NFL Draft 2019: Top 10 Cornerback Prospects
By Liam McKeone
This year’s crop of cornerbacks in the NFL draft has a lot of fast-risers and surprisingly little consensus on the top prospect. At least two, if not three, corners from this list will be off the board at the end of round one, but there’s still a lot of talent in the middle rounds. Here are the 10 best cornerback prospects in this year’s NFL Draft.
1. Greedy Williams, LSU
Williams has a lot going for him outside having an all-time great football name. He’s a classic ballhawk with unusual length for a corner, which complements his athletic traits. He needs to get stronger, but he has the instincts and intangibles to become a shutdown corner in this league. He’s fallen down the draft boards of late, but more due to other prospects gaining hype than any of the flaws in his own game. He needs to work on giving consistent effort and may struggle in zone coverage early on, but Williams will give his defense swagger and attitude, along with game-changing plays.
2. Byron Murphy, Washington
Murphy is a high-floor prospect with a higher ceiling than most of his counterparts who receive the same label. His technique is impeccable, and he was quick to take advantage of any mistakes made by the opposing quarterbacks, coming down with four interceptions and 13 passes defended just this past season. He’s a tad undersized and isn’t the fastest guy on the field, but he’s rarely out of position and is capable of playing both zone and man as soon as he arrives at an NFL stadium. It will take a bit of work, but Murphy could become a lockdown corner very quickly if he lands in the right spot.
3. Deandre Baker, Georgia
Similar to Murphy, Baker has high-level technique for a college prospect, but his relatively average athleticism limits his upside. Baker has the best instincts out of any prospect in this class when you look at his tape, and would excel in a zone-based defense where his route recognition and instincts could shine. Baker may still be able to play at a high level in a predominately man scheme, but he isn’t as big as other true shutdown corners on the inside, and may have trouble with some big, physical receivers coming off the line. Baker will need some time to become great, but should start his career as a good player.
4. Rock Ya-Sin, Temple
Ya-Sin is loaded with potential, and was good enough in his one year as a starter at Temple that he’s being considered as a late first-round pick. He defended 12 passes and picked off two using his strength to displace receivers at the line, and showed off his aggressiveness once the ball was in the air. Due to his lack of starting experience, Ya-Sin will need a season or two to fully settle in and improve his footwork, but he appears to have all of the intangibles to succeed at the position. Similar to Baker, landing in a zone defense at the start would put him in a position to build upon what he already does well while he works on other fundamentals.
5. Justin Layne, Michigan State
Lane is light for an outside corner but his skills in man-to-man coverage make up for it more often than not. He has a nose for the ball with 23 passes defended over the last two seasons, and shows off very good route-recognition skills on tape. Layne will become a fan favorite and can more than hold his own when he’s one-on-one, but will need to bulk up some to not be a complete liability when a run comes to his side and some time to get familiar with NFL speed.
6. Julian Love, Notre Dame
Love is a smooth operator on the back side of the defense who lacks prototypical size and strength. He certainly has the production, with 44 passes defended in three years at Notre Dame, and can cover all over the field thanks to his instincts and play recognition. But at the end of the day, he isn’t very big, fast, or quick. His “game speed” is a little faster than his actual measurements pan out, but he’ll struggle to cover receivers both big and fast on the outside. He has the potential to be an excellent nickel corner, however, where size and speed matter less than agility, which Love exhibited in droves while at Notre Dame, and nickel corner is as valuable as any position in today’s game. Love will get burned every now and again, but he has the chance to be a good to very good inside corner, and teams can’t have enough of those.
7. Sean Bunting, Central Michigan
Bunting is a small-school prospect who hasn’t gotten a lot of attention outside of draft circles, but has the prototypical size and speed to succeed in the NFL. He has good ball instincts with 24 passes defended and nine picks throughout his college career, with some highlight-reel plays to recover from getting burned. He relied too much upon his athleticism to bail him out at a mid-major school, and his technique suffered as a result. Bunting may not pan out, but if he lands on a team dedicated to developing their defensive backfield, he could be an impact player sooner than we think.
8. Joejuan Williams, Vanderbilt
Williams is a top-tier athlete who has a lot of work to do if he wants to develop into an every-down corner in the NFL. A three-sport athlete growing up, Williams has the size and strength to mug any receiver at the line, and will get in their face while he does it. But he isn’t fast enough to recover if someone slips by his initial press, and his footwork needs to be much better once the ball is in the air on inside-breaking routes. A press-coverage team will love Williams from the outset, but it’ll take a lot of molding for Williams to become as good as he can be- which is Pro Bowl level.
9. Jamel Dean, Auburn
Similar to Williams, Dean is a world-class athlete with the speed and agility to hang with anyone on the field. He doesn’t have the short area quickness to be effective in the slot yet, which severely limits his upside. But he stands off the screen when you watch him; he can catch up with almost anyone, and has displayed decent ball skills. A lengthy injury history and lack of technique will push Dean down the draft boards, but with a combination of luck and teaching, Dean could become a highlight machine.
10. David Long, Michigan
Long will likely get picked sometime in the third round, which proves how deep this class is. The former Wolverine’s production doesn’t jump off the page, but he occasionally made plays that showed just how good he can be. He’s not afraid to get physical and is quick enough to keep up with anyone who can wiggle out of a jam at the line, but didn’t play off the line of scrimmage very often and doesn’t have the ideal length for a corner who might literally be playing from behind. He needs to work on basic things like not looking into the backfield for too long and learning the intricacies of schemes other than man-to-man press coverage. But Long’s upsides outweigh his downsides, and once he learns the position could turn into an effective and physical slot corner.