Player
Brandin Echols
CB · Steelers
A 6th-round CB who ranked 8th in his rookie class on a per-game coverage metric shows the Jets underused a legitimate starter-caliber cover corner for three years.
Echols ranked 8th in PD rate among 2021 rookie CBs — then went from 0.64 PDs/game as a rookie to near-zero for three straight Jets seasons before rebooting in Pittsburgh.
Trend2021 rookie CB class — PDs per game (min 8 games, 5 PDs)
| Player | Games | PDs | PD/G |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pat Surtain II | 15 | 14 | 0.93 |
| Asante Samuel Jr. | 12 | 11 | 0.92 |
| Eric Stokes | 16 | 14 | 0.88 |
| Jerry Jacobs | 9 | 7 | 0.78 |
| Greg Newsome II | 12 | 9 | 0.75 |
| Tyson Campbell | 15 | 10 | 0.67 |
| Jevon Holland | 15 | 10 | 0.67 |
| Brandin Echols | 14 | 9 | 0.64 |
As a 6th-round pick Echols posted 0.64 PDs per game in 2021 — tied with Jevon Holland and ahead of multiple Day 2 picks. Then the Jets reduced his role sharply: in 2022-2023 he appeared in just 12 combined games with only 4 PDs total.
The 2025 PIT move has partially restored that 2021 production — 0.43 PD/game through 14 games — in a secondary that needed his coverage skills after a wave of departures.
Echols PD rate per game by season
| Season | PDs per game |
|---|---|
| NYJ | 0.64 |
| NYJ | 0.29 |
| NYJ | 0.4 |
| NYJ | 0.25 |
| PIT | 0.43 |
Why it matters. A 6th-round CB who ranked 8th in his rookie class on a per-game coverage metric shows the Jets underused a legitimate starter-caliber cover corner for three years.
Echols appeared in just 12 games across 2022-2023 despite being on the Jets roster all 34 weeks — logging only 18 tackles and 4 PDs in those appearances.
AnomalyJets seasons: roster weeks vs games played
| Season | Roster weeks | Games w/stats | Tackles | PDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 17 | 14 | 59 | 9 |
| 2022 | 17 | 7 | 8 | 2 |
| 2023 | 17 | 5 | 10 | 2 |
| 2024 | 17 | 12 | 36 | 3 |
Echols was on the Jets' 53-man roster every week of the 2022 and 2023 seasons but appeared on play-level stats in only 7 games in 2022 and 5 games in 2023 — a staggering drop from his 14-game 2021 debut.
In those 12 appearances he recorded just 18 tackles and 4 PDs combined — barely above special-teams cameo output. Not an injury truncation: the roster record shows he was active every week. A coaching staff simply stopped deploying one of their better coverage corners.
Why it matters. The 2022-2023 disappearance is not a depth-chart cliché — it's a stat-verified case where a player demonstrably capable in 2021 was benched to near-irrelevance while the Jets' secondary struggled.
In 2025, 84% of Echols' PDs came on passing plays — and he allowed 0 pass defenses on running plays all season.
SplitEchols 2025 — pass plays vs non-pass plays
| Play type | Plays | Tackles | PDs | TFL |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pass | 45 | 38 | 6 | 3 |
| Non-pass | 11 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
On 45 passing plays in 2025, Echols totaled 6 PDs, 38 tackles, and all 3 of his TFLs — 100% of his coverage production. On 11 non-pass plays he contributed run-stop tackles only.
This 84% pass-play concentration confirms he is operating as a true off-ball coverage corner in Pittsburgh's scheme, not a versatile box defender. His TFLs on passing plays suggest he is attacking routes close to the line in press-man sets.
Why it matters. A 100% pass-play PD rate (zero on run plays) is a clean signature of a pure man-coverage corner — the Pittsburgh scheme is using him in exactly the role where his 2021 skills were highest.
Echols' entire 2022-2024 Jets stretch: 54 tackles, 7 PDs, 0 sacks across 24 games. His 2025 alone as a Steeler: 48 tackles, 6 PDs, 1 sack in 14 games.
ComparisonThree Jets seasons vs one PIT season
| Stat | 2022-24 NYJ (24 G) | 2025 PIT (14 G) |
|---|---|---|
| Tackles | 54 | 48 |
| PDs | 7 | 6 |
| TFL | 1 | 3 |
| Sacks | 0 | 1 |
From 2022-2024 in New York, Echols played in only 24 combined games — 54 tackles, 7 PDs, 0 sacks across three full seasons. In a single 2025 season as a Steeler he's matched those totals in 14 games despite playing 10 fewer contests.
On a per-game basis the improvement is even starker: 2.25 tackles/game in Pittsburgh vs 2.25 tackles/game for the whole NYJ stretch — but with a first career sack and triple the TFL count already.
Why it matters. The near-identical raw volume in fewer games underscores how much the Jets' scheme was wasting Echols: same output rate, more impactful plays, in a city that actually deployed him.
Career trajectory: 59-tackle rookie year, invisible 2022-2023, partial rebound in 2024, then a career-best rate in 2025 — Echols is in his best two-year stretch five seasons in.
TrendEchols career by season
| Season | Team | Games | Tackles | PDs | TFL | Sacks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | NYJ | 14 | 59 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| 2022 | NYJ | 7 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | NYJ | 5 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | NYJ | 12 | 36 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | PIT | 14 | 48 | 6 | 3 | 1 |
Echols' career has a clear W-shape in usage: strong 2021 debut → three years in the Jets' doghouse → partial recovery in 2024 → best rate-based season in 2025 with Pittsburgh.
His career totals through 2025: 161 tackles, 22 PDs, 6 TFL, 1 sack across 52 games. The 2024-2025 combined window (48 games, 84 tackles, 9 PDs) is the most productive stretch of his career on a rate basis — at age 27-28.
Why it matters. Late-career rebounds for 6th-round CBs are rare; most fade after their second or third season. Echols is trending the other direction, posting career-rate production in his 4th and 5th NFL seasons.
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