Cornerback Class
Early-round talent: B+-Mid-round: B
Late-round: B-
Overall grade: B
2025 prospects vs 2026
Travis HunterMansoor Delane
Jermod McCoy
Avieon Terrell
Jahdae Barron
Maxwell Hairston
Colton Hood
Brandon Cisse
Will Johnson
Benjamin Morrison
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 2026 NFL Draft is a solid group, but it does not feature a special prospect that is a true top-10 pick like Travis Hunter, Derek Stingley, or Sauce Gardner. Next year, there will be a cornerback prospect who could be as good or better than that trio in Notre Dame’s Leonard Moore. The 2026 class could have more first-round picks than the 2025 group.
If you were to merge the two classes together, Hunter would be the top prospect. Mansoor Delane, Jermod McCoy, and Avieon Terrell are better prospects than Jahdae Barron was last year. Colton Hood and Brandon Cisse are similar-caliber prospects to Maxwell Hairston. Will Johnson and Benjamin Morrison slid to the second round because of injury issues, but both of them had first-round talent and tape.
Safest Pick: Mansoor Delane, LSU 
Previous Picks:2025 Will Johnson
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 was an easy choice with Delane, as he produced multiple seasons of good tape at the college level. He has a good combination of size, speed, and athleticism. Delane may not become an elite No. 1 corner in the NFL, but he looks like a safe pick to be a solid pro starter.
Biggest Bust Potential: Malik Muhammad, Texas 
Previous Picks:2024 Azareye’h Thomas
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
There have been some projections of Muhammad being an early-round pick, but some teams have mid-round grades on him. He has a slight build, and I could see him getting pushed around by pro receivers. Muhmmad also could have limitations as a man-cover corner. If he is an early-round pick, I think he could be a potential disappointment.
Cornerback Rankings by Attributes
Off Man-Coverage Ability:
NFL prototype: Derek Stingley Jr., Texans
- Avieon Terrell
- Mansoor Delane
- Brandon Cisse
- Jermod McCoy
- Colton Hood
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.
Terrell is an excellent off man cover corner. Terrell is very fast and has easy speed to run with wideouts and carry verticals down the field. Terrell is extremely loose, has zero stiffness, and is a very twitchy cornerback. With tremendous agility, Terrell can flip his hips and turn to stay in phase with receivers. When he is in off-man coverage, he shows impressive instincts to read the route and then explode to cover up the receiver after they make their break.
Delane is well-rounded and can play off man, although he has some stiffness at times. Delane can run with quality speed to stay with quick wideouts. Delane has a burst to close and is fast enough to carry verticals downfield. Between his speed, height, and length, Delane has nice recoverability to make up ground if he gives up some separation.
With twitch and agility, Cisse is smooth out of breaks, showing the ability to run the route and prevent separation. When receivers do get a step, Cisse has a burst to close and recoverability to make up ground. Cisse can be inconsistent, but the talent is there for to be an off-man corner in the NFL.
McCoy 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 through the route. McCoy’s off-man coverage is okay for the NFL, but he is better in press-man and zone.
As a pro, Hood would fit best as a press man or zone corner. He is not as good a fit in off-man, and pro receivers with twitch and explosion could give him problems in off-man coverage. He should be protected from being put in that coverage too much.
Zone Corner:
NFL prototype: Marlon Humphrey, Ravens
- Avieon Terrell
- Jermod McCoy
- Colton Hood
- Mansoor Delane
- Brandon Cisse
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.
None of the corners in this group is bad in zone coverage. Terrell’s excellent speed, twitchy athleticism, and instincts make him an excellent zone corner. He reads plays well and shows good vision for diagnosing routes while also reading the eyes of the quarterback. Terrell’s twitch lets him explode to eat up ground and cover up receivers. He is very natural in zone coverage. McCoy is big with speed to close and has good vision in zone coverage. Hood is talented in zone coverage as he has good instincts and route recognition. Delane is solid in zone but has some stiffness at times. Cisse has some inconsistencies and needs to improve his route recognition, but the potential is there for him to be a good zone corner in the NFL.
Press Man Coverage:
NFL prototype: Sauce Gardner, Colts
- Jermod McCoy
- Colton Hood
- Mansoor Delane
- Brandon Cisse
- Avieon Terrell
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 projects well to playing press man.
McCoy is a fit as a press-man corner. He has the size and strength to jam wideouts at the line to disrupt their route and timing of the play. McCoy can reroute and use his size to disrupt passing lanes. McCoy shows a nice ability to jam, turn, and run with receivers. He reacts quickly and has enough speed to carry verticals down the sideline.
Hood is a superb press man corner with impressive strength, jab, and reroute skills, and the ability to disrupt timing routes at the line of scrimmage. Hood uses his length and strength along with the sideline to defend wideouts running vertically downfield. He has enough speed to carry verticals and is capable of running with receivers running go routes.
Delane and Cisse are capable press-man corners. They have the speed to carry verticals and the physicality to press receivers to generate reroutes and disrupt the timing of routes. Terrell is not a good fit for press man as he is small. He could struggle with big receivers at the line of scrimmage in the NFL. He should not go to a team that uses a lot of press-man coverage.
Ball Skills:
NFL prototype: Derek Stingley Jr., Texans
- Jermod McCoy
- Avieon Terrell
- Mansoor Delane
- Colton Hood
- Brandon Cisse
Recap: McCoy showed some impressive ball skills in 2024 with the ability to break up passes and pick balls off. With solid ball skills, McCoy does a nice job of breaking up passes and is a threat to snatch passes away. McCoy does a really nice job of attacking the ball, and he doesn’t panic when passes are coming his way.
Terrell has good ball skills. He times his breakups extremely well to smack the ball out. While Terrell is not tall or big, he battles receivers really well on 50-50 passes and has a knack for winning with a pass breakup. Terrell has impressive ball skills and is a threat to pick off passes. He is also very instinctive and ball aware to punch the ball on ball carriers and force fumbles.
Delane has good ball skills and shows a nice knack for timing his breakups. If the ball is not well located, Delane shows a nice ability to adjust, and that leads to him being dangerous for interceptions. He is a physical corner and competes hard. He is adept at winning 50-50 passes and matching up against bit outside receivers.
Hood and Cisse 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
- Mansoor Delane
- Colton Hood
- Avieon Terrell
- Jermod McCoy
- Brandon Cisse
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, Delane is a good contributor for his defense. He is a willing tackler who will come downhill and throw his shoulder into backs with physicality. Hood is a good run defender as he attacks the football. He is a physical, willing tackler with no hesitation to get physical with defenders. As a pro, Hood should be an asset as a run defender to help his pro defense.
While Terrell is undersized for the NFL, he was a willing tackler at Clemson with 106 tackles over the past two seasons. He will fly downhill and shows no fear. However, one has to wonder if Terrell will avoid injury tackling NFL running backs like that. McCoy was a good contributor in run defense in 2024 with 44 tackles. Cisse is a willing tackler in the ground game and does not avoid making tackles.
