Ranking and evaluating the top-10 cornerbacks in 2025 NFL draft

The New England Patriots don’t necessarily need to draft a cornerback early, but they could be looking at some players to build quality depth.

Their top outside options are Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III. However, their slot cornerback, Marcus Jones, is entering the final year of his contract. Perhaps the Patriots consider taking on another slot corner at some point in the draft.

There are some interesting traits scattered throughout the cornerback position in this year’s draft class, with plenty of versatility to play outside or in the slot. Without further ado, here are the top-10 cornerbacks in this class.

10. Zy Alexander – LSU

A physical outside press-man corner with solid length and natural zone instincts, Alexander plays bigger than his frame suggests and is a nasty tackler with dog in him. He posted 13 career interceptions with two pick-sixes in 2022. He’s a fluid athlete, quick processor and physical at the line. His hand placement can be inconsistent, and he sometimes plays too high in his backpedal. He’s coming off an ACL tear in 2023 and a concussion in 2024, raising medical red flags. He has adequate top-end speed, so he’ll need to win with technique and anticipation.

9. Azareye’h Thomas – Florida State

Thomas is a long, athletic press corner with excellent mirroring ability and good sideline awareness. He has veteran savvy for hand placement and a competitive mentality. His fluid hips and route recognition help him in man coverage. However, he lacks ball production, has lapses in tackling and can get grabby when beaten over the top. He needs polish but brings clear boundary potential.

8. Maxwell Hairston – Kentucky

Hairston is an explosive slot or off-ball corner with an elite feel for zone coverage. He possesses fluid change of direction and an advanced closing burst, while also displaying good altitude and competitiveness at the catch point. He’s lean and can struggle against physical receivers. He opens his hips early, plays over-aggressively and lacks ideal play strength. He’s a potential starting nickel corner with refinement.

7. Jahdae Barron – Texas

Jahdae Barron is a physical, high-IQ corner who thrives in zone coverage. He has elite route recognition, strong plant-and-drive mechanics and brings the heat as a tackler. He is best-suited as a nickel corner with limited success on the outside. He can be grabby and lacks top gear speed. Occasionally, he overcommits and gets beaten by quick releases. Still, he’s a very solid zone defender with slot starter upside.

6. Darien Porter – Iowa State

Track speed and rare length make Porter an exciting developmental outside corner. He has an excellent special teams profile, natural ball tracking and zone instincts. He reroutes receivers with his long frame and has great pad level. He’s tight-hipped and can struggle flipping his hips. His raw technique needs development. He will also be 25 years old as a rookie, so his upside may be capped. But he’s a plug-and-play on special teams with CB1 traits.

5. Trey Amos – Ole Miss

Trey Amos is a polished press-man corner with exceptional spatial awareness and burst out of his breaks. He has excellent ball skills, great recovery speed and juice as a tackler. He can squeeze routes to the sideline, and he rarely gets beaten over the top. He needs to clean up occasional flat-footedness in zone and refine consistency against inside releases. Regardless, he’s a clean, smart corner with Day 2 potential.

4. Benjamin Morrison – Notre Dame

Benjamin Morrison is sticky in man coverage with excellent short-area quickness and ball skills. He plays with confidence and reads routes well, often disrupting timing. His slightly lean frame and hip injury history are concerns. He sometimes overrelies on recovery speed and can get overaggressive when jumping routes. Still, he projects as a plug-and-play CB2 with high-end starter potential.

3. Shavon Revel Jr. – East Carolina

Shavon Revel Jr. is a smooth athlete with excellent ball production and natural feel in man. He has a clean pedal, strong zone recognition and plays with swagger. Despite tearing his ACL in September, the tape before that was elite. He needs more experience and can get grabby when losing leverage, but he’s a gamer with high upside. He’s a confident, ascending corner.

2. Will Johnson – Michigan

Will Johnson has prototypical size and length for a press-man corner. He has elite football IQ, violent tackling technique and a nose for the football. He’s sticky in press and savvy using the sideline as leverage. He can get overaggressive looking for picks and grabby downfield, but the tools are undeniable. He’s one of the best Day 1-ready outside corners in this class.

1. Travis Hunter – Colorado

Travis Hunter is the unicorn of this draft. He is a better corner than receiver, and that’s saying something. He has exceptional ball skills, fluid hips, mirror ability, elite route recognition and rare conditioning. His press technique and awareness are already advanced. He needs to improve zone spacing and anchoring in run support, but his ceiling is All-Pro level. Hunter is the kind of shutdown corner who alters game plans.

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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: 2025 NFL draft: Ranking and evaluating the top-10 cornerbacks