The 2025 NFL Draft class is starting to take shape, and that means we’re getting a clearer picture of some of the top prospects and the position groups with the most depth.
The running back, tight end and offensive tackle positions seem to be the deepest and strongest on the offensive side of the ball. On defense, the edge defender group is as deep as we’ve seen in several years, dominating the projected top 50. There are also more impact defensive backs this year than a year ago, with plenty of options on all three days of the draft, specifically on Days 2 and 3.
Here are PFF's top cornerback prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft, along with some initial scouting notes courtesy of lead draft analyst Trevor Sikkema.
For the full ranking of draft prospects, along with their three-year player grades and position rankings, click here.
CB1. Travis Hunter, Colorado
Hunter is one of the most talented players I have ever scouted. As a cornerback, he brings good mirror-matching movements and truly elite ball skills. He can be a bit out of control and lacks some density, which gets exposed the most in press-man coverage. As a primary zone defender with press-man flexibility, he can be an immediate starting cornerback with an All-Pro ceiling.
2. CB Jahdae Barron, Texas
The word “versatile” gets thrown around too much with defensive back prospects, but Barron is exactly that. As a natural zone defender with excellent instincts and anticipation, he is a starting-caliber pro at safety, wide cornerback or nickel defender — sometimes as all three in the same game — for Cover 3- or quarters-heavy schemes.
3. CB Will Johnson, Michigan
Johnson is a long, lean cornerback with elite foot quickness and change-of-direction fluidity. His limited long speed will create questions about his man coverage reliability in the NFL, but having him play off coverage with his eyes on the ball as a zone-scheme wide cornerback could allow him to make impactful plays more often.
4. CB Trey Amos, Mississippi
Amos brings an ideal blend of size, movement skills and coverage scheme versatility to the cornerback position. While his explosiveness and speed aren't anything special, his 2024 film shows he has a CB2 floor in the NFL with the potential to be a CB1.
5. CB Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame
Morrison is a smart, smooth-moving man coverage cornerback with good instincts for making plays on the ball. Getting back to form after hip surgery and getting a bit stronger are the keys to a future starting outside cornerback role in a man coverage system – but really any system.
6. CB Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky
Hairston is a feisty competitor who likes to get his hands on receivers in bump-and-run coverage from off-coverage techniques. As a zone-heavy cornerback, he has the chance to develop into a CB2-type of player in the NFL.
7. CB Shavon Revel, East Carolina
Revel is the ideal Day 2 athletic alien to draft and develop despite inconsistent anticipation and technique in his current form. His physical gifts (including height and length) point to press-man coverage being his home in the NFL, but it will be quite the adjustment for him to go from one year of staring experience in the AAC to the NFL — especially off a torn ACL.
8. CB Darien Porter, Iowa State
Porter is a rare prospect. He is a wide receiver-turned-cornerback with ideal ball skills, ranks above the 95th percentile in height and length and has an elite track background that translates to the field. He is still raw as just a one-year starter despite being a sixth-year player, but his special teams impact and sky-high potential are worth drafting in the middle rounds.
9. CB Azareye'h Thomas, Florida State
Thomas is a long, quick-footed press-man cornerback who showcases good natural movement skills and playmaker instincts. He lacks some strength in a few areas, but he plays the position with high intelligence to be a scheme-versatile CB2 projection for the NFL.
10. CB Dorian Strong, Virginia Tech
Strong, ironically, lacks some strength in press-man coverage and run-defense situations near the line of scrimmage, but he is a smart, competitive zone-scheme cornerback with a natural ability to get his hands on passes and cause constant disruption at the catch point.
11. CB Jacob Parrish, Kansas State
Parrish has the agility, fluidity and recovery speed to thrive as a nickel defender in the NFL. As long as he remains a reliable tackler, he has the potential to be a starting nickel and an important role player in man coverage.
12. CB Nohl Williams, California
Williams is a strong press-man cornerback whom an NFL team can feel comfortable putting on the line of scrimmage due to his physical coverage style and run-defense skills. His long speed and agility appear to be average, but his strength stands out in this class. He has a mid-round projection and could be a starter in a man-heavy coverage scheme.
13. CB Cobee Bryant, Kansas
Cobee Bryant, like his namesake, has a top-tier mentality to win at the position. His length helps him overcome a very slender build, but his lower mass and average movement skills likely limit him to off-zone coverage schemes. It's hard to not want this kind of competitor on your team, even in a depth role.
14. CB Mello Dotson, Kansas
Dotson is a steady, experienced cornerback with an adequate build for the position. His lack of true stickiness in coverage may limit him to more of a rotational or spot-starting role, but he has a place in the league, especially for teams that play more press and man coverage.
15. CB Robert Longerbeam, Rutgers
Longerbeam’s elite change-of-direction ability and lack of weight on his frame to play against bigger outside wide receivers might make him a better fit for the slot in the NFL. He can play outside, as he has the speed to stick with fast wide receivers, but he likely won’t be arriving at the catch point with the same size as the receiver he is covering.
16. CB Zy Alexander, LSU
Alexander is a fundamentally sound cover cornerback whose limited athleticism will likely make him either a zone-specific cornerback or a potential safety convert due to how reliable he is when tackling and in run defense.
17. CB Alijah Huzzie, North Carolina
Huzzie doesn't have the long speed to hold up as a wide corner in the NFL — where he spent most of his time in 2024 — but his instincts and short-area quickness stand out. He looked more comfortable in 2023 playing inside, and he could develop into a rotational or spot starter at slot corner for a zone-heavy defense.
18. CB Quincy Riley, Louisville
Riley brings an elite track background and twitched-up movements to the position, but his lack of size and major strength concerns make him a tough projection for anything more than a rotational cornerback with special teams in his future.
19. CB O'Donnell Fortune, South Carolina
Fortune has intriguing length but lacks the top-tier explosiveness for press-man responsibilities. He possesses good lateral movements and aggressive hands for a rotational and spot-starter projection as a Cover-3 cornerback.
20. CB Zah Frazier, UTSA
Burke is a natural mover with good eyes and a feel for bump-and-run coverage in off-zone coverage alignments. His long speed/recovery speed are limiting factors to man/press coverage versatility, but his experience as a four-year starter should get him a roster spot as a depth cornerback.
21. CB Jason Marshall Jr., Florida
Marshall is a well-built, former five-star recruit who has posted consistently decent coverage grades (82.1 coverage grade in single coverage in 2024, 99th percentile) across four seasons at Florida. Mental mistakes and a lack of ball production – two career interceptions – limit his production. He is also recovering from a torn labrum suffered in October.
22. CB Denzel Burke, Ohio State
Burke is a natural mover with good eyes and a feel for bump-and-run coverage in off-zone coverage alignments. His long speed/recovery speed are limiting factors to man/press coverage versatility, but his experience as a four-year starter should get him a roster spot as a depth cornerback.
23. CB Nikko Reid, Oregon
Reed has a high football IQ with strong recognition and anticipation skills, and his 89.9 run-defense grade in 2024 shows he's not afraid to stick his nose in as a tackler despite a smaller frame. However, his limited athleticism caps his ceiling, making him best suited as a preferred depth option in the secondary.
24. CB Jaylin Smith, USC
Smith is built like a nickel but posted a career-best 82.5 coverage grade while playing on the outside in 2024. He generally does well to prevent yards after catch, but his lack of elite speed and length leads to very low forced incompletion rates. Smith projects as a versatile backup/special teamer with his experience inside, outside and at safety working in his favor.
25. CB Fentrell Cypress II, Florida State
Cypress' two years at Florida State were never quite as dominant as his 2022 season at Virginia when he posted an 87.8 grade, but he could be a solid corner in a zone defense due to his smooth movement ability and instincts in coverage. He'll need to develop his play strength to be trusted in man coverage, though.
26. CB Mac McWilliams, UCF
McWilliams' quickness and processing allow him to be a difference-maker in zone coverages (99th-percentile zone PFF coverage grade). His physicality and toughness are evident in the run game, which will further support his potential as a slot cornerback at the next level.
27. CB Tommi Hill, Nebraska
Hill played both sides of the ball for much of his career before settling on the defensive side of the ball. He brings intriguing size at corner, matched with his physicality, but lacks fluidity and sound footwork. Despite being a former receiver, he didn't showcase ball skills (35th percentile forced incompletion rate) either, which will limit his looks.
28. CB Shamari Simmons, Arizona State
After a good showing in his first two seasons at Austin Peay, Simmons was a mixed bag at Arizona State. He is a downhill initiator with tenacity in the run game (91.6 PFF grade). Anticipation and route recognition in coverage are issues that prompted his move from safety to full-time slot cornerback. That didn't result in a notable improvement (73.2% open-target rate), though.
29. CB Jabbar Muhammad, Oregon
While Muhammad doesn't possess the size/length or fluidity teams look for, that hasn't hindered his consistency. He earned a 71.0-plus PFF coverage grade in each of his three seasons as a starter (for three different programs). Inconsistent footwork and route recognition can leave him playing catch-up in zone coverage, limiting his scheme outlook to primarily bump and run.
30. CB B.J. Adams, UCF
Adams is an outside cornerback at 6-foot-2 with nearly 32-inch arms. He played press coverage on 107 of his 233 coverage snaps in 2024 and forced nine incompletions.
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