An apex predator in the animal kingdom is a hunter who sits at the top of the food chain with no natural predators of its own. Lions, polar bears, orcas and owls all qualify as apex predators under these parameters.
In the NFL, an apex predator is a defender who stands impervious to changes in offensive personnel. It’s a role that can be filled by any combination of positions, and a role the Dallas Cowboys have paid keen interest in upgrading under the guidance of new defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
The evolution of the slot defender role has been as apparent as it’s been impactful. Gone are the days of the diminutive, second-rate cornerback being forced into the middle. Today’s slot defender requires elite skill and versatility. It’s what Sumer Sports called the “APEX Defender” and it’s ultimately what makes successful defenses as adaptable and resilient as their offensive counterparts.
An APEX defender is a nickel defender who is physical enough to play the run, but athletic enough play the pass. He’s a player who’s not just capable in man coverage, but potentially dominant in man coverage, because modern day slot receivers are oftentimes WR1s, like in Dallas with CeeDee Lamb. Lke the tiny nickel cornerback of yesteryear, the diminutive Cole Beasley-like slot protypes are going extinct. APEX defenders have to keep up with the times and that’s why man coverage ability is king here.
APEX makes nickel personnel resilient
Offensive coordinators know defenses prefer their nickel personnel. Nickel personnel is the most used personnel group in the NFL these days and it’s not even close. It allows defenses to matchup against 11 personnel (three receivers, one back, one tight end) and prioritizes pass defense, so its usage is understandable.
Knowing this, offensive innovators have been increasing their usage of larger personnel packages. Large personnel groups force defenses out of their nickel comfort zones and into lesser used base personnel. Base personnel, which swaps a defensive back for a linebacker, opens up loads of opportunities in the passing game for the offense with the best opportunities coming from the slot.
By dictating personnel, offenses gain matchup advantages after defenses adjust. But defensive coaches like Mike McDaniel, Vic Fangio and Parker know they can beat offenses at their own game, all by employing APEX defenders on their nickel personnel group. With an APEX, they no longer feel obligated to change personnel because the APEX can do it all with elite proficiency. What used to be a second-rate position is now arguably the most critical.
Across the NFL, elite defenses are moving their best coverman from the outside to the inside to play on obvious passing situations. As Bradley Locker pointed out at PFF, three of the top five defenses in the NFL last year ranked in the top five in nickel usage rate.
It’s here where the Cowboys’ rookie Caleb Downs really differentiates himself.
He’s not just the APEX on early downs, but also those obvious passing situations. No matter what offenses do with their personnel, Downs is equipped to defend in a way very few can. Even some of the best-known APEX defenders like Seattle Seahawks’ safety Nick Emmanwori will be asked to vacate the role in obvious passing situations. Downs brings extra man coverage ability to the role few can.
“What an investment in the slot defender allows you to do is not worry about all these personnel changes,” said Sam Bruchhaus of Sumer Sports. “It basically puts you in position where the window dressing is taken away…you can play your defense the way you want it to be.”
Middle > Sideline
The biggest gains on offense, from an EPA perspective, are passes down the middle of the field. And with teams making many of those gains in large personnel packages lined up in tight formations, it makes APEX defenders all the more important.
With Downs, and to a lesser extent, Jalen Thompson, manning that APEX role on defense, offenses can’t force Dallas to do any personnel changes Parker doesn’t want to do. Like Cooper DeJean in Philadelphia, Downs is Parker’s not-so-secret weapon in the middle. He can be moved around if needs be, but he has no discernable weakness and doesn’t ever have to leave the field because of matchups.
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