Bradley Roby versus Aqib Talib
The rankings are broken up by outside corners (Roby and Talib) and slot cornerbacks (Chris Harris Jr). Out of 74 qualifying outside corners, Roby ranked fourth and Talib ranked 17th. For reference, 2017 All-Pro cornerbacks, Jalen Ramsey and Xavier Rhodes, ranked 38th and 25th respectively.
Out of 93 qualifying routes, Roby accumulated 81 wins good for a 79.41% success rate. Talib had less wins on more routes with 75 wins out of 101 routes. His success rate is 74.26%.
It’s important to note when looking at this data that teams often move their best receivers inside from time to time (e.g. Antonio Brown). Additionally, Talib is typically matched up with the number one receiver on the outside while Roby covers the number two receiver.
Regardless of matchups, Roby still played spectacularly in his role. Quarterbacks targeted Bradley Roby 50 times and only completed 18 passes for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns. Talib gave up 17 receptions on 39 targets for 198 yards and 3 touchdowns. Again, for reference, Jalen Ramsey gave up 404 yards on 29 receptions while Rhodes allowed 445 yards on 33 receptions.
Bradley Roby’s performance did not go unnoticed by Wharton either. He noted that Roby has essentially played a starter’s role since coming into the league but has been overshadowed by Talib and Harris. He also had this glowing review to share of Roby in his analytic recap of the 5th year cornerback.
"Roby possesses the ideal blend of athleticism and physicality for his 5’11’’, 194-pound frame, and is capable of covering any route in any alignment. He’s smooth in his movements and mirrors extremely well. He finished as a top-five performer in success rate and had an elite 35% completion percentage against, with only 202 total yards allowed."