Logan Ryan: The Good, the Great and the Ugly
The New York Giants finally added defensive back Logan Ryan, who had been linked to New York since the free-agent period began and whom head coach Joe Judge admitted was someone with whom they had previous discussions about uniting.
Ryan has worked with Joe Judge in the past, and he recently came off a 103 total tackles (led the league), nine tackles for a loss (led the league), 12 passes defended, five interceptions, and 15 total pressure campaign with the Titans.
"I think Logan’s a guy who comes to work every day with the right demeanor," Judge told reporters Tuesday. "He’s a smart guy that plays tough on the field.
"He really works on his craft. He’s not just a guy who’s out there, kind of ‘this is what I am.’ He’s always looking to work on maybe something that hurt him the year before and he’s looking to always go ahead and improve on his strengths."
Ryan recently changed representation, and within a week of doing so, he had a new one year deal worth up to $7.5 million.
The experienced, two-time Super Bowl champion has the capability of wearing many hats for this defense. He has experience playing near the line of scrimmage as an apex defender, covering the slot as well, on the boundary, and at free safety.
In 2019, he played 855 snaps in the slot, 243 at wide corner, and 180 times in the box, according to Pro Football Focus.
"He brings a lot of versatility," Judge said. "He’s a smart, tough football player. We’re glad to have him. We have had a lot of guys in the defensive backfield make a lot of improvements every day. It’ll be good to get him in the mix with all of those guys."
There’s a reason to be excited about the addition, so let’s dive into this week’s edition of the Good, the Great, and the Ugly.
The Good: Run Defense
Sub-six foot and sub-200 pound defensive backs aren’t always known for their ability to come up to the line of scrimmage and stick a running back, but Ryan has that in his game.
The former Patriot and Titan doesn’t “lay the boom,” but he consistently puts himself into a good position to make tackles on the ball carrier.
Against Oakland, Ryan is able to make two separate impressive tackles within the box; the first one is quick recognition (with a designed blitz disguised well) off the snap to beat the wide receiver to his blocking point.
From there, Ryan crashes down the line of scrimmage and makes a hard tackle against the Raiders’ running back.
In the second clip, Ryan is keyed by the wide receiver’s shift right before the snap. He anticipates the run and crashes down the line of scrimmage hard, avoids blocks, and makes the tackle in the middle of the scrimmage line.
He does something similar below against Damian Williams, No. 26 of the Chiefs. Ryan crashes down the line of scrimmage, and tight end Travis Kelce, No. 87, who is attempting to trap block, is put into a tough spot to pick between a blitzing Ryan and the end man on the line of scrimmage.
Ryan is able to stay tight to the line and avoid Kelce’s blocking attempt while making the tackle on the play. Titans’ coach Mike Vrabel trusted Ryan on the blitz against the run and pass; this is one reason why he had five sacks last season, which led the league among corners.
This is just an impressive angle by Ryan, who follows the motioning lead blocker on the designed outside quarterback run.
Ryan is able to see the run blocking break down, take a wide-angle, and then box Lamar Jackson inside, mitigating the space for the athletic quarterback to operate. Ryan out-paces the lead blocker and doesn’t allow Jackson outside.
Ryan also does a solid job as a force defender in the run, something that some cornerbacks struggle to perform at a solid level.
The Buccaneers are in the red zone above, and the defensive end and outside linebacker are tasked to crash inside the overloaded tight end side of the line of scrimmage.
They’re then replaced by Ryan and safety outside. Watch how Ryan easily replaces the defender and then puts himself into a position to make an easy, low wrap up tackle against Peyton Barber.
Ryan does the same thing here against Nick Chubb of the Browns, but he’s the only defensive back there to contain the outside when the defensive end crashes the B-gap.
This is on the back-side of a two-tight end set, and he fills while protecting the cut-back lane from exposure.
This isn’t necessarily “run defense,” but it’s a clearout route with a dumb off to Latavius Murray in an ample space where Ryan has to make an open-field tackle.
Ryan is able to see the routes break down and come up a bit as the slot defender. He squares up to Murray, breaks down, and puts the running back into a tough spot to evade. Then he wraps Murray up and makes the open field tackle.
The Great: Hands at Catch Point
Ryan had 12 passes defended and five interceptions last season. He knows how to get his hands in the way of receivers and be disruptive, just like he does below against Scotty Miller and the Buccaneers.
Ryan is on the boundary side of the field playing outside cornerback against a receiver who reduces his split via shift pre-snap. Ryan has a ton of space to be responsible for, and Miller’s route is a deep vertical to the opposite side’s pylon.
The Buccaneers are in 13 personnel, and Ryan is aware that he has no safety help, so he maintains his outside shade against Miller and is able to close width and get to the outside hip of a fleeing Miller throughout his stem.
Then Ryan is able to leap and get his hands on the football to force an incompletion. This shows that the 29-year-old still has some wheels, an ability to be trusted outside on an island, and that lovely ability to disrupt passes at the catch point.
Ryan utilizes awareness and reactionary quickness to not allow Pat Mahomes to high-low him in a flat/curl combination between two receiving options. Ryan’s the slot defender inside of the outside stack.
He drops to his zone coverage, feeling the receiver’s route while eyeing down an unoccupied underneath route. At the same time, he’s able to notice where Patrick Mahomes is attempting to throw the football.
He slightly flows outside to the flare route but recognizes Mahomes going to the open spot route just inside Ryan’s position. Ryan baits Mahomes, jumps into the catch point and knocks the ball away for an incompletion.
He knocks another Mahomes ball down against the receiver releasing outside in the tight stack. Ryan positions himself to allow for an easy release outside, but he still undercuts the throw and knocks the pass away, after sugaring the B-gap pre-snap.
This doesn’t end up being a turnover, but Ryan plays this fantastically against Michael Thomas, one of the best wide receivers in football. Ryan is lined up in the slot and sticks with Michael Thomas up his stem and through his release.
Drew Brees attempts to hit Thomas with a back-shoulder throw, but Ryan is able to get to the receiver’s back shoulder and violently rip at the ball once it’s caught.
This forces Thomas to relinquish the ball, and the result is an incomplete pass. Ryan’s in a good position is sticky in coverage, and he’s a nuisance to deal with through the catch point for wide receivers.
Here is a case of 11-personnel with Ryan on the slot receiver Sammy Watkins, No. 14, with Demarcus Robinson, No. 11, outside on the boundary. This is a pick/wheel route where Robinson is supposed to legally rub Ryan off the route, effectively releasing Watkins into space on the wheel.
Ryan does an excellent job avoiding the traffic of Robinson and getting into a position to knock the ball away from Watkins. This is a quick bang-bang type of play that could have easily resulted in a touchdown, but Ryan was able to stay on his toes and put himself back into a position to force a pass defended.
Above are two interceptions that Ryan made early in the season where he undercuts passes out of breaks and comes away with the football.
He’s able to easily stick with Jarvis Landry and ride his outside hip while using good timing to jump Baker Mayfield’s throw, and displaying strong hands to come away with the pick.
Against the Colts, the pivot route is handled well by Ryan, and a slightly inside throw gives Ryan just enough space to come away with the interception.
The Ugly: Penalties
Ryan was the most targeted cornerback in the league last season; penalties tend to occur when that happens.
Ryan was guilty of 11 penalties last season (including playoffs), most of them being defensive holding.
Ryan also surrendered 1,098 yards and seven touchdowns while giving up a 70.2% catch rate. According to PFF, he ranked 79th in their coverage grade, for what that’s worth.
I saw a few plays through my film study that suggested poor communication between the secondary pieces in Tennessee, but I don’t believe all of that can be assigned to Ryan.
Penalties will happen, and Ryan was tied for sixth in the league at the cornerback position for committing these fouls, yet his addition still can’t be soured.
Let’s hope the tennis ball trick Joe Judge and Jerome Henderson use in practice will mitigate these penalties.
Final Thoughts
The Giants are significantly better now than they were before they signed Ryan. The former third-round selection in 2013 brings a lot of experience, versatility, competency, and aggressiveness to this Patrick Graham led defense.
Graham was also on the Patriots' defensive coaching staff with Ryan for three seasons throughout the early parts of Ryan’s career. Ryan was deployed mostly on the boundary and in the slot, with his slot snaps increased in 2015.
If the Giants do not sign another veteran cornerback such as Prince Amukamara, and if Corey Ballentine, Darnay Holmes, and/or Jarren Williams fails to seize the starting boundary role, I can see Ryan being the outside cornerback with Holmes in the slot.
If I’m a betting man, I think Ryan will have a versatile role that will play him all over the second level, depending on matchup and context. This is a good, non-expensive option to the Giants' biggest problem heading into the 2020 NFL season.
(Video clips via NFL Game Pass.)
