Auburn secondary has chance to be dominant in 2023

Auburn is returning quite a bit of talent in the backend.

Lance Dawe | Jan 2, 2023

Auburn secondary has chance to be dominant in 2023 /

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Auburn Tigers

There's no denying the strength of Auburn's 2022 defense was its secondary.

Just recently, two starters in that defensive backfield announced that they would be running it back. According to Justin Hokanson of Auburn Live, cornerbacks DJ James and Nehemiah Pritchett will return to Auburn for another season.

James posted a team-best 82.4 Pro Football Focus this season after transferring from Oregon. Pritchett, who is entering his fifth season with the Tigers, finished with a career-best 37 total tackles in 2022. With these two back - alongside Keionte Scott and Donovan Kaufman on the backend - the Tigers have a legitimate chance to be one of the more dominant secondaries the Plains have seen in quite some time.

Stat of the day

Auburn's secondary gave up 6.5 yards per pass attempt in 2022, good for 26th nationally. That's the Tigers' best mark in that category since 2019.

What it means

The 2019 Tigers had a historic defense led by a strong front seven and a stingy defensive backfield. That secondary featured a slew of future NFL talent: Roger McCreary, Daniel Thomas, Noah Igbinoghene, Jamien Sherwood, and Smoke Monday.

It's yet to be determined just how much NFL talent is on roster currently, but there's reason to believe both James and Pritchett will end up being NFL Draft selections. Add in an offseason to develop in a new 4-2-5 defensive scheme, one that allows more defensive backs to shine and was Kevin Steele's calling card?

Sounds like a recipe for success.

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