Fantasy: IDP Bets For Breakout - Alterraun Verner

 It's been a while since I put fingers to keyboard, so with the PFF Fantasy Draft Guide available, mock drafts a plenty, I'm ready to get back to the grind, and now's as good a time as any to continue on with my IDP Bets for Breakout pieces. The last few articles, I've looked at the linebacker  position, so with this article, I'm going to switch things up and look at a defensive back. This corner seemed to already have his breakout year as a  rookie, but didn't get the chance to play in 2011. So, while he may not have a true breakout year, he's definitely going to have a bounce back year and that's Tennessee Titan CB, Alterraun Verner.

Verner is entering his 3rd year out of UCLA, he was the Titans' 104th overall selection in the 2010 draft. Verner joined a corps that had Cortland Finnegan, Vincent Fuller, Ryan Mouton and Jason McCourty (who was drafted in the 6th round just the year before). In his rookie year, the Titans did more than just give him some playing time, he was thrown to the wide receivers.

2010

With McCourty injured, Verner burst onto the scene as a rookie, as he played in 953 of the Titans' 1,224 defensive snaps, including 564 coverage snaps. By Week 4, he was a starter, with the exception of Week 8, but still appeared in 70 defensive snaps and finished the season with an impressive +5.1 grade.

From an IDP standpoint he was a gem as he compiled 91 total tackles, where 80 of those were solo. He had a solid tackle frequency percentage of 9.5%, including an 8.4% solo tackle frequency. Those numbers would be impressive for a vet corner, but even more impressive as a rookie. He did, however, miss on 7 total tackles, missing a tackle in every 7.1 attempts. Verner was certainly, picked on as a rookie, as he saw 107 targets, converting 3 of those to INTs and defended 7 passes, which gave him a PDI frequency of 9.3%. But with the tackle numbers and respectable number of splash plays, all signs were trending upward for Verner to having a solid IDP campaign in 2011.

2011

In Verner's second season, he ended up losing his starting job to Jason McCourty, who was coming off a decent season, grading out at a +7.5. Verner saw his snaps drastically cut from his 2010 numbers, to  just 629 snaps in 2011 and only started in 3 of those games. His PFF grade did bump up to a +8.2, as he finished with 46 tackles, missing just 4 on the year. His inconsistent appearances, however, banished him to the waiver wire in most formats, even those leagues that required a cornerback starter as there were only 3 games, all season, where had more than 6 tackles in a game. Though his INTs dropped, he had the same number of defended passes in 2011 that he did in 2010 (7) in less snaps so his coverage skills didn't suffer with the lack of snaps. So, after a poor 2011 season, why do I look at him as a bounce-back or breakout candidate?

2012 Outlook

First, and foremost, Cortland Finnegan signed with the Rams in free agency, leaving an immediate opening. Verner, during the offseason programs, has been working at Finnegan's vacant spot on the right-side in their base defense and playing the slot in their nickel packages. Over the past 3 seasons, Finnegan has proved to be productive, averaging 74 tackles/3 INT/7 PD in that span. Verner's going to be running around with linebackers, involved in blitz packages, and when in the slot, has a chance at big tackle numbers covering those slot/possession type receivers. Here's what I'm expecting him to do in 2012:

Verner has proved to be productive when given the opportunity and defensive snaps. With the NFL fully entrenched as a pass heavy league, Verner should see plenty of targets thrown his way, which will lead to high tackle numbers and upside for the splash plays. He makes a solid DB3/4 target in leagues that don't require a CB, but makes a high upside CB2 in leagues that do require a cornerback starter. Keep him on your sleeper list and enjoy the production this season.

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