A quick Twitter search for “Eli Apple” will show that fans all around the NFL love to dunk on the 27-year-old corner for the Cincinnati Bengals. There have been a few instances throughout his career where Apple was not able to rise to the occasion, most notably in Super Bowl LVII. The issue with the criticism of Apple is the fact that while some issues may be well-founded, others are embellished.
A professional athlete does not need defending from naysayers on the internet. However, Bengals fans have spent their time coming to bat for Eli Apple, providing context and defense for a fan favorite. Let’s understand why he is so often criticized and provide a reality check.
In Defense of Eli Apple
He Embraces the Target on his Back
Why is it that rivals love to dunk on a CB2 on the Bengals roster? Well, Eli Apple has a louder social media presence. Last season, he loved to talk smack to opposing teams’ fans and boast about his team’s successes. He’s even gone so far as to specifically target and mention receivers that he and his unit had bested.
If there’s one thing that’s true in today’s sports world, it’s that if you’re going to talk big, you have to play big. Throughout his career — or, at least though the 2020 season — Apple had not played to the level of his talk. Despite coming into the league as a first-round pick out of Ohio State, it took a while for Apple to catch on. He spent two years and five games with the New York Giants before they shipped him off to the New Orleans Saints for a couple picks. He then signed a one-year deal with the Carolina Panthers who ended up cutting him after just two games played.
Apple is the target of plenty of ire and he thrives off of it. He enjoys tweeting at players and fans alike. Now, when fans dunk on him after a poor outing, is it justified? Absolutely and he would say the same.
Eli Apple continues to rise up and play great football for the #Bengals.
Since they returned from the bye in Week 11, among CBs, Apple ranks:
🥇- PFF Coverage Grade (88.6)
🥇- NFL Passer Rating Against (11.0)
🥇- Catch Rate Per Target (35%)@EliApple is shutting down the NFL. pic.twitter.com/x6udeo4EKj— Willie Lutz (@willie_lutz) December 27, 2021
2021 Was his Best Year Yet
The issue with most criticisms is they highlight failure and ignore successes. Now, Apple is not the only one who experiences this. Aaron Rodgers is one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play but detractors enjoy pointing to his playoff performances against the San Francisco 49ers through the years. The thing about Eli Apple is that he was remarkably solid for the Bengals defense last year.
During the regular season, Apple was targeted 78 times in 617 coverage snaps. Of those 78 targets, he allowed 47 receptions (60.3%) for 602 yards and three touchdowns. According to Pro Football Reference, 28 defenders allowed more yardage which includes names such as Trevon Diggs, J.C. Jackson, Marlon Humphrey, and Jalen Ramsey. 70 defenders allowed more touchdowns. “Well, those other guys are targeted more often!” He was 70th in yards per completion (12.8) and 116th in yards per target (7.7).
101 of those yards came against the Cleveland Browns in Week 9 where just about nobody on the team had a good day. However, on eight occasions, Apple allowed fewer than 25 yards. His best regular season game came in a Week 15 win over the Denver Broncos. With both Chidobe Awuzie and Trae Waynes inactive, Apple had to be CB1. He allowed two receptions on five targets and nine yards.
In coverage, he allowed a quarterback rating of just 86.6, a fair bit below league average. According to PFF, no corner graded better than he did in man coverage.
Lowest passer-rating allowed in man-coverage
🥇 Eli Apple- 22.6 pic.twitter.com/BzDgOzxYdd
— PFF (@PFF) February 27, 2022
Eli Apple turned into a very solid CB2 next to Awuzie last year and was a massive part of the Bengals success.
Providing Context to the Run to Super Bowl LVII
If not for the play of Eli Apple, the Bengals do not make it to Super Bowl LVII. Statistically, he did take a step back in the playoffs, allowing 197 yards and four touchdowns while quarterbacks completed 70.4% of their passes.
However, he stepped up in a massive way when he needed to. Against the Las Vegas Raiders, Apple logged six tackles and broke up a deep pass to Bryan Edwards to keep the score at 23-13 in the second quarter. Admittedly, he surrendered a touchdown to Zay Jones at the end of the first half.
Against the Tennessee Titans, Apple made the play of his career. On 3rd & 5 with just 0:28 to go, Apple made a play on the ball, knocking it up into the air for Logan Wilson to come down with. He bailed out the offensive line and their nine sacks allowed with one play. A week later, the defense was getting torn apart in the AFC Championship Game. However, Apple made the play of the game on defense. As time was expiring in the first half, and the Bengals trailing 21-10 with the Kansas City Chiefs about to score, Apple tackled Tyreek Hill short of the goal line on fourth down.
That was Hill’s final touch as a Kansas City Chief.
In Super Bowl LVII, according to Twitter analysts, Apple was the worst cornerback in the history of football. Did he allow two cheap touchdowns to Cooper Kupp? Of course. His final stat line must have been something like five receptions allowed on nine targets for 160 yards. Wait, that was Jalen Ramsey; Apple allowed four receptions for 26 yards and two touchdowns off of seven targets. If the phantom pass interference against Logan Wilson had not been called — or, even better, if Aaron Donald had not Hulk-smashed his way through Quinton Spain and Joe Burrow was able to hit Ja’Marr Chase for the walk-off touchdown with Ramsey already on his back — fans would be viewing Apple in a very, very different light.
Apple is Solid: Not Great, Not Terrible
The thing with defending Eli Apple is this: no matter what statistical evidence is presented, it will fall on deaf ears. When we, as fans, get an opinion of a player, it’s extremely difficult to shake. Apple is not CB1 for the Bengals, so expecting him to be a Patrick Surtain or Jaire Alexander would be fruitless. He will likely start 2022 as CB2, just ahead of a rookie, Cam Taylor-Britt. Even as a CB2, Apple’s play has not been detrimental to the team.
Could 2021 have been an aberration and he will regress back to what he was before? It’s possible. However, Apple is a better corner than NFL fans give him credit. Every NFL team rosters a corner better and worse than Apple. The Bengals secondary was dreadful in 2020. Apple and Awuzie were a welcome pair in 2021 and are expected to repeat and progress in 2022.
