When Broncos coach Josh McDaniels was asked about cornerback Champ Bailey, he gave a pretty emphatic endorsement.

“I love Champ,” McDaniels said.

It’s easy to see why. According to Stats, Inc., which tracks how often each NFL defensive player is “targeted” on a pass attempt, Bailey saw 98 targets, which was 11th most in the NFL. And Bailey did not allow a touchdown all season. No other player who saw more than 80 passes come his way allowed fewer than two touchdowns.

Bailey gave up 47 catches for 624 yards, which is more than the consensus top cornerback in the AFC, New York’s Darrelle Revis. Revis allowed 40 catches for 439 yards on 108 targets. But at age 31, Bailey showed he is still a premier cornerback, matching up with the opponent’s top receiver for most of the season. Bailey got far more passes thrown his way this year for a few reasons – Andre Goodman played pretty well at the other cornerback spot, teams wanted to test him more after an injury-riddled 2008 season – but a big part was he shadowed a top receiver almost every week. For a comparison, Oakland’s Nnamdi Asomugha – who is starting ahead of Bailey in the Pro Bowl – saw only 30 passes thrown his way. Asomugha doesn’t always match up with the opponent’s top wideout.

Bailey is owed $12.5 million in 2010, the last year of his contract, and based on McDaniels’ strong praise it appears he will return for another season in Denver.

“He’s a captain, he’s been a Bronco for a while, and we’d love to have him be a Bronco as long as I’m here,” McDaniels said. “He’s a key component to our defense, think he will be going forward.”

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