2026 NFL Draft Position Review – Cornerbacks

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February 2, 2026

By Noonefromtampa

[EDITOR’S NOTE: This column is the start of The Hog Sty’s annual draft preview series.  We will cover one draft position group per week leading up to the draft.  We begin with the corner group this week.]

This year’s draft cornerback class is fairly deep, with a dozen or more players expected to be taken on the first two days of the draft. Teams will be able to find players that fit either man- or zone-heavy scheme.

Top Picks

Some of the top picks include:

Player College POS Ht Wt Projection
Mansoor Delane LSU CB 6’1″ 187 Day 1
Jermod McCoy Tennessee CB 5’11” 193 Day 1
Avieon Terrell Clemson SC 5’11” 180 Day 1-2
Colton Hood Tennessee CB 5’11” 195 Day 2
Brandon Cisse South Carolina CB 6’0″ 190 Day 2
Keith Abney II Arizona State CB 5’10” 195 Day 2
Chris Johnson San Diego State CB 6’0″ 195 Day 2
Will Lee III Texas A&M CB 6’2″ 190 Day 2
Malik Muhammad Texas CB 6’0″ 190 Day 2
Julian Neal Arkansas CB 6’2″ 208 Day 2
Chandler Rivers Duke SC 5’9″ 185 Day 2
D’Angelo Ponds Indiana SC 5’9″ 170 Day 2
Devin Moore Florida CB 6’3″ 198 Day 2-3
Daylen Everette Georgia CB 6’1″ 190 Day 3
Tacario Davis Washington CB 6’3″ 190 Day 3
Hezekiah Masses California CB 6’0″ 175 Day 3
Domani Jackson Alabama CB 6’1″ 201 Day 3
Davison Igbinosun Ohio State CB 6’2″ 193 Day 3
Josh Moten Southern Miss CB 6’0″ 174 Day 3
Thaddeus Dixon North Carolina CB 6’0″ 186 Day 3

The biggest question for round one is whether Delane or McCoy will come off the board first?

Delane is probably the next “shutdown corner” to be drafted into the NFL. He dominated in the college ranks using his size and ability to anticipate and recognize routes. The question on him is does he have the recovery speed needed to take on the top-end speedy NFL receivers. He had 11 passes defended and 2 interceptions his past season.

McCoy is also an outstanding cornerback with his specialty being zone and zone match coverages. He missed the 2025 season after tearing his ACL in January of that year. There may be concerns if that has impacted his speed, but he should be ready for combine evaluation. In 2024, he had 9 passes defended and 4 interceptions.

The next player off the board should be Terrell, who is an aggressive man cover corner. For his size, he also plays strong against the run. Terrell has the ability to play outside or in the slot. He had 9 passes defended and 5 forced fumbles.

Hood and Cisse are the next two cornerbacks to be drafted. They are very similar in physical traits and playing style. They both need to improve their zone coverage abilities at the next level and learn how to play the edge in the run game. Their speed and size are what will attract the scouts.

Rivers was mentioned as having good practices at the Senior Bowl keeping up with taller wide receivers.

https://x.com/InHarmsWay19/status/2016199820164186250

Is there a possibility that Washington looks at a big corner in the third round with their pick? Only Adam Peters has any idea at this point. Two candidates are Lee and Neal.

Commanders Interest

Shout out to Ken Johannesen from Hogs Haven, who has been posting which players the Commanders have been interviewing on social media. The chart below shows the reported list of players who the Commanders have interviewed and where they met with them. Eight of the players met with are six-foot tall or larger. The Commanders definitely have a type of player they are looking at.

Player POS College Ht Wt Where Met
Aaron Harris CB North Carolina A&T 5’11” 185 AFCA FCS Showcase
Ahmari Harvey CB Georgia Tech 6’0” 195 East-West Shrine
Andre Fuller CB Toledo 6’2” 202 East-West Shrine
Avery Smith CB Toledo 5’10” 185 East-West Shrine
Botros Alisandro CB Old Dominion 6’1” 188 College Gridiron Showcase
Brent Austin CB California 5’11” 180 East-West Shrine
Ceyair Wright CB Nebraska 6’0” 190 East-West Shrine
Devon Marshall CB N.C. State 5’11” 200 Hula Bowl & East-West Shrine
Jaden Rios CB Texas State 6’3” 190 Hula Bowl
Jalen Jones CB William & Mary 6’0” 190 AFCA FCS Showcase
Kolbey Taylor CB Vanderbilt 6’3” 190 East-West Shrine
Marcus Allen CB North Carolina 6’2” 190 East-West Shrine
Tyreek Chappell CB Texas A&M 5’10” 185 East-West Shrine

Most of these players fall into the late round or undrafted free agent category. After the trades Washington made, they only have picks in 3rd and 5th rounds in the middle part of the draft. That would be most likely spot to look for a 2026 contributor. Players taken later or undrafted usually need more time to get acclimated to NFL defenses. I do expect the Commanders to sign a veteran starter at cornerback during free agency to replace Marshon Lattimore.

The team did make an effort to re-sign Car’lin Vigers to a futures contract after signing as an undrafted free agent last season. I believe the team will bring several more UDFA players to challenge him in the offseason.

 

Sources: nflmockdraftdatabase.com, tankathon.com, nfldraftbuzz.com