Nate Clements

Age has not been kind to Clements, who has rapidly regressed from one of the league’s best to one of the league’s worst starting corners in just a couple of years. But as Clements gets worse in real life, he becomes better for IDP owners. The more he gets beat by receivers, the more opportunities he’ll have to pile up tackles and intercept a few errant passes. San Francisco failed to land a top cornerback prospect during the draft, so Clements is likely to remain in San Francisco’s starting lineup another year.

Clements played in just seven games during the 2009 season due to a collarbone injury. He's fully recovered from that injury and will return as a starting corner this season. Clements' role is secure due to the 49ers' lack of depth at corner, otherwise the club likely would have shed his salary by now.

After a stellar campaign in 2007, Clements was a bit of a disappointment last season by his standards. He finished with just 63 total tackles and two interceptions, nearly setting career-lows in both categories. Despite the decline in production, Clements remains one of the top five cornerbacks in the league due to his ability to stop the run as an excellent tackler. He is almost certainly due for a bounce-back season as he will be relied on heavily to carry a 49ers' secondary that will be without right cornerback Walt Harris.

Clements is a tackling machine. He made 92 stops (77 solo) in 2007, just seven fewer than the career high he set in 2005. That he totaled nearly 100 tackles is even more impressive considering he played behind standout linebacker Patrick Willis, who had 174 tackles. Clements has made 70 or more tackles in four consecutive seasons. He is also adept at picking the ball; Clements made four interceptions in 2007 and has 15 picks in the last four seasons. He has a touchdown in five of his seven NFL seasons and is valuable as a ball-hawking cornerback. He won't turn 29 until December and is still at or near his physical peak. So far, there haven't been any signs that he is losing a step.

Has the pressure to live up to the eight-year, $80 million contract he signed with SF in the offseason. Clemens will start opposite Walt Harris and give the Niners a much more formidable cornerback tandem heading in 2007. After 102 tackles in 2005, Clemens dropped to 71 last season, and should be around the same level in 2007 given the solid linebacking crew in front of him.

If your league makes you use cornerbacks, Clements is right up there with the best of them. The team's franchise player hasn't missed a game in his entire five-year career, and last year he had 99 total tackles, an eye-popping amount for a solid cornerback. He's also average four INTs a season over his career, and should be good for double digit passes defensed. The only drawback is the Bills don't let him return as many punts these days, because he's too valuable to the team.

Clements' entering his fifth season, finished his 2004 campaign with six interceptions and 87 tackles. He's one of the better IDP plays out there if your league makes you differentiate between corners and safeties. Just note that the "punt returner asterisk" that Clements owners enjoyed this season may go away in 2005 because the Bills realize, now having other capable return men, that it's a pretty big risk having their best secondary player returning kicks.

The ball-hawking cornerback has nine interceptions over the last two seasons, and with the Bills looking for more aggressive play on defense this season, Clements should continue to get a few picks if you draft corners in your league. Even though he's a nice talent, opponents won't devise ways to keep the ball away from Clements' side of the field, as Troy Vincent is just as capable with more experience on the other side. A Pro Bowl may be in Clements' future somewhere down the road.

The ball-hawking cornerback has nine interceptions over the last two seasons, and with the Bills looking for more aggressive play on defense this season, Clements should continue to get a few picks if you draft corners in your league. Even though he's a nice talent, opponents won't devise ways to keep the ball away from Clements' side of the field, as Troy Vincent is just as capable with more experience on the other side. A Pro Bowl may be in Clements' future somewhere down the road.