Once known for his job as a stadium janitor, safety Maurice Alexander has made a name for himself in the Los Angeles Rams' secondary.
Alexander found a niche on special teams after being drafted in the fourth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. The Utah State product has gone on to improve his game over the course of three seasons, making the biggest leap in 2016.
The site Pro Football Focus recently named Alexander the most-improved safety of the 2016 season. The company specializes in football rankings and statistics on team and player performance.
PFF Grades:
2015 season grade: 44.6
2016 season grade: 83.4
Here is the full PFF write-up on Alexander's improvement:
Alexander played nothing but special teams as a rookie in 2014. The next season, he got his shot on defense in Week 7 and ended up playing in every game to finish out the year. The Rams moved him all over the place; he spent 43 percent of his snaps as a free safety, and he struggled. Jump to 2016 and Alexander found his rhythm as the team's starting FS, playing over 75 percent of his snaps there. He displayed great coverage skills, as he was targeted once of every 32.4 coverage snaps (the fourth-best rate of 92 qualified safeties).
