Grab Derwin James While He is Beginning His Era of Greatness
Derwin James is already one of the best safeties in the NFL after one year in the league. Falling to the Chargers at pick 17 in the 2018 NFL Draft, James had a sensational rookie campaign, being in the mix for Defensive Rookie of the Year all season long, and one could make a case he should have won it.
In his rookie season, James finished with 105 combined tackles (sixth most among all defensive backs), 75 solo tackles (seventh), 14 pass disruptions (tied for 14th), 3.5 sacks (led all DBs), six quarterback hits (second to Jamal Adams’ eight for all DBs), and three interceptions. These are pretty great stats, but how did he do in the IDP field? Well via FantasyData, James finished with 131.7 fantasy points, the fifth most among all defensive backs in 2018.
James was notable for being the first rookie in Chargers’ franchise history to be named to Associated Press’ First Team All-Pro roster, doing so at safety. He was also named Second Team All-Pro as a defensive back.
On a defense that had Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram and Casey Hayward, James was the player who stood out the most. Part of that is due to just how versatile he is, as he can play in the edge, the box, the slot, and even as a center fielder just to name a few areas where he shows his ominous presence.
Incredibly, his versatility in his rookie season was matched by his quality of play. In fact, James’ dominance in his debut in the pros showed just why he should not have fallen as far as he did in the 2018 draft, as he had the quality of a top ten talent in that year’s class.
It should go without saying you should pick up James when it’s time to select a DB in your IDP drafts, but if you’ve somehow remain unconvinced, let’s look at some clips to help change your mind.
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First off, if you crave pass disruption stats (including breakups and interceptions), you’re going to want someone like James on your IDP rosters. The play above is from his debut performance in week one against the Chiefs. As the deep safety on this play, James does a great job of recognizing which receiver he’s supposed to target based on the alignments against the route combinations in zone coverage.
De’Anthony Thomas is the receiver James goes up against. James’ recognition of Thomas’ route is on time and he uses his speed and footwork to catch up to the former Chiefs receiver. He’s able to turn his head around, locate the ball and disrupt a would-be-touchdown. It’s a pretty routine play, but it shows what James can provide in the pass disruption department.
While this technically wasn’t listed as a sack, James is still credited with a tackle for loss, and it’s one of my favorite plays of his rookie season. He acts as if he’s motioning against the Bills tight end to the edge when in actuality this is an extremely well-disguised blitz. There’s not much else to say about this other than I love the burst and timing, and it serves as a great introduction to the amount of snaps he took in the edge in his rookie season.
One of the most critical aspects to playing the role of a defensive back is using quick footwork to backpedal then spring forward to defend the ball or a route seamlessly. As you may have guessed, recognizing when and where a receiver breaks on his route is also crucial to making a play on the ball.
As such, James uses a quick backpedal when guarding the spot Los Angeles Rams tight end Gerald Everett is running to. He does a fantastic undercut of Everett’s route once he sees the tight end is breaking out on his route, uses a quick burst to spring forward and pick the ball off. The only bad part about this play was James stepped out on the Chargers’ one-yard line instead of the end zone for a touchback, but then again you don’t throw away a Corvette because it has a dent in it.
Who’s ready for an insanely random stat? The NBA loves to push instances where James Harden was one of four players in the league’s history with 35 points, 15 assists, and 13 rebounds in a single game, so it’s only fair that the NFL has those instances as well. And from my research, Derwin James is the only defensive back in NFL history to have at least one sack, three quarterback hits and two pass disruptions in a single game, doing it against the 49ers in week four.
No hit from James was more impactful (or spectacular) than the last one he had in this game off the edge. It’s pretty bold to just leave one of the game’s great young defensive backs unaccounted for, and as a result, James collides with CJ Beathard just as the quarterback is about to release the ball, putting it into the hands of Isaac Rochell for the game-sealing interception. All I have to say is this was beautiful timing on the hit.
Now let’s get to my favorite play from Derwin James’ rookie season.
Initially, this pass to Antonio Brown was ruled a completion, but as all plays occurring with under two minutes to go in the first or second half are automatically reviewed, this one was as well. James’ timing on this hit is sensational, as he hits Brown before he’s even able to get his left foot down. The play is reversed to an incompletion, and we are given one of the more iconic plays of the defensive back’s young career.
When it comes down to drafting safeties in IDP leagues, Derwin James should be one of the first players to consider selecting. The best part about his game is that even though he’s entering his sophomore season he’s already one of the most complete defensive backs in the NFL, playing virtually anywhere and doing it at a high level.
Even when looking at guys like Jamal Adams and Eddie Jackson, James compares favorably to the two, and should be on every IDP diehard’s wishlist for defensive backs.
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