Don’t Forget Seahawks Other Rising Cornerback

Shaquill Griffin has played like a Pro Bowler and deserves plenty of acclaim for his breakout third season. But he hasn’t been the only promising young cornerback to show dramatic improvements for Seattle this season.

If you subscribe to the theory Pro Football Focus grades speak the truth for the play of every single NFL player, then you’d be under the impression Seahawks cornerback Tre Flowers has regressed substantially in 2019.

But while fellow secondary running mate Shaquill Griffin has justifiably been showered with praise this season, the criticism of Flowers’ play respectively has been baffling and quite frankly, erroneous.

Now in his second season out of Oklahoma State, Flowers certainly has ways to go before he can join Griffin in the discussion among the league’s best cornerbacks. He’s already allowed 452 receiving yards when targeted and only has three passes defensed in nine games.

Still, after receiving a respectable 62.9 grade from Pro Football Focus as a rookie, a deeper dig into film and statistics suggests Flowers is receiving a raw deal on his current evaluation, which is nearly 20 points lower than last year.

In the season opener against the Bengals, Flowers produced 10 tackles, but that’s not necessarily a good thing for an NFL cornerback. He gave up a lot of quick receptions as the Seahawks yielded over 400 passing yards to Andy Dalton and also extended several drives with penalties in that game.

But after subsequent rough outings against the Saints and Rams, Flowers has turned his season around and despite Pro Football Focus continuing to hand out poor grades, his overall production actually has improved from a year ago in most meaningful metrics. In fact, according to Pro Football Reference, many of his numbers closely mirror Griffin.

Opposing quarterbacks have completed only 58.2 percent of throws and posted a 77.4 passer rating when targeting Flowers. Comparatively, he allowed a 63.3 percent completion rate and a 106.9 rating when targeted in 2018. He’s also yielding nearly three yards less per completion (14.1 to 11.6) and has surrendered just one receiving touchdown.

Looking at Griffin’s advanced stats, he’s only allowed quarterbacks to complete 50.9 percent of passes against him. However, he’s posted similar numbers to Flowers in yards per completion (11.0) and opposing passer rating (73.9). Each player has also been credited with eight missed tackles.

As a converted college safety, Flowers brings a different skill set to the table than Griffin. Though he’s not quite as fast and still mastering technique, his long 6-foot-3, 203-pound frame makes him an ideal press coverage cornerback in Seattle’s scheme. Given his prior positional background, he’s also more adept stopping the run and blitzing off the edge.

Those differing traits have been far more noticeable recently, as Flowers has made numerous noteworthy plays during Seattle’s past five games.

With the Seahawks trailing the Browns 20-12 in Week 6, Flowers reeled in his first career NFL interception, picking off Baker Mayfield to immediately stifle a promising drive. The next week, he drilled Ravens tight end Mark Andrews with a Madden-caliber hit stick to stop him short of the sticks and force a punt.

Then on Monday Night Football against the 49ers in Week 10, Flowers recorded his first career sack as he was sent off the corner on a blitz and he got home to bring down Jimmy Garoppolo. Later in the game, he nearly made a spectacular interception off a deflection deep in San Francisco territory.

As a friendly reminder, Flowers has only played cornerback for two seasons since high school. While he’s made tremendous strides since entering the league under the tutelage of coach Pete Carroll and Seattle’s coaching staff, he’s still raw and remains far from a finished product.

Much as Griffin has done this year, Flowers will have a chance to soar in 2020 with a third offseason under his belt to continue harnessing technique. But don’t discount what the ascending 24-year old is doing for the Seahawks right now, as he’s quietly putting together a stellar second campaign and will play a vital role down the stretch.