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Despite an impressive talent pool at the quarterback position this season, passing yardage and scoring are down overall through the first two weeks of 2024. The decline has analysts, fans and, of course, offensive coordinators searching for a culprit. One of the more prevalent explanations for the offensive dip is two-high defenses, in which teams drop safeties far back in coverage to mitigate big gains.
One high-profile proponent of this theory is talking head Mel Kiper Jr. The long-time draft guru expounded on his disdain for two-high safeties during an appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up.” Kiper went as far as to say, “The NFL is being ruined by these two-high safeties,” per Get Up on X.
Kiper was in full-on rant mode. “Hit the receiver in stride, 65-yard touchdown – it’s a beautiful thing to watch. That’s what I want to see brought back to the National Football League. Check down kings, bubble screen sensations, boring football… I want to see those deep shots. That's what the NFL was built on,” Kiper said, via Get Up.
“Don’t tell me you can’t have those safeties closer to the line of scrimmage than they are. I was at games where I'm thinking, two-high? They’re out in outer space. I couldn’t even find them… They’re so daggone far back you don’t even know they’re part of the damn play… I’m telling you, we’ve gotta change this… somebody’s gotta figure out what that depth is but it’s too far back right now,” Kiper added.
Not everyone agrees with Mel Kiper's take on two-high safeties ruining football
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Naturally, not everyone agreed with Mel Kiper’s impassioned plea. Former NFL player and front office executive turned analyst Louis Riddick took to social media to clap back at Kiper’s take. Riddick called the idea of banning two-high defenses “ridiculous,” via his official account on X. According to Riddick, “There are ways to beat it if you have competent QB play.”
Another former player, Richard Sherman, also weighed in on X, calling Kiper’s idea, “One of the most ridiculous takes I think I have seen from him,” Sherman was a prominent defensive back for 11 seasons in the NFL. Never shy about sharing his opinion, the five-time Pro-Bowler went on to write, “The defense is handicapped enough with all the penalties and now you want to take away half of the defensive playbook because you want to see long passes.” Rather than limiting defenses, Sherman puts the onus to overcome the coverage on offenses. “Don’t challenge the offensive coordinators to be more creative, no that would be crazy,” he said, via his account on X.
This is not the first time Kiper Jr. and Riddick have failed to see eye-to-eye of course. Most recently, Riddick felt Jayden Daniels was the top quarterback available in the 2024 draft while Kiper had Caleb Williams ranked first overall.
As for Sherman, the man can hold a grudge. He recently rehashed his long-time feud with first-year Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh. The rift between the two dates back to when Harbaugh coached Sherman at Stanford.
