PFF: Ravens safety duo top five in yet another category

Over the course of this offseason, the Ravens have taken many steps to improve its defense. The marquee signing was safety Tony Jefferson. Adding Jefferson to the back end of the defense that already had Eric Weddle, seemed like a spectacular move by Ozzie Newsome, giving the Ravens arguably the best safety duo in the NFL. Pro Football Focus has graded the two safeties in the top five in many categories throughout the 2016 season, and it turns out that the two are in the top five in another category.

According to Pro Football Focus, Jefferson was tied for the NFL lead with 27 run stops in 2016, while Weddle finished third with 24.

Both Jefferson and Weddle are both known as in the box safeties, so their success against the run doesn’t come as much of a surprise at all. In fact, PFF gave Jefferson a 98.0 grade in run defense, and Weddle received a 90.7. They both love to come up to the line of scrimmage and make tackles, and on top of that, they are both reliable tacklers.

Not only are the two Ravens safeties among the top five best in terms of run stops, but PFF has them graded among the top five in overall grades. Weddle was the number one safety in 2016 with a 92.4 grade, while Jefferson was fifth, coming in with an 88.6. With two very talented safeties on the back end, this revamped Ravens defense should be fun to watch in 2017 and beyond.