NFL Draft 2022: Ranking the Top 7 CB Prospects 

The top seven corners of the draft (4-1):

#4 - Trent McDuffie, Washington

There's certainly a lot to like about the sophomore corner of CA: he has impressive acceleration and speed both horizontally and vertically. He is willing to lay a big hit on receivers. He can cover well deep down the field and make one-on-one tackles without much problem.

However, the problem with McDuffie seems to be more on the mental side. When it comes to coverage, McDuffie often bails far too quickly. At times it almost looks as though he's running away from the receiver.

Of course, playing 'top down' is a common technique for corners (for example, when defending the sticks on 3rd down), but McDuffie often takes this too far.

The relatively weak opposition QBs Washington faced this season usually didn't see open receivers, but NFL QBs certainly won't.

What's more, he is rarely aware when the QB will throw these passes beneath him, nor does he react quickly enough when they are thrown. This lack of aggression explains why McDuffie only had two career interceptions during his time at Washington.

Washington corner Trent McDuffie

One can't ignore the impressive numbers (only eleven yards given up this season on 36 targets) or the fact that Washington had the best pass defense in all of D1 college football.

Still, the crucial context behind these stats is that Washington also had the 23rd worst rushing defense in all of division one (108/130). This is apparent on tape, as opposing offenses would only throw the ball when necessary.

McDuffie is undoubtedly good, but not as good as he appears at first glance.

Value: Early 3rd round pick

#3 - Kaiir Elam, Florida

Elam is what you might consider a prototypical man-on-man corner. He uses his incredible strength and physicality to kill the momentum of receivers throughout their route. His aggressiveness and willingness to use his hands show up on every play.

Battle-hardened by exceptional SEC receivers, Elam knows how to feel for the break in the route before it comes to sticking to a pass-catcher across the field. He also knows how to use his impressive length and size to box receivers out of passes that are intended for them and win the ball.

But what puts Elam a step below the other physical press corner on this list is his consistency in landing his punches at the line of scrimmage. Now and then, Elam's initial attempt to get his hands on the receiver will be swiped away or will be missed on either side.

When this happens, Elam doesn't possess the necessary tools to recover and get back in phase with the receiver, leading to lost reps. Though not an exceptional tackler, Elam still shows a willingness to be aggressive and hit receivers in zone coverage, though man coverage is still certainly his strong suit.

The seven penalties he gave up this year may also be a concern but said penalties are relatively easy to clean up once he arrives in the NFL (it's certainly easier to teach a corner discipline than it is to teach one aggressiveness), not to mention that NFL refs are usually quite forgiving (within reason) when it comes to letting corners be physical.

Value: Mid 2nd round pick

#2 - Andrew Booth Jr., Clemson

The fifth-ranked corner on PFF's list is the second-ranked on this one. Andrew Booth Jr. is a very imposing and powerful corner; he's aggressive and quick, with good feet to complement.

His strength when it comes to redirecting/passing off receivers in zone coverage is an unusual but welcome trait to stand out on film. He can completely knock a receiver off-balance, making the job of covering them much more accessible to the person he is passing them off to.

Admittedly, Booth can look a little lost in zone coverage, partly due to communication mistakes and partly due to misreading the quarterback's intentions. This is the reason for Booth's slightly worrying numbers (312 yards given up on 29 catches last season), but the risk is more than worth it considering his upsides.

How these corners fare in the run game has not been mentioned much in this list, and for a good reason, that reason being that there is not much to say about most of these players.

All of the corners that have been mentioned are rather typical when it comes to assisting the run defense (except McCreary) - they can make a tackle if needed, but they aren't going to set up a hard edge or blow a run-up in the backfield.

That's except for Booth, who is nothing short of a weapon when it comes to stopping outside runs, screen passes, or anything else that comes into the flat. Booth never looks faster than when he's charging to meet a ball carrier at the line of scrimmage, and he uses his larger size to absolutely flatten receivers who dare to catch a screen pass in his vicinity.

Because of his great instincts, he often sees screens developing long before the ball gets out to the receiver so that when it does get there, he's already at full speed.

Screens and outside runs are prevalent in the NFL at the moment, and Booth can shut both of these elements of an offense down almost single-handedly - that gives him real value on defense and more than makes up for his average coverage skills.

Value: Late 1st round pick

#1 - Ahmad Gardner, Cincinnati

Ahmad 'Sauce' Gardner is THE press corner of the draft. He is exceptional in his ability to use his terrific length and strength to control the stem of a receiver's route and stick to them when they break.

He also used this length to compete with pass-catchers and play the ball in the air, resulting in nine career interceptions across three years at Cincinnati.

Unlike Kaiir Elam, Gardner is very refined with his hand use and places them very precisely to gain dominance over the receiver. Gardner only very rarely misses with his initial punch at the line of scrimmage. It's far less common for him to be beaten by shifty receivers who can dodge his hands.

The only real downside to Gardner is that he lacks the speed/fluidity to keep up if he cannot get his hands on the receiver, which can lead to lost coverage reps. However, it is very rare that this happens - so rare in fact that Gardner has not allowed a single touchdown in his entire college career.

Gardner is very physical; both in tackles and in coverage - combined with his high effort, this makes Gardner a force when it comes to laying hits on receivers or even (as you will see below) quarterbacks.

Value: Mid first round pick