Cooks, Sanders among CB Morris Claiborne's toughest 2017 matchups

Former Dallas Cowboys cornerback Morris Claiborne has historically stayed on one side of the field, and last season, he ran 90.5 percent of his coverage snaps from the left corner position. If Claiborne sticks in the left corner spot in 2017 for the New York Jets, he’ll likely have to square off against a slew of quality receivers, as 12 of his 16 projected matchups (projected matchups based on which receiver took the most snaps at right wide receiver in 2016) will be against players who earned top-50 overall grades at the position last season. We’ve highlighted a few of those projected matchups here.

• Among all of Claiborne’s projected matchups for 2017, Broncos WR Emmanuel Sanders posted the highest overall grade in 2016, at 83.3, — 15th highest grade among 113 qualified receivers.

• Claiborne will need to be ready to cover deep when he matches up with new Tampa Bay Buccaneers wideout DeSean Jackson, who saw 36 percent of his targets last season come on passes of 20 yards downfield or further, the third-highest rate in the league.

• Last season, Drew Brees recorded a 119.2 rating when targeting Brandin Cooks, who now plays for the Patriots. Cooks' new passer, Tom Brady, was the highest-graded QB in the 2016 season.

• New Cleveland Browns wide receiver Kenny Britt averaged 2.00 yards per route run with the Rams last season, the 16th-best mark among 96 qualifying receivers. Britt dominated corners on crossing routes, earning the highest WR rating (158.3) of any receiver in the NFL — 12 points highest than the second closest receiver. On crossing routes, Britt caught 15 of 17 targets for 224 yards and two touchdowns.