The Chargers have the best cornerback you’ve never heard of

San Diego Chargers cornerback Jason Verrett is probably the best cornerback in the NFL that the average fan doesn’t know about.

Some of that likely has to do with Verrett playing for a West Coast team that only won four games last year, his second year in the league and first as a full-time starter. He also “only” had three interceptions last season, and most casual fans only pay attention to the stat sheet. But make no mistake, this kid is absolutely the real deal and I think he is going to force everyone to notice him this year.

The Chargers had Verrett follow certain receivers around all game last season. It wasn’t necessarily who people would assume was the No. 1 wide receiver for the opposing team, but whomever Verrett ended up following was a guy San Diego obviously wanted to be erased from the opposing team’s game plan.

I’m not knocking defensive backs who stay primarily on one side of the field all game (hello, Richard Sherman) because in general those guys are just doing what their coaches tell them. However, watching a corner follow a guy around no matter where he lines up can be impressive. Right or left, inside or outside -- hell, you could line up in the backfield if you want, but if you happen to be Verrett’s man, you’ll look up and see him staring back at you from across the line of scrimmage and you’ll immediately know that you are in for a loooong day.

What stood out the most about Verrett on film was his impressive ability to mirror the routes the receivers tried on him. Everything about playing cornerback is awkward. You are moving backwards. You’re trying to follow a guy who knows where he is going before the snap close enough to keep them from catching a football. And nowadays you have to do so without making much contact with the receiver while he’s running his route.

It’s crazy.

The best corners I’ve seen have such good feet and are so coordinated that it’s almost like they can run backwards the same way that other people are able to run straight ahead. That’s exactly what you see from Verrett when he is in man-to-man.

Guys are giving him their best moves trying to create separation, and he’s basically doing the same thing they’re doing, just going backwards. And as soon as the ball is thrown, he is still able to plant his foot in the ground immediately and break on it. That is, when the ball is thrown at all, because half the time if the quarterback is looking at Verrett smothering his man in coverage, they will try to throw the ball elsewhere.

One knock on Verrett is that he hasn’t been healthy for a full season so far. In 2014, his season ended with a torn labrum and he missed 10 games. Last season, he had a hamstring issue that caused him to miss a couple of games. He is going to have to find a way to stay healthy for all 16 games this year to maximize his production.

If he can stay healthy, I think you will see those big interception numbers this year.

After starting 13 games last year and doing a damn good job before getting injured, his confidence should be off the charts. I don’t believe the Chargers will be nearly as terrible this year, which should force opposing offenses to throw more against them in the second half. Those added opportunities, as well as Verrett’s continued growth as a player, should have his stat lines looking better and get his name out there as one of the premier players in the league.

Oh, and it also should help his team win more games, which never hurts when trying to get your name out there to casual fans.