Depth charts still list two corners as starters. Game film tells a different story. When an offense lines up with three receivers on most snaps, the defense answers with a third corner on most snaps. That player, the nickel, is not a backup. He is a starter with a different job description.

A different, harder job

The slot corner lives in traffic. On the outside, a corner can use the sideline as an extra defender. Inside, the receiver has a two-way go. He can break toward the middle or the sideline, and the corner has to guess less and react more.

Then there is everything else. Nickel corners are asked to:

• Blitz off the edge on third down
• Fit the run like a linebacker when offenses spread out and hand off
• Pass off crossers in zone without losing leverage
• Tackle in space against running backs on screens and flats

Few positions on the field require that much range. A great slot corner needs the feet of a cover man and the toughness of a safety.

Why the pay lags

Teams have historically treated the nickel as a role player, so the market followed. Outside corners with good ball production get paid. Slot corners who quietly erase an option route on third-and-six do not show up in the stats that drive contracts.

That is changing slowly, but the gap remains. Front offices willing to invest in the position are getting a starter's snaps for a role player's price.

How to spot a good one

Next game, pick out the defender over the slot receiver on third down. Watch his first two steps after the snap. Good nickel corners stay square and patient, then drive on the break. Poor ones open their hips early and get beaten across their face.

Once you start watching the slot, you will notice how often the most important coverage rep of a drive happens right there, in the middle of the field, by a player the broadcast rarely mentions.