When the Chargers opened their 2024 season, I figured their defense would be good but still have some shortcomings at corner. Cornerback was a spot that the previous regime had swung and missed on multiple times, so the cobbled together prospects of late round draft picks and value signings like Kristian Fulton probably wouldn’t move the needle that much.
Boy, was I incorrect. The Chargers are seventh in EPA per play, fourth in EPA per play against the pass, and well on their way to the playoffs in the first year of the Jim Harbaugh era. Cornerback Kristian Fulton has played well, and Elijah Molden has been a monster since coming over to LA, but rookie corner Tarheeb Still has caught my eye.
A fifth-round pick out of Maryland, Still has played his way into the starting rotation and been a quality corner for the Chargers. Still has allowed the lowest total EPA as the nearest defender among all cornerbacks with at least 20 targets this season, per Sports Information Solutions, and his -0.52 EPA per target is good for third in the NFL along that same target range. On Sunday he picked off QB Kirk Cousins twice, while showing off what’s made him such an impressive player in this defense.
What stood out about the play of Still is how instinctive he is when the ball is in the air. The Chargers play so much match coverage and ask their corners to close quickly on every ball in the air, and Still has done that so well. On his first interception, the Chargers are playing Cover 3, but instead of continuing to run with the post as the Falcons run Sail, the safety and Still pass off the route, and Still jumps in front of Drake London to grab the interception. It’s a sick play by Still, one that he’s made a lot this year with his instincts.
His second pick, a house call, was both a diabolical switch up of the coverage and another play by Still showing off his impressive break on the ball and willingness to take risks when the ball is in the air. It’s fourth down, and the Chargers show a zero blitz hoping to heat up Cousins and make his life hell. Well, at the snap the Chargers spin out to Cover 2, with the man over the second receiver flying to the deep half side of the field. Still turns to the sideline defending the flat, and he sees Cousins go to the flat because he was expecting man coverage. Still jumps the route by so much he catches the ball like five yards away from the receiver in the flat. Next thing you know, it’s a house call for Still, the first of his career. Spinning this into Cover 2 is disgusting, and the execution of it was even better.
What a call in that moment and what a play by Still.
His day wasn’t done there, however. Late in the game as the Falcons were trying to go win the game, Still rotates into the deep half as the Chargers play Cover 2, and Cousins tries to hit Drake London in the honey hole, the gap between the Deep half player (Still) and the flat player. Still is playing to the inside because of the post to the slot, so he has to make a speed turn to help make a play on this ball. We see this a lot at the NFL Combine for DB drills, and Still takes the drill to the field. He makes this turn and still knocks the ball away from London. Just an impressive play overall.
Los Angeles’ 2024 draft class is looking like a bookend one for the franchise. Adding Still in the fifth round, CB Cam Hart in the fifth round, WR Ladd McConkey in the second round and RT Joe Alt in the first is such a great way to kickstart your rebuild and all of them have played major roles in the Chargers’ resurgence.
Still came out of nowhere, taking this job and not giving it back. He’s got an upward arrow playing in this defense, and with LA facing a major challenge Sunday night against Kansas City, keep an eye on Still.
