Auburn's Deep Corner Room Presents Positive Problem

Kayin Lee

Of the three, Lee is the teeth-rattler.

He loves to hit but has improved his ability to break on the ball and use late hands to knock the ball away. With a physical corner, you'd expect them to thrive solely on tackling and short-yardage coverage.

Lee has not surrendered a touchdown this year, and opponents have only gained 38 yards after the catch. With his striking ability, you can see Lee also playing a bit at safety.

Jay Crawford

Crawford plays like a combination of the two. You can see physical traits like Lee's, but some aspects of Pleasant are covered. Allowing catches on just 52.6% of targets means that he stays inside the opponent's numbers, with the ability to mirror and run.

Most importantly, defensive coordinator DJ Durkin occasionally slides Crawford into a free safety spot, giving the subpackages another cover corner the ability to make plays.

Snap Issue

Head coach Hugh Freeze discussed the ability to rotate his defensive backfield.

“We’ve got to find a way to get your best coverage guys on the field in critical moments," he said. "There were times all three were on the field. The only negative, honestly, is that we’ve been rotating a ton of people.”

Freeze must mix other playmakers, like Raion Strader and Champ Anthony, into the rotation. While people expected some success defensively, Auburn's defense, from stem to stern, continues to shine. As a result, finding quality reps is difficult.

According to PFF, Lee tallied 396 snaps, while Crawford played 382, and Pleasant claimed 236. Those numbers will increase down the stretch.

Bottom Line

Auburn's healthy cornerback grouping helps its stout defensive front play even better. The team benefits from a sound pass rush, while the front enjoys the coverage hurries/sacks that come from a lack of open receivers.

How far can the unit carry the team with four games to go?

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