NFL draft cornerback class: Scouts help rank top 11, comps, team fits

Ask anyone around the NFL to name the deepest positions in the 2023 NFL draft class, and you can bet that cornerback will come up quite a bit. But while scouts all tend to agree there is a lot of talent at the position, you'll hear a bunch of opinions on the specific order of the corners. Some say this draft class' depth at cornerback is perhaps the best of the past five years. There's no guarantee we have a top-five pick at the position, but there definitely could be a run on corners in the top 31 picks.

«This year's cornerback class is really good,» one NFC general manager told me. «There might not be a Sauce Gardner, but there are five-six legit Day 1 starters and a handful of CB2 and CB3 types in here.»

In January, we burned up the phone lines talking to NFL scouts, general managers and coaches in an effort to rank the confusing wide receiver class. We decided to do the same with the corners, since there is little consensus about who is CB1 or how the top players stack up against each other. To do so, we again leaned on the help of NFL decision-makers and evaluators. The following ranking is not based on my board but rather conversations around the league. Whom do evaluators see as CB1? Is there a consensus in this class, or could factors like size, speed and scheme fit shake up the order of the top cover guys? One way to find out ...

Witherspoon entered the 2022 season as a solid cornerback prospect and I had him as the No. 35 prospect in September. But he's suddenly in contention to be the first cornerback off the board. There is some debate about his size (6-foot, 181 pounds) and scheme fit, but scouts love his coverage instincts, quick feet and toughness. And many of the scouts I spoke with believe he's destined