15. Chris Harris, CB, Broncos

Harris has become one of the most important defensive players in the league, regardless of position.

Doug Farrar | Jul 1, 2016

15. Chris Harris, CB, Broncos /

No cornerback in the NFL gives his team as much functional versatility as Harris. In 2013, he allowed a 65.6 passer rating on 393 slot snaps and didn’t give up a single touchdown while registering three interceptions. In 2014, he gave up 20 receptions on 32 targets for 143 yards, no touchdowns, one interception and a 59.8 opposing quarterback rating. Those numbers put him near the top of the slot list, but his performance in ’15—a season in which the Broncos won the Super Bowl on the back of their defense—saw him on another level. Harris allowed 20 catches on 35 targets on 335 slot snaps, with no touchdowns, two interceptions and an opposing QB rating of 43.4. So, over the last three seasons, quarterbacks throwing to Harris in the slot have no touchdowns and six picks. Harris has become one of the most important defensive players in the league, regardless of position.

Published Jul 1, 2016

DOUG FARRAR

SI.com contributing NFL writer and Seattle resident Doug Farrar started writing about football locally in 2002, and became Football Outsiders' West Coast NFL guy in 2006. He was fascinated by FO's idea to combine Bill James with Dr. Z, and wrote for the site for six years. He wrote a game-tape column called "Cover-2" for a number of years, and contributed to six editions of "Pro Football Prospectus" and the "Football Outsiders Almanac." In 2009, Doug was invited to join Yahoo Sports' NFL team, and covered Senior Bowls, scouting combines, Super Bowls, and all sorts of other things for Yahoo Sports and the Shutdown Corner blog through June, 2013. Doug received the proverbial offer he couldn't refuse from SI.com in 2013, and that was that. Doug has also written for the Seattle Times, the Washington Post, the New York Sun, FOX Sports, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine. He also makes regular appearances on several local and national radio shows, and has hosted several podcasts over the years. He counts Dan Jenkins, Thomas Boswell, Frank Deford, Ralph Wiley, Peter King, and Bill Simmons as the writers who made him want to do this for a living. In his rare off-time, Doug can be found reading, hiking, working out, searching for new Hendrix, Who, and MC5 bootlegs, and wondering if the Mariners will ever be good again.