Fantasy: Sophomore Spotlight – Joe Haden

The seventh overall selection of the draft in 2010 by the Cleveland Browns, Joe Haden, was the earliest cornerback taken since 2005, when the Titans selected Pacman Jones. Haden was widely seen as the top defensive back prospect in the class, although at 5’11”, 193lbs with only 4.57 time in the 40 at the Combine, his physical and athletic shortcomings resulted in aspersions being made about his ability to be a true shutdown corner at the NFL level.

Through the first three weeks of the season Haden only saw the field for 68 snaps (34.3%) as a nickel corner, making only 5 tackles and allowing 4/7 passes thrown at him to be completed. By the end of the year he had locked down the #1 spot on the depth chart, was PFF’s #6 graded cornerback (+12.6) and our top ranked rookie defensive back.

Although not officially a starter until week 11, when he replaced the injured Eric Wright, Haden actually played 92% of snaps in weeks 9 and 10 following the Browns bye week.

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From week 9 onwards Haden played at an elite level, grading +11.5 despite a poor -3.9 performance against the Bengals in week 15 in which he allowed 4/5 passes to be completed. In that run of nine games he made five interceptions (making six for the season), including a stretch on one in four consecutive games. He also allowed only 47.2% of passes to be completed for an average of 33.1 yards per game (or 9.8 yards per catch), and only one touchdown (totaling two for the year). Clearly Haden was effective in shutting out opposing wide receivers, but he also showed a penchant for wrapping up and tackling well too. Sam Monson’s study into Tackling Corners rated Haden as the #3 corner in the league, having only missed 2 tackles all season in 54 opportunities. Interestingly the two players who ranked higher were Brandon Flowers and Champ Bailey, both thought to be among the league’s elite.

If Haden’s performance over those final 9 games had been unleashed over the course of the whole 16 game season he’d have finished on 151 points and ranked as the #5 fantasy cornerback in 2010, primarily because of a projected nine interceptions, which would have led the NFL. The PFF IDP projection model ranks Haden as the #27 defensive-back for 2011, but the IDP panel of myself, Jeff Ratcliffe and Kevin Greenstein all expect more from Haden and collaboratively rank him as the #10 fantasy DB.

Haden should certainly be targeted in IDP leagues that reward turnovers as he has premier ball hawk skills, as evidenced by the six picks he made in his rookie season, and the eight he contributed as a Florida Gator. He can also tackle effectively, although he may have fewer chances to do so as his reputation grows in 2011. That being said, the AFC North isn’t known for its depth at wide-receiver, so with a dearth of options throw to, opposing quarterbacks may not have many options but to challenge the up and coming Haden.