The 2025 NFL Draft is almost here, and Yahoo Sports experts Nate Tice and Charles McDonald are breaking down the top prospects position by position. Here are the quarterbacks. Check out Nate and Charles’ consensus big board here, along with Nate’s final big board and Charles’ final big board.
Other prospect rankings: QBs | RBs | WRs | Edges
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1. Travis Hunter, Colorado
2. Will Johnson, Michigan
3. Shavon Revel Jr., East Carolina
4. Jahdae Barron, Texas
5. Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky
Here are the top five cornerback prospects in the 2025 NFL Draft. (Davis Long/Yahoo Sports)
1. Travis Hunter, Colorado
Nate Tice: As the most dynamic player in the country, Hunter was a game-changer at cornerback and wide receiver in college. Still, I think his best path as a professional is as a full-time defender with some spot duty on offense — a usage resembling his coach/mentor Deion Sanders when he played with the Dallas Cowboys in 1996.
Hunter can consistently stay sticky to his coverage assignment, showing off the quickness and body control to thrive in man-to-man situations, with the excellent burst to make plays on the football and nullify the receiver. He plays with a high level of intelligence for the position, and will take calculated gambles to fall off his coverage assignment and even bait quarterbacks into interception opportunities. Hunter’s ball skills and feel for the position are rare. His athleticism is unlocked by his innate ability to always find — and come down with — the football. Hunter seems to make a big play in every quarter of the game.
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The ball skills, quickness and body control all show up when Hunter plays wide receiver, too, but he is more raw at the position, lacking the refinement he shows on the other side of the ball — and, yes, he has rapidly improved this season. He also plays bigger than his listed size (6-foot, 188 pounds) because of his hands and hand-eye coordination, while also being able to create with the ball in his hands. This makes two-way play at the next level a real possibility, even if it’s for a small package of plays.
Hunter’s moderate bulk does not come up as a tackler; he’s a physical defender. But it is also a reason why I have some hesitation about Hunter being a full-time player on both sides at the next level (along with the sheer mental load, but that’s something that can come with time). No matter what, Hunter is a helluva football player and whatever team drafts him is getting a game-changing talent.
Charles McDonald: Putting Hunter anywhere but the top spot feels like overthinking, even if he doesn’t ultimately live up to the lofty hype he set for himself after a once-in-a-lifetime college career.
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In addition to the Heisman Trophy, Hunter won the Bednarik Award for the best defensive player in college football and won the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the best wide receiver in the country. Hunter is a legitimate first-round prospect at both wide receiver and cornerback, thanks to some otherworldly ball skills and overall athleticism that make him an impact player on both sides of the ball. So far, Hunter is adamant on playing both ways in the NFL, which will prove tough, but it’s hard to doubt someone who has already made it this far on his talents.
Hunter might be a bit more pro-ready at cornerback right now, where his instincts and athleticism can make him a nuisance for passing games, but a play at wide receiver is completely defensible (and exciting) as well.
The term “generational” gets thrown around way too much in draft coverage, but for someone like Hunter, it actually applies.
2. Will Johnson, Michigan
Charles McDonald: Johnson didn’t have the greatest end to his college career as injuries cut short his final season at Michigan, but at his best he can be a true eraser as a cornerback. Johnson was an anchor for the national title-winning Wolverines defense a couple seasons ago and still should have teams salivating at adding a player who may be able to go toe-to-toe with the toughest wide receivers in the game.
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Johnson’s sophomore tape, at times, resembled what Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II has become in the NFL, although Surtain has a size advantage on him. As long as Johnson nailed the interview portion of the cycle, he should hear his name called early.
Nate Tice: He has battled injuries in 2024, but Johnson’s talent still shines when he’s on the field. A long player with good size (6-1, 194 pounds, 30 1/8-inch arms), Johnson has the build and athleticism of a prototypical modern NFL cornerback.
Johnson uses that size to smother wide receivers. That’s not the only way he can do it. Whether it’s zone or man coverage, Johnson is able to constantly stay in the pocket of wide receivers, even smaller ones, with his excellent combination of quickness, burst and body control.
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Johnson doesn’t have elite long speed, and his physicality is more “OK” than “good,” but he’s a fluid athlete who doesn’t get put in bad positions because of his ability to turn and run and ability to close on the football. There will be some questions about Johnson’s inconsistent 2024 season and his injury history that teams are figuring out, but he has the upside to be a true No. 1 cornerback at the next level in a variety of schemes.
3. Shavon Revel Jr., East Carolina
Nate Tice: Revel has the ideal size and length of a starting outside cornerback in the NFL. He has good foot quickness and can start and stop to keep up with receivers, along with the ball skills to smother receivers.
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Revel missed most of 2024 after an ACL injury early in the season, but his traits and small sample of play were strong enough that I think he will have plenty of fans in the league if his medicals come through clean. He could also stand to add some bulk and strength to his game, and like most young cornerbacks he can be inconsistent with his technique at times. Still, he has the size, length, twitchy athleticism and overall upside of a high-end corner who can play in any type of defense.
Charles McDonald: A cornerback from East Carolina who barely played last season might be a first-round pick — that’s how good Revel is. He is a long, athletic corner (32 5/8-inch arms) with serious ball skills to match some A+ athleticism on the field. His final season at ECU was robbed due to an ACL injury, but he showed all the requisite skills prior to that in 2023.
For the “older” football fans, think Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie.
4. Jahdae Barron, Texas
Charles McDonald: Barron was a big winner in Indianapolis, running a 4.3 40-yard dash after teams had concerns about his deep speed. He still projects to be primarily a slot corner in the NFL, but he’s a damn good one already and that’s a position that’s becoming increasingly important in the league.
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Nate Tice: Barron has aligned all over the field in college. He’s best described as a football player. He doesn’t have great overall long speed, but he’s twitchy and has the burst to quickly close on the ball carrier. He’s a good tackler who has a knack for making plays on the football (he tries to punch and jar every ball near him loose). Barron is also a good blitzer who has a feel for knifing inside and making plays.
In coverage, Barron is best as a zone defender or in man coverage on tight ends (better and faster receivers can give him issues).
Barron’s best position will be as a full-time slot defender who can move around the defense for a creative defensive play-caller.
5. Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky
Nate Tice: Hairston’s game is based all off speed, with his 4.28 40 time at the NFL combine showing up with his ability to recover and close on the field. Hairston has below-average bulk (183 pounds) but has solid length. Hairston has good eyes and ball skills and is able to make plays on the ball in the air.
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But his lack of size and play strength show up when he has to become a tackler and on plays against bigger receivers. As a tackler, far too often Hairston ends up grasping for air as the runner comes at him. He also can rely on his ability to recover too often and doesn’t trust what he sees. Still, speed kills and NFL teams will be smitten with that.
Charles McDonald: Speed, speed, speed. That’s the name of the game with Hairston. He had a solid final year for the Wildcats and may have vaulted himself into the top 50 of the draft after running in the 4.2s at the NFL scouting combine.
If you’re looking for a traits-based dice roll beyond the first round at cornerback, this might be the guy to target.
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