NFL Preview: Best and worst teams at each position

Secondary

Best: Seattle Seahawks

Who else would it be?

Since 2013, the Seahawks have fielded a defensive backfield that looked like this:

CB: Richard Sherman – The best shutdown corner in the league and the owner of a Marshawn Lynch cardboard cutout
FS: Earl Thomas – The “George Harrison” of the Legion of Boom
SS: Kam Chancellor – The “Mongo” of the Legion of Boom
CB: Who cares? Look at the other three!

This year’s “Who cares?” is Cary Williams, former Philadelphia Eagle and constant fighter of Steve Smith. Williams switched places with Byron Maxwell, a valuable yet expendable second corner who is now overpaid in Philly.

The Seahawks’ zone defense will smother opponents, thanks in large part to how well Thomas patrols the back end of the secondary. If Chancellor ends his holdout, then the Legion will be reunited.

Worst: Washington Redskins

Washington’s secondary is entirely rebuilt with all of the wrong pieces.

Last season, Washington continually let up multiple big plays down the field, and to solve that, they added Dashon Goldson, who will not solve it. Goldson attracts splash plays, and as a result will allow multiple big plays to actually occur for the offense.

Elsewhere, Washington added Chris Culliver, a borderline starter who they will want to be their number one cornerback. They also brought in Duke Ihenacho, a Denver castoff, to possibly give the team three new starters for 2015.

As for those returning, DeAngelo Hall is coming off of a torn Achilles and is generally up and down, and neither David Amerson nor Bashaud Breeland inspire much confidence. This unit will be different, but likely not much better.

Next: Special Teams