With Week 1 of the NFL season officially here, we'll continue to truck through my positional rankings for the 2026 draft class. What follwos are my defensive back rankings for the 2026 NFL Draft—broken up by cornerback and safety.

Visit my author page for the rest of my positional previews, and get 20% off your FantasyLife+ subscription for the season with code THOR!

Cornerback Rankings For The 2026 NFL Draft Class

1. Avieon Terrell | Clemson | 5110/180 | JR

Terrell is on the smaller side, but you wouldn’t know it from watching him. He’s a feisty, aggressive cornerback who has proven he can excel on the boundary.

The younger brother of A.J. Terrell, Avieon followed in his brother’s footsteps to Clemson. Terrell was heavily used as a true freshman and took over as a full-time starter as a sophomore in 2024. Over 721 career coverage snaps, he’s allowed a mere 61.9 QB rating against.

Terrell is a clever, instinctual presence in off-coverage, seemingly keeping an eye on the receiver and quarterback simultaneously. He tends to get exceptional jumps on the ball and get his hands on a lot of them. 

Terrell’s 10 breakups last year tied for the most on this list. He’s really slick in the beats leading up to the ball’s arrival, positioning himself like a receiver and attacking the ball in the air. 

Terrell has really quick feet, and, because of this, he doesn’t take many chances off the line of scrimmage. He has an NFL veteran’s penchant for little tugs and grabs here and there to impede the receiver. The seven flags he drew last year aren’t necessarily a red flag, but more care and nuance in this area will be required at the next level.

Terrell is elite against the run. And let me be clear: Not elite against the run for his size, elite period. His 90.7 PFF run defense grade and 19 stops last year were both as good as it gets.

It’s not just that Terrell gets quick jumps downhill and flies to the ball like a firefighter running into a burning house. It’s also that he’s an extremely effective and conscientious team run defender—making smart decisions that don’t show up in the box score but which limit the opponent’s yardage.

One example: On plays where Terrell finds himself isolated on an island of the play-side, instead of triggering downhill in a low-percentage gambit to play hero, he’ll work like a madman to cross his man’s face to get outside leverage to force the ball-carrier inside to help.

Terrell is both a physical and a reliable tackler. When he has an opportunity to lay the lumber, he will take it. A good example of that came this past Saturday night in the opener against LSU, when Terrell dropped the shoulder to level LSU TE Bauer Sharp and force a fumble.

2. Jermod McCoy | Tennessee | 5011/193 | JR

Heading into the season, as I see it, Terrell and Jermod McCoy sit in a tier together at the top of this cornerback class. McCoy, however, suffered a torn ACL while training in January, complicating his evaluation.

This past Saturday, On3’s Chris Low and Brett McMurphy reported that McCoy will miss multiple games to start the 2025 season. McCoy has not yet returned to practice, but is nearing the end of his rehab and closing in on that. The report stated that McCoy will return at some point this season.

McCoy was one of the 2024 class’ best transfer portal finds. Long overlooked, McCoy was only a three-star recruit out of the state of Texas. He signed with Oregon State and transferred to Tennessee last offseason, setting the stage for his national coming-out party—13 passes defended and four interceptions en route to All-American honors.

There are some questions about McCoy’s long speed—that’ll be something to monitor when he returns to the field. Estimates on McCoy’s forty range all the way from the low-4.4s to the low-4.5s. My total guess from his 2024 tape was high-4.4s.

McCoy has now played well in two different schemes, and he has experience in both press-man and zone. McCoy is under six feet tall, but he’s well-built and muscular. Part of the appeal of his game comes from his muscle. 

In press, McCoy stays square with a base under him. He gets aggressive with receivers who have rudimentary release packages, dictating terms of engagement. Against receivers of more skill, he’s patient and clever, allowing his opponent to declare intentions before reacting.

McCoy has very quick feet and loose hips, matching footwork and smoothly flipping and accelerating when his opponent heads downfield.

McCoy’s best skill might be his understanding of leverage and angles, and how he positions his body to syphon off the receiver’s oxygen. McCoy finds his moment to funnel receivers into darker waters, and regularly squeezes them into feeble positioning near the sidelines.

In zone coverage, McCoy is most impressive in his ability to drive downhill to challenge with the ball in the air. He’s not as comfortable passing his assignment off and refocusing his attention, a nuance thing that might be experiential.

McCoy is also a legitimate value-add in run defense. He gets good downhill jumps, he takes direct paths to the ball, and he rarely misses tackles.

If McCoy can return later this fall and show his 2024 form, even in a limited sample, he’s going to put himself in a good position to declare early and hear his name called in Round 1 in April. We’re in wait-and-see mode until then.

3. A.J. Harris | Penn State | 6010/184 | JR

A former five-star recruit, Harris spent one season as a backup at Georgia before transferring to Penn State to help replace Joey Porter Jr. Harris was a perfect fit for Penn State’s press-happy coverage scheme, playing the position with a physicality that Porter would appreciate.

In 2024, Harris was an immediate difference-maker in Happy Valley, posting an 81.3 PFF coverage grade. He gave up only 26 catches on 46 targets, holding opponents to a sterling 0.8 yards per coverage snap. 

Harris is tall and blessed with long arms, and his hands are all over the receiver coming off the line. He’s very comfortable with this style, and he’s got a speed to carry deep in man coverage – Harris is blessed with an estimated 4.42 forty.

Harris is also sudden, exploding downhill to challenge at the catch point in off-coverage. Harris is a very strong run-defender who flies downhill to get involved. At present, he misses a few too many attempts. Refining his technique into contact would help, but a percentage of this issue might be endemic to his game because the gangly Harris lacks lower-body strength.

Harris’ ceiling is a bit capped by limited agility. Harris is a fluid hip-flipper, and he’s bursty north/south. But Harris’ higher center of gravity and longer legs can get his feet stuck in route breaks.

Harris does, however, provide more versatility than the average corner. Last season, Penn State gave Harris 93 snaps in the box, 18 snaps off the edge, 75 snaps in the slot, and nine snaps deep as a centerfield free safety.

He can be shifted into the nickel against big-slot tight ends, and he’s happy to be an extra linebacker in obvious running situations—Harris doesn’t have the body armor for every assignment, but his activity and willingness tend to affect plays.

4. D.J. McKinney | Colorado | 6000/181 | rJR

McKinney is a high-end athlete—estimated 4.4 forty—with length who drew Day 2 grades from the NFL this summer. Smooth in coverage, McKinney was extremely difficult to beat last year, allowing receptions on only 37-of-71 targets.

McKinney has an exciting combination of natural man-coverage skill and athleticism. He plays a ton of press coverage in Colorado’s system—250 press snaps in 2024—and the crux of McKinney’s evaluation comes down to this area. 

McKinney is most comfortable in press, and he’s got the length and athleticism for those duties. McKinney, however, is rail-thin and lacks play strength—he also misses the target too often off the line. 

This led to more free releases than he should be allowing, reps where, in essence, McKinney needed to use his length and athleticism to rally back in a rep. When he doubted his ability to do that, you’d see McKinney get especially grabby.

McKinney’s style naturally involves his length and hands—he likes to feel his man up the route stem. That’s a play style that requires nuance to succeed in the NFL, and that’s something McKinney needs to continue working towards.

5. Daylen Everette | Georgia | 6005/193 | SR

Everette warmed up in the pregame of Saturday’s season-opening win over Marshall but did not play. Everette got banged up in practice and was seen in a walking boot in the week leading up to the game.

My understanding is that Everette could have played against Marshall but was withheld for precautionary reasons. The expectation is that Everette will be a full-go for a full workload starting Week 3 at Tennessee. He isn’t necessarily needed for the Week 2 game against FCS Austin Peay, so it’ll be interesting to see if he gets any work.

Everette started every game in 2024, including a two-interception game that netted MVP honors in the SEC title game against Texas. Everette, who functions as Georgia’s CB1, is experienced in both press-man and zone.

Everette boasts exceptional length—especially for his frame—with a 6-foot-5 wingspan. He’s a physical, technique-sound boundary presence who gets his hands on receivers off the line. Everette has the wheels for most assignments with an estimated mid-4.4s forty 

The weakness of Everette’s game is a little low-half stiffness that you sometimes see when he flips his hips or at the top of route breaks. The former can lead to delayed starts in the race downfield, and the latter can lead to more hand aggression than he’ll be able to get away with at the NFL level.

Everette is at his best in zone coverage. He deciphers route concepts quickly, efficiently passes off assignments to deep help, and closes downhill quickly with the ball in the air to get his long arms involved at the catch point.

Best of the rest …

6. Domani Jackson | Alabama | 6003/191 | SR
7. Malik Muhammad | Texas | 6000/190 | JR
8. Jyaire Hill | Michigan | 6010/185 | rSO
9. Will Lee III | Texas A&M | 6007/191 | rSR
10. Davison Igbinosun | Ohio State | 6017/191 | SR
11. Mansoor Delane | LSU | 5111/191 | SR
12. Xavier Scott | Illinois | 5110/198 | rSR
13. Jermaine Mathews Jr. | Ohio State | 5110/189 | JR
14. Thaddeus Dixon | North Carolina | 6002/195 | rSR
15. Christian Gray | Notre Dame | 6000/189 | JR

Safety Rankings For The 2026 NFL Draft Class

1. Caleb Downs | Ohio State | 6000/205 | JR

Downs is coming off a legitimately incredible first two seasons in college. As a true freshman, Downs led Alabama with 107 tackles. Downs transferred to Ohio State and had six deflections, eight TFL, and two interceptions for the national champions in 2024.

Downs had five tackles in Ohio State’s 2025 season-opening win over Texas on Saturday. An anonymous NFL general manager told Jordan Schultz, “There's some Earl Thomas and Eric Berry to him. Just a special, special player."

Downs changed the way Ohio State played defense last season. The Buckeyes would often line him up at deep middle linebacker depth, and Downs, in essence, was the sideline-to-sideline cleanup crew if a running back breached Ohio State’s stout defensive front.

Downs gets outstanding jumps, and he’s a heat-seeking missile coming downhill. His 29 run stops last fall were tops amongst returning FBS safeties.

Downs appears to be a film rat in how quickly he deciphers the play concept and spurs to action. In pass defense, Downs could draw the offense’s play on the whiteboard a few beats after the snap.

Last season, he allowed 188 yards and zero TDs over 509 coverage snaps, posting a 52.6 QB rating against on targets. Downs’ speed—projected high-4.3s forty—and instant trigger allow him to erase distance quickly and get involved at the catch point.

In 2024, Downs finished 88th-percentile in PFF coverage grade and 82nd-percentile in run defense grade. Because Downs is an exceptional athlete who sees the field so well, he can be played all over the field.

Counting Saturday’s game against Texas, Downs has played 1,874 career snaps over two-plus seasons for two blueblood programs. Of those snaps, 703 came as the deep free safety, 648 came in the box, 441 came in the slot, and 78 more were sprinkled situationally at EDGE and boundary CB.

The only safety in the country who earned a Round 1 grade from the NFL over the summer, Downs’ NFL evaluation is straightforward. It is made even more so by the bloodlines he comes from. The son of former NFL running back Gary Downs, Downs is also the nephew of former NFL cornerback Dre Bly and the brother of Colts WR Josh Downs. 

2. Dillon Thieneman | Oregon | 6000/205 | JR

One of the best finds in the 2023 recruiting class, Purdue discovered the three-star Thieneman, a native of Indiana, close to home. As a true freshman, Thieneman’s 89.5 PFF grade led the nation and was the third-highest PFF grade ever given to a true freshman safety (behind Pitt’s Jordan Whitehead and FSU’s Derwin James).

Thieneman posted 106 tackles and six interceptions en route to All-America honors that year. He returned to play for another dead-end Purdue team in 2024. Thieneman regressed a bit in 2024, and that came directly from Purdue’s decision to frequently yank him out of the centerfield post he excels in.

Purdue’s defensive coaching staff tried to use Thieneman as a human Flex Seal to cover other holes in the starting lineup, giving him heavy snaps as a nickel defender and in the box. It not only didn’t work, but it also played down their best player.

Thieneman is a pure free safety who can be trusted to make correct decisions as a single-high centerfielder. He’s a very good run defender—for a free safety. Thieneman takes intelligent paths to the ball and is a slick open-field tackler. 

He’s not the coverage presence with his back to the ball that he is when he can see the entire field in front of him. And he’s not as good in run defense in a phone booth as when functioning as the back-end cleanup crew.

Thieneman’s range is the thing that stands out the most on film at free safety. He closes exceedingly quickly and is a cornerback’s best friend coming forward to offer support at the catch point.

Thieneman was back to his natural spot in Oregon’s 2025 opener against Montana State over the weekend. Thieneman played 22-of-29 snaps as a deep FS before hitting the showers early in a blowout win.

If Thieneman returns to his 2023 form and tests as well this spring as expected—projected 4.4 speed—he looks like a top-half-of-Round 2-type prospect.

Best of the rest…

3. Zakee Wheatley | Penn State | 6026/198 | SR
4. Emmanuel McNeil-Warren | Toledo | 6033/209 | SR
5. Kamari Ramsey | USC | 6000/204 | rJR
6. Jalon Kilgore | South Carolina | 6010/211 | JR
7. Bud Clark | TCU | 6005/189 | rSR
8. Rod Moore | Michigan | 5107/182 | rSR
9. Matthew Bailey | Illinois | 6020/215 | JR
10. Tao Johnson | Utah | 6010/192 | SR
11. Nikai Martinez | Michigan State | 5100/195 | SR
12. VJ Payne | Kansas State | 6030/210 | SR

Join Our Newsletter

Trusted by 400,000+ fantasy football players. Get access to Fantasy Life's free award winning newsletter and tools, all in one step.

Email Address

Subscribe

By registering or logging in, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.