- Maxwell Hairston, Jahdae Barron are among PFF's top cornerback prospects: Hairston shined against flat routes in 2024, while Barron earned a class-leading 93.0 PFF overage grade when defending posts.
- Mello Dotson excelled against ins and outs: The Kansas cornerback led the draft class in PFF coverage grade against both route types last season.
- 2025 NFL Draft season is here: Try PFF's best-in-class Mock Draft Simulator and learn about 2025's top prospects while trading and drafting for your favorite NFL team.
Estimated Reading Time: 6 minutes
The wealth of talent in any given NFL draft makes it all the more important to understand each player's skill set. Here, we'll examine the Power Four's top draft-eligible cornerbacks by PFF coverage grade against various routes in 2024.
Flat (Speed Out): Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky Wildcats (94.7)
Note: minimum five snaps to qualify
Hairston played seven coverage snaps against flat routes, with his lone target coming in Week 4 against Ohio. The result? A 25-yard pick-six.
Hairston led all Power Four cornerbacks with a career 93.0 PFF coverage grade against flats, albeit on a small sample size. He played 19 snaps against the route across his three years and was targeted only three times. He allowed two catches for 6 yards, both in 2023.
Slant: Robert Longerbeam, Rutgers Scarlet Knights (81.7)
Note: minimum 15 snaps to qualify
Longerbeam faced four targets when covering slant routes this past season. He forced one incompletion and did not allow a catch.
The fifth-year Scarlet Knight tied a career high in slant targets faced in 2024 and dealt with 11 such targets across his career. He did not allow a slant catch from 2022 through 2024 and surrendered five total slant receptions for 51 yards. Two of those grabs went for first downs, with only one going for 15-plus yards.
Out: Mello Dotson, Kansas Jayhawks (77.5)
Note: minimum 15 snaps to qualify
Dotson played 15 coverage snaps against out routes in 2024 and was targeted six times. He allowed two catches for 22 yards, both first downs, and brought an interception back for a touchdown in Week 1 against Lindenwood.
Dotson logged 95 career coverage snaps against out routes, earning a 70.8 PFF coverage grade. He was targeted 24 times at a rate of 25.3%, the third highest in the draft class. He allowed 13 catches for 143 yards on outs, with nine first downs surrendered. He recorded two interceptions and two coverage stops to go along with two forced incompletions. Dotson leaves Kansas with a 37.3% passer rating allowed on out routes, ranking third in the Power Four and first among players on this list.
In: Mello Dotson, Kansas Jayhawks (91.3)
Note: minimum 15 snaps to qualify
Dotson was equally impressive against in routes, allowing two catches for 34 yards on six targets in 2024. One of those catches was a 25-yarder against Colorado in Week 13. He recorded another pick-six and dropped an interception.
Dotson finished his college career with a 75.1 PFF coverage grade against in routes, ranking first among Power Four cornerbacks in the draft class. He played 62 coverage snaps and was targeted 13 times against in routes. In all, Dotson allowed six catches for 98 yards on those plays, with five of the catches gaining first downs. He allowed one touchdown, which came on the single in-route target of his freshman season in 2021. He forced two incompletions and allowed a career 65.5 passer rating (third best).
Comeback: Bralyn Lux, Texas Tech Red Raiders (96.4)
Note: minimum three snaps to qualify
Lux played a career-high five coverage snaps against comeback routes in 2024 and was targeted twice. One turned into a 45-yard pick-six against North Texas in Week 3.
Lux spent his last two seasons at Texas Tech after three years at Fresno State. He played 10 career coverage snaps against comeback routes, with his only other target coming in 2021. He allowed zero receptions on those plays.
Hitch: Justin Walley, Minnesota Golden Gophers (89.9)
Note: minimum 25 snaps to qualify
Walley was targeted seven times across 38 coverage snaps against hitch routes in 2024 and didn’t allow a catch. It was the first time in his four-year career he didn't let up a reception on hitch routes. Walley forced three incompletions and recorded a pick-six on hitches in Week 9 against Maryland.
He earned an 83.4 career PFF coverage grade against hitch routes, ranking fourth in the draft class. He ranks in the top 10 in coverage snaps (158) and targets (36), too. The Minnesota product generated the third-best first down-plus-touchdown rate allowed (19.4%), with zero touchdowns and seven first downs surrendered. He ranked in the top five in interceptions (three), forced incompletions (five), coverage stops (seven) and passer rating allowed (31.3) against hitches.
Corner: Jermari Harris, Iowa Hawkeyes (96.4)
Note: minimum five snaps to qualify
Harris played a career-high eight coverage snaps against corner routes in 2024 and allowed zero catches across two targets. He picked off a pass for a touchdown in Week 3 against Troy and forced an incompletion on the other corner target.
Harris was targeted three times across 13 snaps against corner routes, allowing one catch for 16 yards — which came during his freshman season in 2021.
Post: Jahdae Barron, Texas Longhorns (93.0)
Note: minimum five snaps to qualify
Barron played seven coverage snaps against post looks and recorded an interception and a forced incompletion across two targets.
The second-ranked cornerback on PFF’s 2025 NFL Draft big board, Barron played 25 coverage snaps against post routes across five seasons at Texas. He was targeted four times and allowed one catch for 36 yards (2022 against Oklahoma State). He ranks first in the draft class with an 83.9 PFF coverage grade against posts.
Go: Clarence Lewis, Syracuse Orange (90.1)
Note: minimum 15 snaps to qualify
Lewis forced an incompletion on each of his three targets against go routes in 2024. He played 20 coverage snaps against the look, the second most of his career.
Lewis spent one year at Syracuse after four seasons at Notre Dame. He recorded a 37.5 PFF coverage grade on go routes with the Fighting Irish, which ranked last in the draft class in that span. But he finished his career with six forced incompletions against go routes at a rate of 25%.
Crossing: Jabbar Muhammad, Oregon Ducks (86.3)
Note: minimum 25 snaps to qualify
Muhammad allowed three catches for 16 yards against six crossing route targets in 2024. He forced two incompletions and defended the route on 27 coverage snaps.
Muhammad is the most traveled cornerback on this list. He spent his first two seasons at Oklahoma State before transferring to Washington in 2023 and finishing at Oregon in 2024. He played 116 career coverage snaps against crossing routes and saw his most action this season since 2022, when he surrendered seven catches on nine crossing-route targets for 68 yards and three first downs. Muhammad was targeted 18 times and allowed 12 catches for 112 yards on crossers in his college career.
Wide Screens: Jaylin Smith, USC Trojans (89.7)
Note: minimum 25 snaps to qualify
Smith played 30 coverage snaps against wide screens in 2024, with 12 coming in Week 8 against Maryland. It was his only game this past season with more than three coverage snaps against the route. Smith was not targeted against Maryland, but he did record three coverage stops and earned an 87.4 PFF coverage grade against wide screens. He was targeted twice on the route all season and allowed one catch for negative yardage.
A four-year player with the Trojans, Smith played 52 career wide-screen coverage snaps, allowing four catches for 13 yards across six targets. He gave up one touchdown — coming in his freshman season in 2021 — and owned a career 84.7 wide-screen PFF coverage grade.
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