received a mark of approval from his peers, but it probably wasn’t the one he wanted — or, arguably, the one he deserved.
Despite earning his third selection and his first first-team all-pro honor last season, the Broncos cornerback was voted by his fellow players as the 63rd-best player on the NFL’s annual top-100 list for 2016, a drop from his No. 52 ranking in 2015.
Although the Broncos went 9-7 without a postseason berth, their “No-Fly Zone” secondary led the NFL in pass defense for the second consecutive season and even improved on its mark of 199.6 yards passing allowed per game in 2015, Denver’s -winning season, to 185.8 yards in 2016.
Harris was a primary reason.
In 16 games (15 starts), he notched 63 total tackles, two interceptions returned for a total of 36 yards, 11 pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery. He also played 1,094 snaps (95.5 percent of the defense), the most of any Broncos defender.
The six-year veteran was graded by Pro Football Focus as the NFL’s best cornerback overall (92.9 rating) last year, as well as the best in coverage (92.7 grade). , Harris led all cornerbacks with 28 defensive stops and allowed only 8.9 yards per reception.
Over the last five NFL seasons, no cornerback has allowed fewer yards per coverage snap than Chris Harris Jr. 🔒
— PFF (@PFF)
Harris also picked up his third Pro Bowl selection to become one of only five undrafted cornerbacks in pro football history to earn three or more selections (2014-16). His two picks also made him one of only five cornerbacks to record multiple interceptions in each of the last five seasons.
Last year seven Denver players were voted to the NFL’s top 100: wide receiver (No. 74), safety (68), wide receiver (62), Harris (52), outside linebacker (36), cornerback (34) and outside linebacker (15). Harris is so far the first Bronco to be revealed on the 2016 list. The remaining players will be announced on NFL Network in weekly increments of 10.
