CB Chris Harris' New Extension a Massive Steal for Denver Broncos

Former undrafted free agent Chris Harris Jr. has been underrated for quite some time and can now add another “un” to his resume: underpaid—even after signing a five-year contract extension with the Denver Broncos for $42.5 million, including $24 million guaranteed, according to Mike Klis of The Denver Post.

The Broncos announced the extension in a press release on Friday night, and Harris thanked his teammates, coaches and fans via Twitter:

The Broncos' No. 2 cornerback opposite Aqib Talib actually grades as the NFL’s No. 1 overall cornerback this season, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). Harris also graded among the site’s top 10 overall cornerbacks in 2013 (eighth) and 2012 (fifth).

PFF’s Pete Damilatis tweeted how large the gap has been this season in pass coverage:

Harris, who received a $2,000 signing bonus as an undrafted free agent out of Kansas in 2011, is making $2.187 million this season following a second-round tender as a restricted free agent in March. The extension will kick in next year and keep him in a Denver uniform through the 2019 season.

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Per PFF (subscription required), opposing quarterbacks have a 46.9 rating for passes into Harris’ coverage, third best in the NFL among cornerbacks playing at least 50 percent of defensive snaps after Vontae Davis (41.7) and Richard Sherman (46.8). Harris has allowed 7.5 yards per reception in coverage, best in the NFL.

Among PFF’s signature stats for cornerbacks are coverage snaps per target—defined by the site as “the amount of times a cornerback is the primary man in coverage related to how many times his receiver is targeted”—and coverage snaps per reception—"the amount of times a cornerback is the primary man in coverage relative to how many receptions he allows."

The former shows Sherman is the least-targeted cornerback in the league, being thrown at once every 8.3 snaps he is in coverage. Harris, meanwhile, ranks tied for 17th (6.8). Sherman also leads the NFL in the latter, allowing a reception once every 19.2 coverage snaps; however, Harris is closer in this metric, ranking 10th in the league (12.9).

In PFF’s other signature cornerback stat—yards per coverage snap, defined as “the amount of yards a cornerback allows whilst in primary coverage relative to how many snaps he is in coverage"—Harris ranks second in the league (0.59), behind Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith (0.57), who was injured in Week 8 and is out for the season. Sherman ranks tied for fifth (0.74) using this metric.

Furthermore, the Broncos defense has improved from 21st in Football Outsiders' pass defense DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) metric in 2013 to fifth in 2014.

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All that being said, Harris’ new contract is 12th in annual average among cornerbacks, according to Chris Wesseling of NFL.com—equating to $1 million per year less than teammate Aqib Talib. Harris acknowledged he took a hometown discount in a quote to Klis:

"

I know I could have got more out in the (free-agent) market. I could have been someone else's No. 1 corner, but I decided it was best for me and my family to stay. I love it here. I love the fans. I love to come to work here. Everything about the city I love. The coaches I love. I'm just thankful to John [Elway] and the Broncos for giving me an opportunity to come in and play and show them what I've got and then blessing me with this.

"

The contract’s total value—if $42.5 million, as reported—would rank ninth among cornerbacks, according to OverTheCap.com.

Harris joins Sherman, the Browns’ Joe Haden and the Cardinals’ Patrick Peterson as top cornerbacks who have signed contract extensions this year. Here's the breakdown of those deals, as they were reported by ESPN.com, along with positional rank courtesy of Pro Football Focus:

Recent Cornerback Contract Extensions

Player	Years	Total	Guaranteed	PFF Rank
Patrick Peterson	5	$70M	$48M	83
Joe Haden	5	$68M	$45M	18
Richard Sherman	4	$57.4M	$40M	4
Chris Harris	5	$42.5M	$24M*	1

*As reported by Mike Klis of The Denver Post

The most noteworthy figure here is the amount of guaranteed money—or lack thereof—in comparison to recent extensions signed by other cornerbacks. Harris' guarantee is exactly half of that of Peterson and still substantially less than that of Haden or Sherman. While the hometown discount undoubtedly came into play here, the figure is still far less than what would have been expected.

The deal was completed just over a month after the Broncos opened negotiations, while ESPN’s Josina Anderson reported in late-November the talks had “stalled a bit.” The Denver Post’s Mike Klis wrote “negotiations gained momentum when Broncos general manager John Elway became personally involved by engaging in dialogue with Harris' agent,” leaving me to wonder how low the Broncos' initial offer was, given the team-friendly contract the two parties ended up agreeing upon.

Klis notes that Harris’ new $42.5 million contract is the most ever for an undrafted cornerback, passing the $39 million the Packers gave Sam Shields over four years, while his $8.5 million annual average is the most in the league for a team’s No. 2 cornerback, passing the Packers’ Tramon Williams ($8.25 million).

With the Harris negotiations behind them, Elway and the Broncos can now turn their attention to other pending free agents, including wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, tight end Julius Thomas and defensive tackle Terrance Knighton, among others.

CBS4 Sports anchor Vic Lombardi believes the Broncos will prioritize Demaryius Thomas and Knighton on their to-do list:

If that happens, the Broncos could choose to apply the franchise or transition tag to Julius Thomas in an effort to keep their core intact for at least another year.

Regardless of what transpires, the Broncos did well to extend Harris at a discounted rate, locking up another key player in their secondary, which now features the cornerback duo of Harris and Talib signed through 2019 and safety T.J. Ward and rookie cornerback Bradley Roby under contract through 2017.