As the seventh-overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, Joe Haden has always had a reputation of being a very good cornerback in the NFL, even when most people don’t usually watch the Cleveland Browns play. Being a high pick, starting early in his rookie season and snagging a few quick interceptions creates the perception among fans that Haden is among the league’s elite, even without much other evidence--a (sometimes false) perception that early success creates of most players. With Haden set to become the highest-paid cornerback in terms of guaranteed money in the NFL, I decided to find out if he’s really worth his payout as one of the league’s elite.

Week 1 Dolphins @ Browns

40:26 Haden is thrown at for the first time while covering Mike Wallace one-on-one on a go route. Haden is able to stay with Wallace and successfully keep the ball from being completed. But Haden doesn’t turn and look for the ball well and the slight contact he initiates with Wallace here could have been a penalty if the refs really wanted to call it, since Wallace is looking for the ball and Haden isn’t.

45:51 Haden misses what should be a routine tackle. He comes unblocked to attempt the tackle and barely gets a whiff of the running back. The Browns are paying Haden to cover, not tackle, however he should still be an able run-supporter.

46:32 Haden loses track of Wallace here after a nice route by Wallace. Cleveland seems to be playing one-on-one man coverage across the board, so Haden’s most important job is not to let Wallace get behind him. Still, his lack of awareness and ability to stick with Wallace on this play are definite minuses.

47:31 When Haden turns his head to look for the ball, he loses track of Wallace and Wallace is able to gain separation. If Tannehill’s ball was more accurate, Wallace was open enough to make the relatively easy catch for the big gain. Cornerbacks like Richard Sherman and Darrelle Revis are usually able to use their bodies to gain favorable position on the receivers as they turn to locate the ball, which Haden is unable to do here.

1:01:40 Haden shows his agility and good hip movement as he flips from facing toward the sideline to covering the in-breaking route toward the middle of the field.

Week 2 Browns @ Ravens

1:36 Haden plays Torrey Smith perfectly here, hip to hip, and uses his body to gain position and keep track of the receiver as he turns to look for the ball. He then locates the ball and uses his long arms to make a play on it, tipping it away and preventing the completion in essentially one-on-one coverage.

10:09 Haden tracks Smith into the slot, which is arguably harder to defend than guarding an outside receiver because the slot gives the receiver more room with which to work. Smith uses this to his advantage and runs across the field away from Haden, but Haden shows impressive speed to keep up with the explosive Smith and make the tackle to eliminate any yards-after-catch opportunity.

10:23 For whatever reason, Haden loses track of Smith and is slow following him in his cut toward the sideline, leaving Smith open.

34:43 Haden again loses half a step and loses Smith a little bit as he turns to locate the ball. This drop by Smith on a perfect throw by Flacco should have been a touchdown.

45:43 This is pretty good one-on-one coverage by Haden on Smith’s skinny post route, as Haden plays outside leverage technique in order to funnel Smith inside toward free safety help. However, a perfect throw by Flacco wins out and Smith makes the catch on Haden.

1:03:05 Haden is right on Smith the whole time, and seems to run the deep comeback for the receiver. Whether this is the result of film study or great anticipation, great job by Haden.

Week 4 Bengals @ Browns

6:41 AJ Green gets a great release off the line and turns Haden around. Haden gets lulled to sleep at first and then Green is able to create separation and get open, but Andy Dalton is not able to deliver an accurate ball.

15:25 This is the second time Haden has struggled with a quick cut by a receiver in this game. Mohammed Sanu jukes Haden to the ground this time.

27:48 Haden walls off Green to prevent him from catching the fade pass by beating Green to his path.

1:01:25 Haden does an excellent job mirroring Sanu in off-coverage and putting his foot in the ground here to run the route with the receiver and make a play on the ball.

1:02:52 Here is another instance of off-coverage in which Haden makes a clean break to make a play to break up the pass.

Week 6 Lions @ Browns

9:47 One thing I noticed about Haden is his willingness to get physical tackling receivers on shorter routes. He doesn’t hesitate and isn’t afraid of contact in this context.

11:43 Haden is slow getting his hips around here, and the receiver is able to gain some separation.

17:37 Haden gets physical with Calvin Johnson here and again excels at planting his foot and exploding back toward the line of scrimmage to make a play.

Mike Pettine’s defense in Cleveland next year will be very similar to Rex Ryan’s defense in New York, as Pettine spent over a decade learning under Ryan. This means that a lot of stress will be placed on the Browns’ cornerbacks in one-on-one coverage as Pettine draws up blitzes that will put his corners in tough situations relatively often, especially on third down. This is largely why the Browns value and paid Haden so much, and this means Haden will have to be at the top of his game consistently next year if the Browns will be successful.

The good news for the Browns is that Haden seems to have the athleticism and instincts to be a great fit for their scheme. He has good explosion when he plants his foot to come back to the ball or ball carrier and also has exceptional coordination and long arms when it comes to his ball skills.

However, the bad news is that Haden has not appeared to reach the height of his talents yet, and going into the fifth year of his career, might never do so. He isn’t the fastest corner in the world, but that’s okay, as Richard Sherman has shown. However, to compensate for lack of speed, Sherman uses impeccable technique and proper footwork and body positioning to put himself in the right place to make a play.

Haden is not as adept at this. He could work on walling the receiver off with his body as the cornerback turns to locate the football, as you will see Haden lose his receiver at times when he turns his back, thereby letting the receiver gain favorable position for making a play.

He also seems to struggle with receivers occasionally at the line of scrimmage when they make quick cuts to get off the line cleanly. Haden will often appear a step slow to react in these situations, especially when he is in press coverage. He appears to have tight hips, which can probably be attributed to footwork issues.

Haden is no scrub—he’s a good cornerback. He does his job for the most part, and usually shadows the opposing team’s number one receiver. He is rarely left on an island though, and usually receives help, be it from a safety in one- or two-high looks. This will change next year, as Pettine’s defense will likely call for Haden to guard the other team’s top receiver one-on-one with no help on a greater number of occasions. Then we will see how good Haden really is. 

You can reach Andrew McKagan here or follow him on Twitter.