- Hunter is a special talent: Two-way star Travis Hunter sees his name called in multiple categories as arguably the best cornerback in the draft.
- Barron and Revel win in their own ways: Jahdae Barron’s zone coverage skills and Shavon Revel’s press prowess could vault them into a first-round selection.
- 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: 5 minutes
As we head into the home stretch of the 2025 NFL Draft season, it’s time to stack some of these prospects up against one another with some superlatives.
Here, we look at standout traits and styles from the top cornerbacks.
Best Athlete: Travis Hunter, Colorado
It’s tough to pick anyone for this category aside from the player who excelled at both cornerback and wide receiver. Hunter’s fluidity in coverage is unmatched in the class, even though he would routinely play well over 100 snaps in a game. He’s simply a level of athlete that we have rarely, if ever, seen come through the collegiate ranks.
Best Man Coverage Player: Travis Hunter, Colorado
Part of what makes Hunter so special is his ability to lock receivers down in man coverage. He was asked to do it a ton, as Colorado ran the fifth-highest Cover 1 rate in the FBS last season. Hunter’s ball awareness stands out in these situations. He recorded five pass breakups and two interceptions when in man coverage in 2024, both of which were top 10 marks in the nation.
Best Zone Coverage Player: Jahdae Barron, Texas
Iowa State’s Darien Porter came close, but he couldn’t quite top Barron’s FBS-leading 91.5 zone coverage grade in 2024. Barron was able to master defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski’s complex zone coverages from both the outside and the slot. He’s very aggressive about getting downhill and disrupting at the catch point. Barron racked up eight forced incompletions and three interceptions while in zone coverage this season.
Best Press Coverage Player: Shavon Revel, East Carolina
Revel’s long frame and physical style of play allow him to excel in press coverage. Over the past two seasons, he leads the class with an outstanding 89.9 press coverage grade. He allowed just 12 of 36 targets in his direction to be caught while forcing nine incompletions in press coverage during that span.
Best Slot Player: Jordan Clark, Notre Dame
There aren’t many true slot cornerbacks in this draft, but Clark has played the most slot snaps of any player in the Power Four over the past three seasons and earned a solid 77.5 coverage grade. That’s particularly impressive considering he played his final season at Notre Dame, where the Fighting Irish played as much man coverage as any team in the country.
Best Ball Skills: Travis Hunter, Colorado
As expected, considering he is arguably the best wide receiver in this draft class as well, Hunter’s ball skills as a cornerback are just ridiculous. He collected nine interceptions and 20 pass breakups in his career. His awareness of the quarterback and ability to find the football are both elite. Hunter’s ball skills could make him an All-Pro player on either side of the ball.
Best Tackler: Zy Alexander, LSU
Alexander’s lengthy frame has allowed him to be an excellent tackler throughout his college career. During his five seasons, three at Southeast Louisiana and two at LSU, Alexander has missed just 14 tackles across nearly 2,500 snaps. His 7.3% missed tackle rate ranks among the best players in the class across an awfully large sample size.
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