Cornerback Class
Early-round talent: A-Mid-round: B-
Late-round: B-
Overall grade: B
2025 prospects vs 2024
Travis HunterWill Johnson
Quinyon Mitchell
Terrion Arnold
Benjamin Morrison
Nate Wiggins
Cooper DeJean
Maxwell Hairston
Jahdae Barron
Kool-Aid McKinstry
Just to be clear, this article and series are all my opinion. I base my evaluation on my own film study and also on information I’ve gotten from general managers, directors of college scouting, national scouts, area scouts, and NFL coaches who know way more than I do.
The cornerback class for the 2025 NFL Draft is a solid group and it features a special prospect in Colorado’s Travis Hunter. Hunter was a great college cornerback and wide receiver and projects to be a No. 1 cornerback at the pro level. Aside from Hunter, the 2025 class has a quality group of cornerbacks for the early round.
If you were to merge the two classes together, Hunter and Will Johnson would be the top corner prospects in either class. Benjamin Morrison is a comparable prospect to Quinyon Mitchell and Terrion Arnold. Maxwell Hairston and Jahdae Barron are not as good as Cooper DeJean in my opinion. However, they might go higher than DeJean did. Hairston and Barron are better prospects than Kook-Aid McKinstry.
Safest Pick: Will Johnson, Michigan 
Previous Picks:2024 Cooper DeJean
2023 Christian Gonzalez
2022 Trent McDuffie
2021 Jaycee Horn
2020 Jeff Okudah
2019 DeAndre Baker
2018 Denzel Ward
2017 Adoree’ Jackson
2016 Vernon Hargreaves
2015 Trae Waynes
2014 Justin Gilbert
2013 Dee Milliner
This might be a shock that I am picking Johnson over Hunter. I think Hunter will be a very good pro corner, however I went with Johnson because Hunter has had durability issues in college and I could see that happening at the pro level with Hunter playing some wide receiver and taking hits from pro defenders. Johnson was phenomenal in 2023, and he also was injured in 2024, but Johnson dominated when helping Michigan win a National Championship. Johnson is big, strong, athletic, and fast. I think he is a safe pick to be a good pro corner.
Biggest Bust Potential: Azareye’h Thomas, Florida State 
Previous Picks:2024 T.J. Tampa
2023 Kelee Ringo
2022 Kaiir Elam
2021 Asante Samuel Jr
2020 Trevon Diggs
2019 Trayvon Mullen
2018 Anthony Averett
2017 Chidobe Awuzie
2016 William Jackson
2015 P.J. Williams
2014 Bradley Roby
2013 David Amerson
This was a tough choice as there was not a cornerback prospect that really stood out to me as having serious bust potential. Thomas has a good skill set with size, speed, and athleticism. However, Thomas is inconsistent in coverage is prone to some busts. He is a talented player, but he needs development.
Cornerback Rankings by Attributes
Off-Man-Coverage Ability:
NFL prototype: Marlon Humphrey, Ravens
- Travis Hunter
- Will Johnson
- Maxwell Hairston
- Benjamin Morrison
- Jahdae Barron
Recap: The consensus thought around the league is that the most important two positions on defense are an elite pass-rusher off the edge and a shutdown cornerback. The NFL is driven by passing, and a shutdown corner can limit the opposition’s ability to score points by taking the best receiver away from a quarterback. Teams throughout the league are searching hard for that kind of cornerback talent. Playing off-man coverage is more challenging than press-man because off-man coverage requires loose hips and agility to turn quickly. NFL offenses use lots of bunch formations to force cornerbacks into off-man coverage, whether they want to play it or not.
Hunter is capable of playing off man coverage. He tricks quarterbacks, reads their eyes, has fabulous route recognition, and a serious closing burst to eat up ground. Hunter is fast and fluid with smooth athleticism to turn. There is no doubt that Hunter is very adept at running the route to prevent separation.
In off-man coverage, Johnson can run the route and prevent separation with closing speed from making up on the ground on wideouts after their cuts. However, he is not always consistent and will give up some catches in man coverage. Still, Johnson has good speed and athleticism to play off man.
Hairston is better in other techniques, but he has the ability to play some off man coverage. He showed the speed to carry verticals and has enough twitch to be smooth throught the route. Morrison’s off-man coverage is okay for the NFL, but he is not a super twitched-up athlete. He will have to lean on his instincts and physicality to help compensate for his lack of twitch. Barron also lacks the twitch and explosion to play off-man coverage.
Zone Corner:
NFL prototype: Jalen Ramsey, Dolphins
- Travis Hunter
- Benjamin Morrison
- Will Johnson
- Jahdae Barron
- Maxwell Hairston
Recap: Many teams mix man and zone coverage, so a corner who can excel in both is very valuable. This was a tough category to rank because all five of these cornerbacks are good in zone coverage.
Hunter’s instincts and vision make him a dynamite zone corner. He does an excellent job of reading the offense and getting himself in position to make plays. With his route recognition and instincts, Hunter is quick to get in position to cover up receivers.
Morrison is very dependable. He reacts quickly in his route diagnosis and is aware of what the offense is trying to do, so he will be a good fit in a zone scheme. With his intelligence and instincts, Morrison is very good in zone coverage with quick diagnosis skills. Johnson is excellent in zone coverage. He has tremendous vision and feel to put himself in good position to cover up receivers and adjust to routes coming into his territory.
Hairston really excelled in zone coverage, as he has quality instincts and used those to get in good position while reading routes in zone coverage. Barron is very good in zone as his instincts lead to him being able to drive hard on the football and make plays.
Press-Man Coverage:
NFL prototype: Sauce Gardner, Jets
- Will Johnson
- Travis Hunter
- Benjamin Morrison
- Maxwell Hairston
- Jahdae Barron
Recap: Many teams in the NFL feature defenses that play a lot of press-man coverage. Having the ability to jam and reroute receivers helps defenses throw off the timing of plays. Corners that can stay stride for stride with receivers down the field are very valuable. The majority of this entire group of corners project well to playing press man.
Johnson also has the size, strength, and speed to be a press-man corner. He has the athleticism to flip his hips and run and is fast to run vertically down the field. Hunter has the size and strength to jam receivers at the line and then run with them downfield. Johnson has a slight better ability to carry verticals, hence he is rated first.
Morrison is a capable press-man corner. He has the speed to carry verticals and the physicality to press receivers to generate reroutes and disrupt the timing of routes. Morrison is not as loose an athlete as Johnson or Hunter; hence, they are rated over him.
Hairston and Barron are not great fits to be press-man corners in the NFL. Hairston is thinner framed and lacks the strength for rerouting. Barron is a slot corner and not an outside corner to play press man coverage.
Ball Skills:
NFL prototype: Derek Stingley Jr., Texans
- Travis Hunter
- Jahdae Barron
- Benjamin Morrison
- Will Johnson
- Maxwell Hairston
Recap: Hunter’s ball skills are outstanding, and his ball skills are incredible at either position. His ability to snatch receptions as a receiver or interceptions as a cornerback is phenomenal. Hunter’s hands are extremely strong when he gets a grip on the ball, and he has soft hands to avoid drops. He is fantastic at high-pointing the ball, and if there is a 50-50 play with a corner or receiver, you can safely assume that Hunter will win the play. The sure-handness makes him a real red zone weapon on offense and a dangerous cornerback to throw against. Along with snatching interceptions, Hunter is very skilled at slapping passes away from wide receivers.
Barron showed some dynamic ball skills in 2024 with the ability to breakup passes and pick balls off. Barron will quickly adjust and has ball skills with late hands to break up receptions, and his instincts lead to him making some impressive interceptions. Barron has dangerous ball skills in the middle of the field.
Morrison shows impressive instincts and polish to get his head around in coverage and locate the football. That allows him to defend the ball and provide some turnovers for his defense rather than drawing penalties for pass interference. Morrison has very good hands, high points the football, and breaks on the ball quickly. He is a smart and instinctive cornerback with good ball skills, which makes him a dangerous defender to throw against in coverage.
Johnson and Hairston have some ball skills, and will make some plays. But they are not as natural playmakers as the top three.
Run Support:
NFL prototype: Patrick Surtain, Broncos
- Will Johnson
- Jahdae Barron
- Maxwell Hairston
- Travis Hunter
- Benjamin Morrison
Recap: Some college and NFL teams aren’t too concerned with how corners play the run, but good corner run-defenders can prevent big gains on the edge and make tackles to prevent long carries. This is a strong group overall, and no single player is a huge liability as a run defender.
In the ground game, Johnson is an asset for his defense. He is a willing tackler who will come downhill and throw his shoulder into backs with physicality. That tackling ability makes him a good defender in zone coverage to defend checkdowns to the flat. NFL defensive coordinators will not have to worry about Johnson being a weak run defender at the pro level.
Barron was a good contributor in run defense in 2024 with 67 tackles. He is willing to tackle and is physical to handle playing in the box in the middle of the field. Hairston is a quality run defender, and he had 66 tackles in 2023. Hunter and Morrison are willing tacklers in the ground game.
