By the Numbers: New Titans S Matthias Farley

The Tennessee Titans confirmed the signing of former Jets and Colts safety Matthias Farley on a one-year deal.

Farley is a five-year NFL veteran who played the past two seasons with the Jets. Farley played in all 16 games in 2020, and he made a pair of starts. He was credited with 21 tackles on the season, along with three passes defended, in addition to his work on special teams. He played his college football at Notre Dame, where he was voted a team captain in his later years.

It wasn’t the last time Farley was elected a team captain, as he held that honor for the Jets’ special teams unit in 2020. I expect Farley to do some heavy lifting on special teams for the Titans in 2021.

Farley should also serve as a backup safety. I expect him to make the roster and the team is a bit thin at the position currently. Kevin Byard and Amani Hooker will be your starters, and Dane Cruikshank will serve as the main backup. But you need more than three safeties, and Farley should be currently viewed as the fourth option.

Let’s take a deeper look into how PFF graded Farley throughout the 2020 season.

Total snaps played on defense: 201

Run defense snaps: 63

Pass rush snaps: 19

Coverage snaps: 119

Solo tackles: 8

Assists: 7

Sacks: 0

Times targeted in the passing game: 8

Receptions allowed: 2

Interceptions: 0

* S with at least 20% of league-highest volume are ranked.

Overall grade: 57.4

Run defense grade: 41.1

Pass rush grade: 74.6

Coverage grade: 60.5

These numbers don’t paint a full picture of Farley’s ability, as they don’t include the wonderful work he did on special teams. Farley has been credited with 28 special teams tackles over the course of his career.