2025 Draft: Cornerbacks

Part VI of our draft preview series looks at cornerbacks, both inside or out (although mostly out). Per usual, any number before a player dictates their “consensus big board” ranking. Asterisks (*) by names mark some of my favorite prospect/scheme fits.

Full disclosure, I kinda hate looking at DBs without coaches’ film. And even I can’t neglect my actual writing career to the point where I’m watching All-22 cutups of college guys we haven’t even drafted. But after skimming over this year’s crop of cornerbacks, I came away pleasantly surprised by how many guys fit our system. It’s not a loaded class, but it’s a class with multiple prospects whose weaknesses are hidden and strengths amplified by our scheme.

THE SKILLSET

In an ideal world, our outside corners are long, physical, and can excel in both press coverage and the deep zone work we lean so heavily on. Our linebackers drop deep enough and our pass rush is (theoretically) potent enough that our corners can play a top-down shell, making sure not to get beat vertically outside the hashes while driving and rallying to everything underneath.

But the era of the super big but not particularly athletic Seattle 3 boundary corner is long gone. While Charvarius Ward (6-1, nearly 200 pounds) is closer to the prototype, Renardo Green and DeMo aren’t nearly as big, but they make up for it in quickness and feistiness. We’d still prefer the smaller passing windows that a bigger, longer corner can generate, but we’re less dogmatic about it than when Shanahan and Lynch initially took over. This is a funky class because there are so many longer but slower types, but don’t be shocked if we go the other direction based on the success of our current duo.

THE NEED

Two of our three starting corners are young, ascending, and locked up on multi-year deals, but—at the moment—the third starter is anyone’s guess. Due to DeMo’s versatility, we could feasibly add an outside corner and slide Lenoir into the nickel or add a nickel and keep Lenoir outside. My guess would be we’d prefer to draft an outside body so we can add a little size for certain matchups, but either position is a viable target.

FIRST ROUND

Just a reminder, if you’re looking for descriptions of players we may pick at 11, you wanna check out the 1st round preview.

7. Will Johnson, Michigan
13. Jahdae Barron, Texas

SECOND ROUND

34. Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky
5-11, 183 lbs.
Testing wonder with an aggressive demeanor and press-man/zone versatility

With good length and a feisty (see: sometimes penalized) demeanor, Hairston is a nice fit in a zone-heavy scheme like ours that also rolls up and presses receivers. Given how he blew up the combine (4.28 forty, 39.5” vert), it should be no surprise that Hairston is a high-level athlete, but–somewhat paradoxically–he can struggle when he has to turn and run with receivers down the field. It could be a tracking issue or maybe he’s just less explosive than his unreal testing numbers. That said, he’s an easy and fluid mover who excels when he can get up in receivers’ faces or sit in zone and play forward–two things we like to do. Strength will be an issue, and he needs to vastly improve his tackling and overall run defense, but the tools are there.

36. Trey Amos, Ole Miss
6-1, 195 lbs.
Long-limbed and quick-footed press corner who excels at shutting down passing lanes

Long and strong with excellent press technique, Amos is quick-footed, physical, and forced more incompletions than any other corner in this draft class. He’s not super fast or explosive, which–when combined with some issues/hesitancy at the top of the route–can get him into trouble in off-man, but when he’s in zone and press (the two things we do), he’s much more comfortable and disruptive. His physicality also doesn’t translate consistently to the running game, which is something he’d have to shore up quick to play for us.

38. Azareye’h Thomas, Florida State
6-1.5, 197 lbs.
Physical jumbo corner with good body control but questions over his burst and speed

A pure outside corner with ideal size and length who uses every inch of it as a physical presence in press-man coverage, Thomas has the traditional build of an outside corner in our defense–even if we’ve moved far away from it in recent years–and his body control and physicality are apparent off the snap and in the run game. But there are questions with his athleticism–both in terms of burst and top-end speed–and how much his size and length can overcome those issues in the NFL will determine his pro trajectory. While he needs to get better at his zone recognition, he feels like a player whose best fit is in a press and zone defense like ours, but the athleticism questions remain.

*48. Shavon Revel, Jr., East Carolina
6-2, 194 lbs.
Big, high-upside prospect whose meteoric rise was cut short by an ACL injury

A rapidly ascending player who seemed destined for a first-round grade before tearing his ACL early in his senior season, Revel is long, super athletic, and has a mentality that is certain to appeal to the Niners. He was a JuCo player working at an Amazon warehouse with his dad before securing a scholarship at ECU during a walk-in camp and has been on a rocket’s pace upwards ever since. He’s a little leggy in his movements and has technique work to improve upon throughout his game, but in 2023–his only full year as a starter–he was second in the country with a 26% forced incompletion rate. In the three games he started in 2024 before getting hurt, he was allowing only a 38% completion rate. While injuries are a concern and he’s a bit rough around the edges, he seems like the rare cornerback prospect with great size and athleticism who can be found outside the first round.

51. Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame
6-0, 193 lbs.
Savvy and versatile pass disruptor with smooth athleticism and an alarming number of hip surgeries

Big-play hunter with excellent ball production (9 picks and 18 pass breakups in 26 starts) and scheme-averse instincts and athleticism, Morrison was flirting with the first-round before a hip injury caused him to miss the last ten games of the season. Smoother than he is fast, his top-end speed is a question that he won’t be able to answer pre-draft given his injury recovery, and he sometimes gives up too much separation on underneath routes, but he’s a smart dude who consistently makes plays on the ball. Due to the nature of his injuries (two hip surgeries), medicals will be hugely important.

THIRD ROUND

*74. Darien Porter, Iowa State
6-3, 195 lbs.
Insane size-speed project who may not contribute right away but has limitless potential

There are zero questions about Porter’s athleticism. Among all participants at the combine, his forty-yard dash (4.30) was the third best and his short shuttle (4.04) and three-cone (6.71) were the second-best. And this was at 6-3 and nearly 200 pounds. For reference, Tez Johnson, the only guy who beat him in the three-cone drill, is 5-10 and 154 pounds. As a converted receiver, he has excellent ball skills and absurd length (33 ⅛” arms), and is at his best in a zone scheme where he can drive downhill on the ball. He needs to add considerable strength and–despite being a sixth-year player, albeit at receiver until 2022–is still quite raw in most areas, but his ceiling for a press and zone corner is as high as it gets. And until he (hopefully) gets there, he’s a ready-made special team stud–having blocked five kicks in college. These are the sorta guys who we’ve largely neglected over the years while we were right on the cusp of a Super Bowl. But if the goal is to take a temporary step back, retool, and actually play young dudes who need seasoning and developing, there are worse swings than Porter.

*86. Jacob Parrish, Kansas State
5-10, 191 lbs.
Undersized but scrappy nickel corner with inside/out flexibility

Despite lining up primarily outside in college, Parrish’s 99th percentile slot coverage PFF ranking and lack of size and length could push him inside in the NFL. A quick and fluid athlete with solid deep speed, he may be able to join our ranks of feisty, smaller corners with inside/out versatility, but his lack of size can show up in the run game and at the top of routes, where he can get muscled around and grabby.

DAY 3

A few selects from rounds 4 through 7, separated by guys who project more on the outside vs the inside.

OUTSIDE CORNERS: In this year in particular, a lot of these guys are tall, and a lot of those tall guys have questions about their deep speed.

A press man specialist with a knack for finding the football (15 career interceptions), Quincy Riley (Louisville) is a plus athlete with great top-end speed who is sticky and disruptive through the route. His overall playmaking stats are outstanding (54 career pass deflections, 403 career interception return yards), but his lack of play strength and poor tackling are worrisome. And while he has the press man side of things down, he’d need to improve his vision and awareness in zone to thrive in our system. (3rd-4th)

With 14 career picks and an FBS-leading 7 last season, Nohl Williams (Cal) pairs a big frame (6-0, 199 lbs.) with elite ball skills, good instincts and awareness, and a physical demeanor that shows up both in press and when filling against the run. There are major questions about his athleticism–from top speed to burst and quickness–so he may need to hit some internal athletics thresholds to stick on our board, but if he does, his profile and experience in press, cover 3, and quarters would mesh well with what we do. (3rd-4th)

Another taller corner (6-1, 185 lbs.) with questions about his speed and burst, Dorian Strong (Virginia Tech) is a savvy zone and press corner with good eyes and compete skills through the route and the catch point. While his 2024 production dipped a bit, he allowed an 11.8 QB rating a year ago, making for a potentially nice value add if he can clean up his consistency issues from this season. (4th)

Yet ANOTHER taller corner with limited foot speed, *Zy Alexander (LSU) needs to get better at the LOS in press coverage so he doesn’t get caught in footraces downfield, but he’s a long smooth mover with great ball skills, clean play (0 penalties this year), and consistently strong tackling. He’s not for every scheme, but if he can improve his press technique, he could overachieve in our Cover 3 heavy defense. (5th)

At 6-3, 186 pounds with nearly 33” arms and a laser-timed 4.36 forty, it’s easy to see the upside of Zah Frazier (UTSA). He’s a bit of a rail and an upright long-strider, which can hurt him against quicker receivers, and he only started one year despite being an older prospect at a lower level. To be fair, that one year featured 15 pass deflections and 6 interceptions, but there’s a lot of technique and consistency work for Frazier to scratch the surface of his considerable potential. (5th-6th)

An absolute rail thin (6-0, 180 lbs.) corner with limited top end speed, *Cobee Bryant (Kansas) lives up to his namesake with a competitive and feisty mentality that belies his slender frame. Granted, he still has strength and mass concerns, and sometimes his physical demeanor can lead to penalties (18 over his career), but he’s got great zone eyes and reaction speed with a receiver-like ability to fight for and come down with the football. He needs to clean up his technique so as not to get muscled around, but you gotta like the ballhawking ability and mindset that he plays with. (6th)

Physically impressive (6-2, 187 lbs.) with good length, physicality at the line, and adquate athleticism, BJ Adams (UCF) is a little wild in his technique and more of a sloppy blocker than a real disruptor with the ball in the air. But his size, innate coverage ability, and special teams impact make for a decent floor for a developmental prospect. (6th-7th)

The Jayhawks’ other outside corner, Mello Dotson (Kansas) isn’t as scrappy as his former teammate and is probably a lesser athlete with questionable long speed. But he’s got good size, a natural feel for coverage, and uses his length to generate consistent ball production (27 PDs, 9 INTs over past two seasons). While athletically limited in man, he’s probably got the best shot to develop in a zone-heavy scheme like ours. (7th)

NICKELBACKS: Not the band 

While his lack of size and length may limit him to the inside, Mac McWilliams (UCF) is a plus athlete with great burst and change of direction who crashes hard on underneath routes and in the running game. You worry about his ability down the field because of his size and the fact that he just doesn’t get his head around well on verticals, but those issues are harder to target in the nickel. (5th)

A quick and savvy underneath disruptor, Jaylin Smith (USC) has underwhelming ball production and an overwhelming injury history–missing games in all four seasons–but he’s scrappy and sticky in underneath man coverage. He also presents immediate special teams value. (6th-7th)

BLIND GUESS

After the last few years with the Jets, Saleh is well aware of the luxury that comes with strong corner play, but unless our roster-building strategy has changed dramatically, I don’t think the Niners want to take a cornerback in the first round. Given the lockdown corner potential of Will Johnson and the chess piece playmaking versatility of Jahdae Barron, it’s certainly possible. But all else equal, I think they’d wanna spend that first pick on a lineman.

If we don’t tap corner early, I’d expect the Niners to be patient and wait for a value play later in the draft, both because of the large number of corners who could fit our scheme and the fact that—if we have to—we could add a veteran nickel corner after the draft and at least get by. It’s not ideal, but it’s something we’ve done before with decent success. Because of that, corner is a value position and a need, but one we can be patient filling until the third day.

Go Niners 🏈👍