This past week of football saw some incredible and not so incredible performances around the National Football League. Top cornerbacks Jalen Ramsey and Jaire Alexander cemented their elite status while Marshon Lattimore’s struggles continued. For this Week 8 installment of the top 25 CB rankings, we’ll look at the top-level performances from various players at the position, as well as their impact on their football team and the defensive schemes as we enter this weekend of football.
[sv slug=”posranks”]NFL Top 25 CB Rankings, Week 8 | 25-16
25) Xavier Rhodes, Indianapolis Colts
The Colts had a bye this past week, but Xavier Rhodes has played well enough that he deserves to remain in the Week 8 CB rankings. Rhodes appears to be enjoying a bounceback year as he’s faced several of the NFL’s best receivers and has played wonderfully across the board.
24) William Jackson III, Cincinnati Bengals
The only player that arguably helped their stock this week despite not playing is William Jackson III. Without him, the Bengals were utterly shredded by a Browns’ passing attack that has been below-average so far this season and didn’t have Odell Beckham Jr. for the large majority of the game.
23) Quinton Dunbar, Seattle Seahawks
Quinton Dunbar has been one of the only bright spots on an uncharacteristically bad Pete Carroll defense. However, against the Cardinals, he had one of his worst performances of the season. Arizona’s offense consistently came after Dunbar in coverage, targetting four times as often as the next-most targeted Seattle cornerback, and they were very successful in doing so.
22) Troy Hill, Los Angeles Rams
We are almost halfway through the season, and Troy Hill still has yet to allow a touchdown pass. In fact, he’s played more coverage snaps than any other corner who has yet to allow a touchdown and is one of only two (Marlon Humphrey) to have done so with more than 250 coverage snaps. As a bonus, his late interception of Nick Foles in the end zone killed Chicago’s chances of a comeback.
21) Darius Slay, Philadelphia Eagles
Last Thursday’s Eagles-Giants game was one of, if not the sloppiest combined offensive performance we have seen all season, and despite that, Daniel Jones was still able to take advantage of Slay in coverage. To be fair, there’s not much more he could have done on Sterling Shepard’s touchdown grab, but he also definitely didn’t play like a top 15 cornerback.
20) Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans Saints
What is wrong with Marshon Lattimore this season? His career started with one of the most promising first three years to a career we’ve seen from a cornerback in the past decade, but in 2020 he’s been awful. He struggled mightily against the subpar Panthers, and if he continues to play this bad, he won’t be among the top cornerbacks anymore after Week 8.
19) Jamel Dean, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Like teammate Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean’s rise up the CB rankings continues in Week 8. He didn’t quite play as well against the Raiders as he did against the Packers, but he certainly played better than Lattimore, Slay and Dunbar did this week, which facilitates his movement on this list.
18) Jason Verrett, San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco’s secondary was a colossal liability last season, and that was with Richard Sherman playing at an All-Pro level. If you told 49ers fans that they would be without Sherman this season, they likely would’ve panicked. However, the 49ers secondary has arguably improved if anything in 2020, and Jason Verrett finally being healthy and playing like his old self again is the main reason why.
17) Kyle Fuller, Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears defense has been fantastic this season, and while it’s not quite at the level of the historic 2017 squad, Kyle Fuller is back to playing like his 2017 self. He has arguably been Chicago’s best defensive player, which is quite the compliment, even though his game against the Rams wasn’t his best.
16) Byron Jones, Miami Dolphins
Byron Jones didn’t play, as the Dolphins had the week off, but he deserves to be ranked this high because he’s a key piece of the most interesting Dolphins team since Chad Pennington’s revenge tour. Brian Flores wants his team’s identity to be in the secondary, and Jones and Xavien Howard have begun to make that desire a reality in recent weeks.
NFL Top Cornerback Rankings, Week 8 | 15-6
15) James Bradberry, New York Giants
The signing of James Bradberry has been one of the most underrated free-agent acquisitions of the season so far. Without him, the Giants’ secondary might be the least talented unit in the NFL, and Bradberry has made them respectable. Plus, his acrobatic interception of Carson Wentz was jaw-dropping.
14) Darious Williams, Los Angeles Rams
Darious Williams matched up with all three of the Bears’ top receivers on Monday night and did such a magnificent job in coverage that fellow starting cornerbacks Troy Hill and Jalen Ramsey combined to be targeted more than four times as frequently as Williams was. You might not know who he is yet, but it won’t be long until he’s a bonafide star in the NFL.
13) Kendall Fuller, Washington Football Team
Kendall Fuller just simply took care of business against the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas does have a loaded receiving corps, which Fuller performed well against, but with a shipwrecked offensive line and or Ben DiNucci behind center, those receivers weren’t able to do anything all day. Washington’s pass rush definitely deserves a lot of credit for Fuller’s performance, but Fuller was terrific nonetheless.
12) Bryce Callahan, Denver Broncos
After missing the entire 2019 season with a foot injury, Bryce Callahan has returned to being an elite cover man, especially out of the slot. In conditions that made covering Kansas City’s lightning-quick pass catchers that much more difficult, Callahan had a nearly flawless performance. The one big reception he allowed had much more to do with an absurd catch from Mecole Hardman and downright football wizardry from Patrick Mahomes.
11) Casey Hayward Jr., Los Angeles Chargers
Outside of Joey Bosa and Casey Hayward Jr., no element of the Chargers defense has lived up to the pre-season hype. Hayward has continued to play like a Pro Bowl cornerback, and this week he did a marvelous job against D.J. Chark, maybe the NFL’s most underrated receiver.
Continue for the top 10 CBs in the NFL.