Richard Sherman opened the decade as a senior at Stanford. He finished it as the best cornerback of the 2010s.
When the decade came to a close Tuesday, Pro Football Focus tweeted out the highest-rated cornerbacks of the decade and Sherman was alone at the top.
Richard Sherman has been the NFL's best CB this decade pic.twitter.com/1JoJmuPeOO
— PFF (@PFF) December 31, 2019
Even in a decade with several lockdown corners, Sherman was the cream of the crop. From 2012-15, Sherman, along with safeties Earl Thomas and Kam Chancellor, anchored the fearsome Seattle Seahawks defense known as the "Legion of Boom."
Sherman made four Pro Bowls and was named first-team All-Pro three times during his time with the Seahawks.
After rupturing his Achilles in 2017, Sherman left the Seahawks and signed with the 49ers. He had a bit of a down year in 2018 as he worked to get back to full strength, but he was dominant this season as the Red and Gold finished the season 13-3 and grabbed the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
Richard Sherman's 2019 season (rank among CBs):
PFF Overall Grade: 88.9 (1st)
PFF Coverage Grade: 90.1 (1st)
Receiving yards allowed / coverage snap: 0.44 (1st)
Coverage snaps / reception allowed: 19.1 (2nd)
Passer rating allowed: 46.8 (3rd)#49ers— Jeff Deeney (@PFF_Jeff) December 30, 2019
Dominant.
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The 2010s were an impressive decade for Sherman, and now he and the 49ers hope to open the 2020s with a Super Bowl title.