Biggest risers and fallers from the 2023 NFL Combine

Cornerbacks

Maryland's Deonte Banks

Riser: Deonte Banks, Maryland

My god, this class was outstanding – which I called for the day of them getting onto the field – and I had a tough time even picking one here. The name I ultimately settled on is Deonte Banks from Maryland.

At 6-0 and 197 pounds, Banks ran a 4.35 in the 40 and was No. 1 among all corners with a 42-inch vertical and second in the broad jump at 11-4.

He didn’t do the agility drills or bench, but he had an excellent on-field workout – where he stayed low in his pedal, was able to drive out of it with explosion and flip his hips without issues despite that longer build, and he didn’t have any drops. Banks did T-step a little bit in the W-drill, which I personally don’t like to see, but that is more so about what guys are getting coached to do in college.

Meanwhile, he caught the ball with confidence and I also only counted one drop during the gauntlet drill. This is one of the deepest corner classes I've ever evaluated, but some guys have to go early, and when I combine this performance with his tape, Banks certainly feels like a first-rounder. So, lock him into your mock drafts.

And, of course, we have to bring up Banks’ former running mate at corner in Jakorian Bennett, who actually bested his guy with a 4.3 flat in the 40, top-four marks in both the jumps and a good on-field workout.

At the same time, Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez may have separated himself from that trio of corners at the top, based on consensus rankings, in the eyes of some teams with tremendous all-around performances in testing and on-field drills.

Julius Brents from Kansas State, meanwhile, absolutely jumped out of the gym with a 41.5-inch vert and an 11-6 broad jump. And while not all corners participated, his agility numbers were also both significantly better than the next-closest name. For a legit 6-3 with 34-inch arms, that’ll be very intriguing for NFL teams.

Texas A&M's Jaylon Jones

Faller: Jaylon Jones, Texas A&M

Jaylon Jones had the second-worst 40 among CBs at 4.57 despite his 10-yard split at 1.48 being tied for second-best among the group. So, that confirms what I think about him: being able to drive on stuff in front of him and be a physical C2 corner, but his deep speed is a real issue and limits what he can be at the next level.

The jumps were OK, but I didn’t like what I saw on the field, either. He tried to T-step early on in the W-drill, but slipped twice on the first break and was a bit timid when he finally made it through the drill. Plus, he slipped a bit again when simulating a curl-to-pivot route, where they had to open one way and then make that full 180-degree turn.

I will give him credit for the way he caught the ball, and maybe there simply was some bad choice with the footwear, but there's too many really good corners in this group to have a performance like that. He’s going to be a scheme-specific player, and a team that buys into his special teams value will bring in some time on Day Three.

Also, Virginia’s Anthony Johnson was rough in his testing – he was dead last with a 4.63 in the 40, the vert at 30.5 inches and just an inch away from the very bottom of the list with his 9-7 broad jump.