He didnt necessarily play his best during the Rams Super Bowl run last January, and his start to the 2022 season was below even his own standards, but that doesnt mean he had a down year. Lets look at who the top cornerback in the NFL is and where the top NFL cornerbacks fall on the list after that. Whos the Best Cornerback in the NFL? The New York Jets Sauce Gardner is the best cornerback in the NFL today. The Rams are struggling, but their defense has been outstanding due to the play of Ramsey, Aaron Donald and Bobby Wagner. has just dropped and in conjunction with that is an expansion of PFFs preseason positional rankings that will be rollled out over the next couple of weeks. 1? Hes as good a prospect on the field as weve seen since PFF started grading college football in 2014. He has allowed only 244 yards on 46 targets this season and has yet to surrender a touchdown. Charlie Thomas, Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Brown displayed top-notch coverage ability at off-ball linebacker for. Terrell, Falcons. The 2022 PFF College Football Preview Guide has just dropped and in conjunction with that is an expansion of PFFs preseason positional rankings that will be rollled out over the next couple of weeks. 32) were in the up-and-comers tier. A record and tribute: Forbes set the FBS all-time career record with six pick-sixes after housing three as a freshman in 2020 and three more in 2022. He'll be back on the field for 2023, however, and you can bet he's sharpened his teeth this offseason. The shutdown corner has completely erased any other WR who has dared to challenge him this season, allowing just 61 yards on 21 targets to receivers not named Adams and Metcalf. School: Oregon (after Colorado) | Year: Junior | Ht: 6-foot-1 | Wt: 197 pounds, 2022 stats: 12 games; 50 tackles (35 solo), 1.0 tackles for loss, 4 INT, 7 pass breakups. The Ravens need to draft a cornerback. Heres who could be The Rams are struggling, but their defense has been outstanding due to the play of Ramsey, Dean has the eighth-best coverage grade among qualifying cornerbacks on the season (78.1). 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. Ward is a force to be reckoned with, and opposing offensive coordinators know this to be true. The Pitt product is an effective tackler who consistently breaks downhill and snuffs out plays underneath his 17 passing stops in the slot tied for the most in the NFL last season. Terrell. Surtain leads the NFL in coverage grade (89.1) while allowing just 160 yards on 41 targets. He has deep downfield speed, patience at the line of scrimmage, and plays physically without incurring flags. He also has three interceptions on the season with only one touchdown allowed. 247Sports Home; FB Rec. While the Broncos have been in zone coverage 77 percent of the time this season (tied for fifth-highest usage in the NFL), a majority of that has been Cover 3 (42 percent, third in the NFL). For instance, he allowed a career-high seven touchdown receptions in coverage, which is a big reason fans seemed to sour on him this season. After missing most of last season with an injury, Horn has bounced back in a big way for the Panthers. NFL.com's Daniel Jeremiah currently has six cornerbacks in his overall Top 50: 6. NFL footage NFL Productions LLC. 247Sports . School: Miami (after Georgia) | Year: Senior | Ht: 6-foot-0 | Wt: 198 pounds, 2022 stats: 11 games; 25 tackles (18 solo), 1.5 TFL, 2 INT, 7 pass breakups. It wasn't his best year statistically, but often operating on an island without Peters manning the opposite post, it most certainly wasn't his worst, either. 6 on the list, as his 86.2 coverage grade as an outside cornerback led the NFL, and he ranked 11th in both yards allowed per outside-coverage snap (0.79) and percentage of outside targets to result in a first down or touchdown (29.4%).