While Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst stated on Wednesday that the team doesn’t need to make wholesale changes at the cornerback position, the Packers will, at a minimum, need to get ahead of expiring contracts at the position in 2027. As it stands today, the only notable cornerback on the team who is on a multi-year deal is Nate Hobbs, a 2025 free-agent signing who struggled to convert from the slot to outside cornerback last year as he battled through three different knee injuries during the season.
We’re going to continue to chip away at draft prospects at the position, and have already written up our reports on Washington’s Tacario Davis, Alabama’s Domani Jackson and Arkansas’ Julian Neal. Here, we’ll be focusing on Ohio State (and former Ole Miss) cornerback Davison Igbinosun.
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Background
Davison Igbinosun was originally supposed to follow his older brother, Desmond, to Rutgers. As a prep, Davison was ranked as a four-star recruit by the 247Sports composite and was listed as the 162nd player nationally, the 21st overall cornerback and the top player in the state of New Jersey. He received offers from the likes of Notre Dame, Tennessee and Ole Miss, but originally committed to Rutgers in July of 2021. He later decommitted in October of 2021.
To put into perspective how big a deal he was as a recruit in New Jersey, Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano flew a helicopter to one of his high school games and landed right next to the field during that Friday night’s action. This was shortly after Igbinosun’s decommitment.
After the decommitment, Igbinosun visited Ole Miss twice, committed to the program on NBC while playing at the All-American Bowl and then early enrolled for the Rebels.
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As a true freshman for Ole Miss, he played 447 snaps at outside cornerback and received some freshman All-American honors after starting 10 games. That offseason, Igbinosun entered the transfer portal, where he was ranked the 13th overall player in the portal and the third-ranked cornerback, only behind future 2nd overall pick Travis Hunter and Fentrell Cypress, who signed with the Washington Commanders in 2025.
That’s when Igbinosun moved up to Ohio State, where he’s been a three-year starter. In 2025, he was named a first-team All-Big Ten cornerback.
His brother, Desmond, signed with the Baltimore Ravens as a free agent safety in 2025, but wasn’t able ot make the team’s roster. He’s now signed to the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes as a linebacker.
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Scouting Report
Under defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, who was previously Bill Belichick’s defensive play-caller with the New England Patriots, the Buckeyes played a lot of press-man coverage. Green Bay probably won’t be doing that a lot under new defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon, but it gives us plenty of opportunity to get a look at Igbinosun’s movement skills, as they were stressed under Patricia’s scheme.
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By far, the best trait that Igbinosun has is his ability to erase a receiver’s “red line”. Usually, receivers try to give themselves about five yards of space from the sideline when running vertical routes like fades, which is why almost every practice field in the country has a red line painted five yards from the sideline to help train receivers on that landmark. Over and over again in Igbinosun’s film, he sucks the air out of that red line, which ends up with receivers having no wiggle room or margin of error on these vertical plays.
That can translate to a quarters-based system, like the one Gannon is expected to run with the Packers, since match quarters really turns into man coverage after about five yards. Igbinosun is going to test like a plus-athlete when shirts and shorts season starts, as he repeatedly makes up space on double moves.
Because of the man scheme, he was moved into the slot sometimes, too, depending on the matchup. There, against receivers who had two-way goes, his athleticism shined. If Green Bay gets a top receiver in the slot, like a Justin Jefferson, there’s probably no one currently on the Packers’ roster who would be better at handling a one-on-one coverage assignment from that position than Igbinosun, even though he primarily played as an outside cornerback for Ohio State.
He’s long at 6’2” with 32 7/8th” arms, but he’s a little lighter than Green Bay usually likes at the position at just 190 pounds. He has the want to in the run game, but he’s only an average tackler because he doesn’t have much weight behind his long frame.
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His long arms and athleticism allow him to make plays on the ball even when playing a trail technique (coverage behind a receiver) because he can undercut routes and play through a receiver’s hands. One of the big questions about Igbinosun going into the year, and probably the reason he didn’t declare in the 2025 draft class, was how he would clean up his penalty problem. In 2024, he registered 16 penalties, but that number dropped to just 5 in 2025.
He definitely plays with an edge, which can be seen when he’s celebrating after incompletions. The Illinois game was the one that stood out the most, as he was chirpy with fans, players and refs throughout the action. He was pretty chippy against Miami in their playoff matchup, too.
The big negative in Igbinosun’s scouting report right now is that he probably plays zone coverage a little too loosely, compared to his athleticism. He can play tighter coverage in those looks because he has the movement skills to make up for committing early. NFL coaching should push him to be a little more aggressive when he’s playing true zone coverage assignments.
To me, he looks like a clear second-round selection.
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Here is what Bleacher Report wrote about Igbinosun, in their scouting report, where they compared him to Charvarius Ward, a 2023 second-team All-Pro:
— Igbinosun excels in press-man alignment where he can use his physicality to throw off timing and frustrate receivers. His compete level is extremely high.
— He does a great job of getting off blocks while maintaining proper leverage to force ball carriers inside. Then, he finishes plays with good tackling technique.
— Uses well-timed lateral bursts to stay in phase with receivers looking to stack vertically and has recovery speed downfield to maintain connectivity.
— He identifies route concepts and quick screens rapidly and triggers downhill with a purpose. His football IQ for passing off routes and staying in phase is noticeable.
— He’s improved how quickly he gets his head around to locate the football when it’s in the air. Preventing panic mode and allowing him to use his length better at the catch point.
— Igbinosun’s feel for off-coverage is inconsistent. He opens his hips too early, allowing receivers an easy path to manipulation. Staying square and patient would help anticipate routes and could see his ball production increase.
— His backpedal deceleration transition is segmented and jarring. Making it a smoother transition downhill will put him in better position to make tackles.
— While he’s cleaned up the penalties more this season, he’s a grabby corner who likes to make contact through the route. Continuing to build on relocating hands and looking for the football will keep the flags away.
They also gave Igbinosun a second-round grade and currently have him graded as their 47th overall player in the 2026 class.
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