-M.Jenkins SAF 14 5 19 4 DEN 43-T.Ward SAF 13 3 16 4 LARM 25-T.McDonald SAF 11 5 16 4 NO 32-K.Vaccaro SAF 10 6 16 4 SEA 31-K.Chancellor SAF 11 5 16 8 BAL 32-E.Weddle SAF 9 6 15 8 GB 42-M.Burnett SAF 12 3 15 8 JAC 37-J.Cyprien SAF 6 9 15 8 KC 49-D.Sorensen SAF 12 3 15 8 NYJ 25-C.Pryor SAF 7 8 15 13 ARI 36-D.Swearinger SAF 9 5 14 13 HOU 27-Q.Demps SAF 11 3 14 13 KC 29-E.Berry SAF 9 5 14 16 CAR 33-T.Boston SAF 10 3 13 17 BUF 20-C.Graham SAF 9 3 12 17 DAL 31-B.Jones SAF 9 3 12 17 DET 27-G.Quin SAF 9 3 12 17 OAK 27-R.Nelson SAF 11 1 12 17 SF 29-J.Tartt SAF 4 8 12

Collins led all safeties in both total defeats and pass defeats, while Arizona's (well, Baltimore's now) Tony Jefferson was first in run defeats. Arizona had two safeties among the leaders in defeats, as did Kansas City.

Cornerbacks

Cornerback Leaders in Total Defeats, 2016 Rk Tm Player Pos Pass Defeats Rush Defeats Total Defeats 1 NYG 20-J.Jenkins CB 20 4 24 2 JAC 20-J.Ramsey CB 15 4 19 2 WAS 24-J.Norman CB 16 3 19 2 NYG 41-D.Rodgers-Cromartie CB 18 1 19 2 HOU 21-A.Bouye CB 18 1 19 6 KC 22-M.Peters CB 15 3 18 6 SEA 25-R.Sherman CB 16 2 18 8 SF 26-T.Brock CB 12 5 17 8 NE 26-L.Ryan CB 15 2 17 8 TB 24-B.Grimes CB 16 1 17 8 BAL 36-T.Young CB 17 0 17 12 LARM 20-L.Joyner CB 12 4 16 12 NE 21-M.Butler CB 14 2 16 12 DEN 25-C.Harris CB 15 1 16 12 OAK 29-D.Amerson CB 15 1 16 16 CLE 20-B.Boddy-Calhoun CB 10 5 15 16 MIN 29-X.Rhodes CB 11 4 15 16 GB 33-M.Hyde CB 12 3 15 19 DEN 21-A.Talib CB 12 2 14 19 MIA 41-B.Maxwell CB 12 2 14 19 SD 26-C.Hayward CB 14 0 14

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While total defeats were down across the league, Janoris Jenkins' season was something we hadn't seen in a generation of NFL players. The last cornerback with 24 defeats in a single season was Casey Hayward, who had 25 as a rookie in Green Bay in 2012. Tramaine Brock and Briean Boddy-Calhoun tied for the lead among corners in run defeats. That's quite a turnaround for Brock -- he made 50 tackles in his first five seasons, exactly one of which came on a running play.

The Giants, Seahawks, Chargers, and Jaguars each had six players qualify in these leaderboards at their respective positions. Only one defense failed to put a single player in any of these top 20 lists: the Colts. Linebacker Erik Walden (16 defeats) and safety Clayton Geathers (10) were the only Indianapolis defenders to hit double digits in this statistic.