Ranking the top-5 cornerback-safety duos after Chargers sign J.C. Jackson
By Jason Reed
1. Tre'Davious White and Jordan Poyer/Micah Hyde, Buffalo Bills
The only other team that has a top player at each position like the LA Chargers is the Buffalo Bills. And while this list is about duos, the Bills have two elite safeties behind Tre'Davious White, which pushes them over the edge as the no. 1 team on this list.
White got injured last season and it was a massive blow to the Bills' defense. White was on his way to being a Pro Bowler once more and probably would have gotten another Second-Team All-Pro nod at the very least. In the four seasons prior he was an All-Pro once and a Second-Team All-Pro once.
Jordan Poyer was an All-Pro in 2021 with Micah Hyde being named a Second-Team All-Pro. Poyer is a veteran in the league and took a massive jump in 2021, earning his first All-Pro nod after being an average safety the rest of his career.
Hyde is another example of a player breaking out in 2021. He earned a Pro Bowl nod and was a Second-Team All-Pro in 2017 but outside of that one season, he has been an above-average, not elite, safety.
In terms of overall talent, James is better than both Poyer and Hyde. But having both of them coming off such great years, with White ranking a bit higher on the pecking order than Jackson, the Bills get the nod. It is really close, though.
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However, by the time we do this list after the 2022 season, the Chargers are more likely to be the no. 1 ranked team because of how talented James and Jackson are and the possibility of the Bills regressing.