2026 Draft: Cornerback

[manxman2601]

#6 on the list

 

[manxman2601]

Now that we have all three starting CB positions, my quest is to now find a backup CB that is currently expected to be taken outside of the first two rounds, rarely misses tackles with a good coverage grade and a good run defence grade who is at least 5'11. My thinking is that ideally we need one guy that backup both the outside and inside CB positions.

Spoiler alert - There is one guy that Mayo and I have focused on a fair bit who is perfect. (PS. It turns out there are more than I thought with some names worth researching).

My rules

Sub 10% missed tackle rate
Coverage grade over 75
Run defence grade over 75
At least 5'11"
I will include prospects who closely miss my rules.

I'm only including power 4 corners unless I've heard of them and I'm not including Chris Johnson, Keith Abney and Avieon Terrell because their draft value is probably too high to be considered backups for the next two years.

1. Jayven Williams, Miss St - 75.7 coverage, 73 run defense, 7.1% missed tackles
2. Kelley Jones, Miss St. - 76.8, 76.2, 5.6 (note he's 6'4" so big nickel?)
3. Devon Marshall, NC State - 78, 76, 11.5%&
4. TJ Hall, Iowa - 78.5, 84.3, 2.8%
5. Tamon Lynum, Pitt - 79, 80.9, zero missed tackles!
6. Antonio Kite, Ole Miss - 79, 70.7, 7.7%
7. Wrook Brown, Houston - 79.3, 82.9, zero missed tackles.
8. Treydan Stukes, Arizona, 81.3, 80.4, 8.0%*

And the person I thought was the locked on favourite before I started this exercise. I kind of still do but see my subsequent posts on Ceyair Wright.

9. Julian Neal, Arkansas - 83.5 coverage, 89 run defense, 4.5% missed tackle


Honorary mention

Ceyair Wright, Nebraska - I can't include him above because his missed tackle rate is 19% although it should be noted that that's based upon only 4 missed tackles.However, he has a coverage grade of 71, a run defense grade of 78 and is 6'. He has 200 snaps in the slot and 124 out wide. More on him to come because he's a sneakily good option.

There are some other intriguing names I need to research. Treydan Stukes for example, has been graded as a 4th rounder on James Foster's big board but he's the 3rd most athletic corner on that board according to tracking data and the 6th fastest so a name to keep in the back of your mind.

 

[manxman2601]

Ceyair Wright, CB, Nebraska - 6', 190lbs

He's a name I heard recently and although I didn't do much research into him, I did think him intriguing.

Firstly, I like his versatility as a backup. 201 snaps in the slot, 124 snaps outside although before this year he's been almost exclusively an outside corner at USC.

It's his character which intrigues me. I'm always on the lookout for 'Vrabel guys' and he looks like he might be one. See the following.



That's Ceyair Wright in the middle of that sideline meeting leading it



From early October



One final note on Wright. He hasn't been used that way this year, but in '24, Wright had a borderline elite special teams grade of 85.0 as a gunner. Not unimportant for a backup looking to make the roster.

I think, along with Julian Neal, he's going to be a day 3 binky for me.

 

[manxman2601]

Treydan Stukes, Arizona - 6', 200lbs


Stukes is interesting. He's used almost exclusively as a nickel at Arizona, but at 6' and 200lbs, he clearly has the size to play outside. The question is, is he not playing outside because he's not fast enough, or is it because he's so good at the nickel, he's locked the position down?

 

[manxman2601]

@mayoclinic

I've just seen that PFF have added Julian Neal to their big board at #84. He wasn't on at all before now.

 

[mayoclinic]

How do Tacario Davis and Jyaire Hill stack up against your metrics?

 

[manxman2601]

How do Tacario Davis and Jyaire Hill stack up against your metrics?

Tacario Davis - 67.8 coverage, 73.3 run defense, only 1 missed tackle. so pretty good.

Jyaire Hill - 74.5 coverage, 77 run defense, 17.2% missed tackle rate (5 missed tackles although 4 were in one game)

They both definitely fit. I have seen some questions about Hill's character and is Davis too big to play the nickel? Ideally I'd want someone who could backup both. Davis would certainly fit as a big nickel alternative though.

 

[manxman2601]

 

[Clonamery]

Thoughtful young man:

 

[manxman2601]

Now that we have all three starting CB positions, my quest is to now find a backup CB that is currently expected to be taken outside of the first two rounds, rarely misses tackles with a good coverage grade and a good run defence grade who is at least 5'11. My thinking is that ideally we need one guy that backup both the outside and inside CB positions.

Spoiler alert - There is one guy that Mayo and I have focused on a fair bit who is perfect. (PS. It turns out there are more than I thought with some names worth researching).

My rules

Sub 10% missed tackle rate
Coverage grade over 75
Run defence grade over 75
At least 5'11"
I will include prospects who closely miss my rules.

I'm only including power 4 corners unless I've heard of them and I'm not including Chris Johnson, Keith Abney and Avieon Terrell because their draft value is probably too high to be considered backups for the next two years.

1. Jayven Williams, Miss St - 75.7 coverage, 73 run defense, 7.1% missed tackles
2. Kelley Jones, Miss St. - 76.8, 76.2, 5.6 (note he's 6'4" so big nickel?)
3. Devon Marshall, NC State - 78, 76, 11.5%&
4. TJ Hall, Iowa - 78.5, 84.3, 2.8%
5. Tamon Lynum, Pitt - 79, 80.9, zero missed tackles!
6. Antonio Kite, Ole Miss - 79, 70.7, 7.7%
7. Wrook Brown, Houston - 79.3, 82.9, zero missed tackles.
8. Treydan Stukes, Arizona, 81.3, 80.4, 8.0%*

And the person I thought was the locked on favourite before I started this exercise. I kind of still do but see my subsequent posts on Ceyair Wright.

9. Julian Neal, Arkansas - 83.5 coverage, 89 run defense, 4.5% missed tackle


Honorary mention

Ceyair Wright, Nebraska - I can't include him above because his missed tackle rate is 19% although it should be noted that that's based upon only 4 missed tackles.However, he has a coverage grade of 71, a run defense grade of 78 and is 6'. He has 200 snaps in the slot and 124 out wide. More on him to come because he's a sneakily good option.

There are some other intriguing names I need to research. Treydan Stukes for example, has been graded as a 4th rounder on James Foster's big board but he's the 3rd most athletic corner on that board according to tracking data and the 6th fastest so a name to keep in the back of your mind.

When I was compiling this list, there was one name I missed off because of his relatively high missed tackle %, an issue that has plagued him throughout his college career. however, I'm starting to regret not including him.

Keionte Scott, Miami, 6-0, 194
Simply put, he is the best graded run defending CB in CFB with a 91.6 grade to go along with a 81.9 coverage grade. However, he does have 9 missed tackles this year and 34 career missed tackles. I do think this could be a result of being over aggressive in run support though. The other issue is that, at least this year, he's a nickel defender almost exclusively with only 10 snaps on the outside. An excellent backup for Marcus Jones (at punt returns too), but that's it. I do think Vrabel will appreciate his aggressivness though, and in the second short video, you'll hear the guy talking about Scott being at the vanguard of a swarming defense, something Vrabel wants from his defense.

Connor Rogers on Scott

 

[mayoclinic]

 

[manxman2601]

 

[manxman2601]

Very brief Keionte Scott breakdown. A bit of a booster post though (well a lot). It's effectively the same as the tweet above but in video form.

 

[mayoclinic]

From this, it sounds like Scott struggled at outside CB for Auburn, but thrives at nickel CB:



Sounds like he has also played some safety, which is what interests me most about him. 6' 190#, 4.4 speed, good in run support and blitz.

 

[manxman2601]

From this, it sounds like Scott struggled at outside CB for Auburn, but thrives at nickel CB:



Sounds like he has also played some safety, which is what interests me most about him. 6' 190#, 4.4 speed, good in run support and blitz.

It's a good sign when a coach moving jobs, brings a player with him.

 

[mayoclinic]

Twice: from Auburn to Houston, then to Miami.

 

[manxman2601]

Kelley Jones, Mississippi State, 6'3 or 6'4, 195lbs

Jones is a RS sophomore so draft eligible but probably one for next year. I keep seeing him crop up as top or near the top in a number of statistical categories.

For example







The only red flag for me is that while he doesn't give up very many completions, they tend to be big ones as you can see here.

v So. Miss - 1 completion on 5 targets for 22 yards
v Arizona St. - 1/6 for 21
v Tennessee - 1/2 for 32
v Texas A&M - 1/3 for 34

In his defense though, he also shutdown his receiver against Florida, Texas and Arkansas.

 

[manxman2601]

Re Kelley Jones

The 2nd two clips in this tweet are him going up against KC Concepcion.

 

[Clonamery]

Re Kelley Jones

The 2nd two clips in this tweet are him going up against KC Concepcion.

Man & Zone. Good at getting his head turned.

 

[mayoclinic]

Kelley Jones, Mississippi State, 6'3 or 6'4, 195lbs

Jones is a RS sophomore so draft eligible but probably one for next year. I keep seeing him crop up as top or near the top in a number of statistical categories.

For example







The only red flag for me is that while he doesn't give up very many completions, they tend to be big ones as you can see here.

v So. Miss - 1 completion on 5 targets for 22 yards
v Arizona St. - 1/6 for 21
v Tennessee - 1/2 for 32
v Texas A&M - 1/3 for 34

In his defense though, he also shutdown his receiver against Florida, Texas and Arkansas.

6'2" 197# Devin Moore also made that list.

https://thedraftnetwork.com/2024/08/15/devin-moore-scouting-report-nfl-draft