In the modern NFL, having high-level playmakers at cornerback is becoming a non-negotiable proposition to combat the new wave of offensive innovation.
Much like the class before it, the 2024 NFL Draft CB class should allow NFL defenses to stay ready, and our CB rankings detail the best options available to teams come April’s NFL Draft.
Ranking the Top Cornerbacks in the 2024 NFL Draft
The 2023 NFL Draft CB class will be hard to top. Not only was it talented at the front of the board with prospects like Christian Gonzalez and Devon Witherspoon, but it also had unmatched depth.
Deonte Banks, Joey Porter Jr., Kelee Ringo, Julius Brents, Darius Rush, Cory Trice, Clark Phillips III, Emmanuel Forbes, Cam Smith, Tyrique Stevenson, Carrington Valentine — the list goes on and on.
It’s bold to say the 2024 NFL Draft CB group will even come close to the 2023 group. But now that we’ve had time to analyze the class, we can at least say that the depth is here to stay.
There are over a dozen CBs in contention for early-round spots in the 2024 class. And as our current top-10 list below exemplifies, playmaking ability is not in short supply.
10) Ennis Rakestraw Jr., Missouri
Man coverage might unequivocally be the most enjoyable coverage to watch. It’s one CB and one WR on an island ruthlessly fighting to maintain leverage and positioning through a four-second rep.
MORE: 2024 NFL Draft Big Board
There are many good man coverage CBs in this class — Caelen Carson, Josh Newton, and Max Melton among them — but Ennis Rakestraw Jr. might be the best pure press-man CB.
Rakestraw doesn’t have elite ball production or speed, and some will ask if he’s an NFL-caliber playmaker. But ahead of the catch point, he’s one of the best CBs in the class, using fast feet, fluid hips, disciplined technique, and quick reaction speed to blanket WRs off the line.
9) Renardo Green, Florida State
Renardo Green was a late bloomer at the collegiate level. But in his fifth and final year at Florida State, he emerged as a high-end starter with biting physicality and impressive vertical athleticism. In particular, he performed admirably against first-round WR Malik Nabers.
With a 4.49-second 40-yard dash speed, a 37″ vertical, and a 10’10” broad jump, Green has high-end speed and explosiveness, and he wants all the smoke in press-man. But quietly, he has a strong zone framework and can shift on his pedal and recognize route transitions quickly.
8) Caelen Carson, Wake Forest
Carson sometimes gets overlooked in the 2024 NFL Draft CB class, but his body of work is up there with some of his early-round counterparts. Over the past three seasons, Carson amassed two interceptions and 22 pass breakups, and more often than not, he dissuaded QBs from throwing his way.
At 6’0″, 199 pounds, with solid proportional length, Carson thrives as a press-man CB on an island, using his torrid foot speed, corrective athleticism, plant-and-drive quickness, and suffocating physicality to eliminate receiving options.
7) T.J. Tampa, Iowa State
T.J. Tampa is the Day 2 value addition we need to talk about more in the 2024 NFL Draft CB class.
Of the 2024 cornerbacks, Tampa best embodies the physical profile of a CB1. He’s 6’1″ and almost 200 pounds with high-end length, bristling start-and-stop and attack explosiveness, and smooth swivel freedom.
For his size, Tampa has impressive coverage versatility. He has the length, physicality, and corrective athleticism to dictate reps in press-man, but he’s also a fluid and adaptable defender when pedaling in zone coverage and managing depth in off-man against stems.
6) Mike Sainristil, Michigan
If you want a plug-and-play impact starter at nickel cornerback, Mike Sainristil is your man in the 2024 NFL Draft class.
A former WR, Sainristil broke out as a dominating force on the Wolverines’ defense with 44 tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack, six interceptions, six pass deflections, and two forced fumbles in 2023.
MORE: Top Safeties in the 2024 NFL Draft
A comparison often made for Sainristil is former Steelers and current Bengals slot CB Mike Hilton, which holds a lot of weight.
Sainristil is undersized, but he’s a demon as a blitzing threat and a support presence. He’s also a versatile coverage defender with a playmaking edge.
5) Max Melton, Rutgers
At 5’11”, 187 pounds, with 32″ arms, Melton has an incredibly unique physical profile, and he also has some of the most explosive athleticism in the entire 2024 NFL Draft class, with 4.39 speed, a 40.5″ vertical, and an 11’4″ broad jump to fall back on.
With his unique frame, high-energy athleticism, and penchant for playmaking, Melton bears some similarity to multi-year Atlanta Falcons starter Robert Alford. Alford was a deflection machine during his career, but Melton can bring even more with his support ability and slot versatility.
4) Nate Wiggins, Clemson
He missed some time due to injury early in 2023, but Nate Wiggins looked every bit like a Round 1 cornerback in 2023 whenever he was on the field. He logged a pick and 13 pass deflections in 2022, and in 2023, he sustained his ball-hawking ways while also giving general managers teach-tape to ogle over in coverage.
Wiggins is extremely lean and didn’t measure nearly as long as expected at the NFL Combine. But even so, he has all the necessary speed and fluidity to go with sharp coverage instincts in both man and zone, and his vertical athleticism compounds his disruption radius.
Wiggins can key in on QB intent and close early on routes, he can suffocate WRs in man with his foot speed and length, and he’s resolute in pursuit.
3) Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama
We can confirm: It’s safe to drink the Kool-Aid.
Kool-Aid McKinstry earned first-team All-SEC honors alongside Emmanuel Forbes, Christopher Smith, and Jordan Battle after putting up a pick and a whopping 15 deflections in 2022. In 2023, he solidified his status as a top CB prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft class.
It sounds simplistic, but McKinstry simply has it all.
At around 6’0″ and 188 pounds, with 32″ arms, he has the length to jar receivers and block passes at the catch point. McKinstry’s already a technician with the movement speed, agility, and fluidity to mirror WRs at every level of the route. And his physical foundation ultimately sets him apart as a future starter at the NFL level.
Beyond having all the requisite raw traits, there’s a certain precision in each layer of McKinstry’s game. Nearly every jam is precise and forceful. Every movement has a purpose, and his patience allows him to maximize each step and punch.
Meanwhile, at the catch point, McKinstry is as natural of a playmaker as they come, with effortless instincts and an authoritative mentality.
McKinstry looks tailor-made to be a CB1 at the NFL level, and even if he’s no longer the consensus CB1, he’s still a slam-dunk first-round pick.
2) Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo
Two words: ball hawk. You won’t find another like Quinyon Mitchell in the 2024 NFL Draft class.
The 6’0″, 195-pound Toledo product terrorized opposing passers with five interceptions and 19 pass deflections in a ground-breaking 2022 campaign. And in 2023, he was once again one of the nation’s leaders in PBUs with 18.
At his size, Mitchell brings absurd closing speed and range as a playmaker. He has a verified 4.3-second pace but also has the short-area quickness and physicality to match and gather receivers at the line.
Mitchell brings plenty of appeal for an off-man and zone-heavy team intent on adding playmakers, but at the Senior Bowl, he reaffirmed his ability in press-man as well. Mitchell isn’t CB1 on the 2024 PFN NFL Draft Big Board, but he’s a viable CB1 candidate, and he could be the first one picked.
Who Is the Best CB in the 2024 NFL Draft?
Some draft classes break the mold and have a CB1 from an under-the-radar school, but in all likelihood, the 2024 NFL Draft class won’t be one of them. That said, the order has shifted since the draft cycle started, and a new CB1 has emerged.
1) Terrion Arnold, Alabama
McKinstry was essentially the consensus CB1 heading into the 2023 campaign, and he played well enough to stay in the conversation. But there’s another cornerback who put up an even better argument — and he played across from McKinstry on the field.
Heading into the year, Terrion Arnold was a young redshirt sophomore who needed more time to grow and gain trust in his abilities. The Texas game early on was an example of this. Arnold missed more than one coverage exchange, and his support angles were streaky.
Alabama CB Terrion Arnold already sees the Hall of Fame in his future. 🔥#RollTide | #NFLCombine pic.twitter.com/nECrmhW5LE
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) February 29, 2024
But as the year went on, Arnold morphed into a lockdown two-phase CB and an elite all-encompassing playmaker before everyone’s eyes. He ended the season with 63 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, a sack, five interceptions, 12 pass deflections, and a forced fumble.
At 6’0″, 196 pounds, with good length, Arnold legitimately has all of the tools to be a blue-chip NFL cornerback and a scheme-versatile one at that. He’s an easy accelerator, an extremely fluid mover, and he showcases excellent discipline and reaction to stimulus in man coverage — as well as the timing and vertical athleticism to close the lid.
Beyond those traits in coverage, Arnold is also one of the best 2024 NFL Draft CBs in run support — tenacious attacking blocks and attacking the ball. This kind of cornerback is a defensive coordinator’s dream, and it’s a dream someone will get to make a reality in Round 1.
Honorable Mentions
- Cooper DeJean, Iowa (S)
- Kamari Lassiter, Georgia
- Andru Phillips, Kentucky
- Decamerion Richardson, Mississippi State
- Khyree Jackson, Oregon
- D.J. James, Auburn
- Kris Abrams-Draine, Missouri
- Josh Newton, TCU
- Elijah Jones, Boston College
- Jarvis Brownlee Jr., Louisville
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