Talib’s Value Simplified
2014 with Talib he snatched up 4 interceptions that saw 2 of them returned for a touchdown. In 2015 he had 3 interceptions that also saw 2 of them returned for touchdowns. What was more impressive was how often he shut down the opposing wide receiver.
I’ve spoken to many sports radio outlets over the years about top cornerbacks and asked them what makes them elite. The most common answer I received was how many interceptions they have in a season.
I frown almost every time I hear that because that stat is not fully telling. While Talib had 5 picks in his first two seasons as a Bronco, he shut down the opposition quite often and hardly got beat.
The only time I witnessed Talib struggle in coverage was against T.Y Hilton in the 2014 AFC Divisional Round. Jack Del Rio who was the defensive coordinator at the time did a terrible job at matching up his secondary.
Del Rio had Chris Harris JR covering Reggie Wayne and Talib covering T.Y Hilton. The issue was size and speed difference. On paper it makes more sense to put Harris on Hilton and Talib on Reggie Wayne who was a valuable target for Luck.
Many people after that game were calling for Talib to be cut or traded. One of the best memories of that game I recall was seeing a fan on Twitter say that Talib was Elway’s worse signing in Broncos history.