With two talented players returning to the Los Angeles Chargers for the same position, someone has to emerge victorious…
When a mailbag topic comes in from a fellow Los Angeles Chargers fan that’s filled to the brim with juicy content, I like to expand upon it in a standalone article. This one, from Edgar, details the debate on who should start between Jason Verrett and Trevor Williams.
The two players will be evaluated via the following four criteria:
- Their “measurables”
- Dependability and consistency
- Playing history
- Team chemistry
Each player will be given an edge in a category they win, and a final verdict will (hopefully) be made at the end. Your job is to read through and decide for yourself which of the two deserves the No. 2 cornerback spot next to Casey Hayward. Let’s dive in!
The “measurables”
I want to state beforehand that I am taking Verrett’s numbers as if his leg injury has not cost him his speed or strength, and assuming that both players are equally healthy and ready to go. With that said, here’s how the two stack up:
Verrett: 5-10, 188 pounds, 26 years old. 40 time: 4.38s
Williams: 5-11, 191 pounds, 24 years old. 40 time: 4.45s
I’m actually a little bit shocked that Williams measures up that closely to Verrett, as I’ve always thought of him to look as a much bigger corner than Verrett, typically viewed as a much smaller one. Still, watching the two play football, Verrett is the much faster and twitchier player.
If he’s as good as he once was, his change of direction while covering every route is second-to-none. One was a first round pick and the other an undrafted free agent for a reason, and for that I’ve still got to give the win here to the former Horned Frog.
Edge: Jason Verrett
Dependability and consistency
A starting corner needs to be reliable; in a defense as young and talented as the one the Chargers will field in 2018, staying on the field to build a rhythm and gel together is even more imperative. Unfortunately, Verrett has barely seen the field.
Of a possible 64 games in his first four seasons, he’s only appeared in 25, putting him at only 39.06 percent available for his entire career. Williams, while not even a true starter until Week 2 of the 2018 season, has already played in 28 of 32 possible games, which is more appearances and and clearly a higher percentage (87.50 percent) than Verrett over half as many years.
One of the famous football mantras states, “The best ability is availability“. As it stands right now, Verrett is anything but available and reportedly is not cleared to practice. I assume the team is being extra cautious with him, as it turns out he was not fully ready to return last season and it cost him 15 games. This one’s easy.
Edge: Trevor Williams