Next Big Thing: The Rise of Nickelbacks, the NFL’s Most Versatile Perfomers

The Steelers are renowned for their 3-4 defense. They have used the alignment since the early 1980s, the final days of the Steel Curtain era. The 3-4 is part of their identity, a tradition that dates back to Kevin Greene and Greg Lloyd and continues through James Harrison and Lawrence Timmons today. 

So if you ask defensive coordinator Kevin Butler if the Steelers still run a 3-4 defense, he will assure you that they do. “That’s what we are,” he said during training camp, “26 percent of the time.

“And then, 74 percent of the time we’re not. We’re a 4-2-5, 4-1-6, depending on how technical you want to be.”

If we are getting technical, then isn’t what you are 74 percent of the time really what you are?

“The nickel’s gonna be our base,” Butler continued. “When they go to three wide receivers on first and second down, that’s our base.”

The Steelers aren’t alone. Nickel is the base defense around the NFL. Talking about 3-4 and 4-3 defenses is like talking about television antennas and floppy disks.

With the rise of the nickel, the nickelback (or slot corner, nickel corner or whatever each team calls him) has become a starter, no matter what is says on the official depth chart, which was handed down from the days of Tom Landry and far more important to the press pool than the coaching staff anyway.

In fact, the nickelback is more than just a starter. He’s a Swiss army knife who may tangle with the left tackle on a first-down run, cover the craftiest receiver on the field on second down and blitz on third down. “He has the hardest job,” according to Bills defensive backs coach Tim McDonald.

Given the importance of the position, you would think by now that some nickelbacks would be on the path to stardom. Yet there is exactly one famous nickel defender in the entire NFL: Arizona’s Tyrann Mathieu. And even the Honey Badger is officially classified as a safety, despite the fact that he has a much more obvious impact in the nickel position.

As Mathieu’s fame, recognition and (after a massive offseason contract extension) wealth grow, he is becoming the standard bearer for a new breed of defender: the nickelback as playmaker, difference-maker, cornerstone of the defense and bona fide superstar.

Now all the NFL needs is 31 other defenders just like him.

   

Inside, Outside and Everywhere in Between

There was a buzz at Giants training camp the day the team signed Leon Hall in early August. Hall wasn’t just a third or fourth cornerback for a team that has spent years just trying to find two good, healthy ones. He was a “slot cornerback” by reputation. A traditional starting cornerback for many years, the 31-year-old slid inside late in his Bengals career. He was signed specifically to play in the slot for the Giants.

By all accounts, he excelled in the nickelback role for the Bengals. But what, exactly, was that role?

Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, like most NFL coaches during press conferences, was not in the mood to offer strategic specifics. “He can play inside, he can play outside, he can play off, he can play back, he can play defensive tackle, he can play linebacker,” Spagnuolo said.

Spagnuolo then chuckled; defensive tackle may have been taking things a little too far. “Nah. He’s played inside, which is nice.”

But Coach, what does it take for a cornerback to excel on the inside?

Spagnuolo gestured to his head. “Chin to the hairline first. You do have to be smart on the inside. It’s about reading routes.”

So it takes brains. But other coaches had other requirements.

“You gotta enjoy the briar patch a little bit,” Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “You gotta have the courage to throw your body in there against 240-pound running backs. You might have to take on a pulling guard from time to time, or a tight end.”

OK, brains and brawn. What else?

“It’s got to be a guy who can work side-to-side, good lateral movement,” McDonald said after echoing the need to be able to think and play the run.

“Most of the time, the slot receivers are the best route-runners,” Butler said. “They’re a little bit quicker than they are outside; they put their pure speed guys outside. And sometimes, they’ll move their No. 1 receiver inside to get one-on-one matchups.” In other words, the slot corner not only faces a different kind of receiver than the traditional corner, but often a better one.

Wait, Spagnuolo wasn’t finished. “We bring that guy in pressure,” he said. “We send him back deep. We do a lot of things with those guys.”

In summary, the nickelback must be able to tackle, take on offensive linemen, read routes, move laterally, cover quick receivers, cover elite receivers, cover in short areas, cover deep and rush the passer. Anything else? Kick field goals? Cook omelets?

“Those guys are hard to find,” McDonald said. Can’t imagine why.

“Some guys can play both [outside cornerback and nickelback], some guys can’t,” Schwartz said.

Hall is one of the guys who can play both. He moved back and forth from cornerback to nickelback in college, which is unusual; most top recruits and prospects at cornerback either match up with the opponent’s top receiver or lock down one side of the field. “It started early on for me,” Hall said. “Being able to do both, then transitioning into the NFL and doing the same thing was a natural transition.”

Despite his college experience, Hall still faced a major adjustment when running backs began to charge in his direction: “Early in my career, I didn’t really think about the run game. I just reacted to it. As opposed to now, I see guards and centers, tackles and quarterbacks doing certain things and I pick up on it.”

Hall has been the Giants’ fourth cornerback early in the season; the team has enjoyed an unusual period of good health. But even fourth cornerbacks see lots of action. Hall played 41 snaps in Week 2 against the Saints according to Pro Football Focus, almost exclusively in the slot. He held his receivers to just 15 yards, recorded a sack and was a factor in run support. He started and played 46 snaps against Washington in Week 3, with two tackles and a pass defensed. These are typical slot-corner stat lines: not eye-popping, but critical to the success of the defense.

When we think about nickelbacks, we don’t think much about run support. After all, nickelbacks are often cornerbacks like Hall, and cornerbacks are expected to cover receivers first and worry about the run as an afterthought, right?

Wrong. Not all nickelbacks are cornerbacks. And the position’s origins are much rougher and tougher than you might think.

   

Children of Sam

Football was a simpler game back in the late 20th century. Offenses …

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