You’re surely heard that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. That may have been true in prior eras, but I would opine that in the present day, there’s nothing tougher than being an island cornerback in the NFL. When you’re posted on the outside, frequently dealing with the opposing offense’s best receiver (the “X-iso” guy, in football parlance), any mistake or misstep is an opportunity to be embarrassed. It’s not generally a position where your great plays are remembered as much as your foibles are the focus.
Cornerbacks can be taken away from greatness by their own coaches, as well. Ask Arizona’s Patrick Peterson, who in 2018–for goodness knows what reason–was removed from his role as a dominant man-coverage star who took on the opposing No. 1 receiver every week. Peterson had the same skills, and the Cardinals’ new coaching staff will use him more judiciously–but there’s more to cornerback regression than the player’s skill set.
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Moreover, the expiration date on top outside cornerbacks is frighteningly short, even in the best circumstances. If we were assembling this list even two seasons ago, we’d be discussing Richard Sherman, Casey Hayward, Aqib Talib, and Josh Norman—and you won’t find any of those names on the list. You will find a handful of young players who somehow managed to transcend a vicious learning curve for the position when transitioning from the NCAA, and a few veterans who have managed to keep Father Time on hold for a while.
Here are the 11 best outside cornerbacks going into the 2019 season.
11. Marshon Lattimore, New Orleans Saints
Lattimore wasn’t quite as dominant in 2018 as he was in 2017, when he allowed a catch rate of 53.8% and an opponent passer rating of 51.2 (per Pro Football Focus), but he was still very good in his second NFL season, as he shouldered more of the responsibilities attendant to a defense’s No. 1 cornerback, and injuries slowed his progress a bit. The Ohio State alum allowed 54 catches on 84 targets last season for 841 yards, two touchdowns and four interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 85.5. Improving as the season went on, he was especially important in the Saints’ playoff run.
At 6’0” and 192 pounds, Lattimore will occasionally get bodied out by bigger receivers, but that doesn’t stop him from being effectively aggressive at the line of scrimmage, and he has all the short-area quickness and deep boundary speed you’d want in a top pass defender.
10. Marlon Humphrey, Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens have had a top-3 pass defense in each of the last two seasons, and it’s no coincidence that Humphrey joined the squad in 2017 as the team’s first-round pick out of Alabama. Entering a highly complex system, Humphrey didn’t miss a beat—he’s allowed fewer than half the passes thrown to him to be completed in his two NFL seasons, and his opponent passer rating of 65.0 in combined seasons is among the NFL’s best.
Why has Humphrey been able to defeat the league’s learning curve at the position? Whether he’s playing tight to the receiver or in off-coverage, he has a great understanding of the timing and angles of routes, allowing him to close on the ball efficiency and accurately. Equal parts athlete and technician, Humphrey should continue to rise on lists like these.
9. Jalen Ramsey, Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville’s defense fell off last season from a championship course, going from first in Football Outsiders’ opponent-adjusted metrics in 2017 to sixth in 2018. The buy-in didn’t seem to be what it was before, and schematic issues seemed to pop up more than expected. Still, the Jaguars’ outside cornerbacks—Jalen Ramsey and A.J. Bouye—were strong for the most part, and Ramsey maintained a lockdown style for the most part, allowing 53 catches on 97 targets for 749 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Ramsey will always be a boom-and-bust player because he’s so aggressive, but when he’s playing on point, he’s very hard to deal with. Few cornerbacks in the league have his combination of length, quickness, and downfield speed.
8. Denzel Ward, Cleveland Browns
The fourth overall pick in 2018 had rough games against the Saints, Chargers, and Steelers early on in his rookie season, but Ward really started to lock things down as the year went on, allowing a 50% catch rate (11 receptions on 22 targets) for 106 yards, no touchdowns, and an opponent passer rating of 63.6 in the four games he played in the second half of the season. A concussion stopped Ward from seeing more time, but his Pro Bowl berth was legitimate, as is his incendiary potential.
Ward got off to an amazing start with two interceptions against Ben Roethlisberger in Week 1, and he took the attributes that allowed those picks throughout his rookie campaign—a smooth backpedal, great quickness in short areas and speed downfield, and the understanding of how and when to jump a route. His ceiling is as high as anyone’s who plays the position today.
7. Chris Harris, Jr., Denver Broncos
Harris is the best slot cornerback in the game, the best of his era, and probably the best of all time—but throughout his career, he’s also developed into a top-level outside cover man capable of taking any “X” receiver through his paces. Last season, Harris allowed 40 catches on 64 targets for 365 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 63.6, with 264 of his 747 snaps lined up outside.
As is the case when he’s in the slot, Harris uses his abilities in man and match coverage to shut down opponents all over the field. With free-agent acquisitions Kareem Jackson and Bryce Callahan on board—both estimable slot defenders in their own right—Harris could see more outside coverage responsibilities in 2019.
6. Patrick Peterson, Arizona Cardinals
Not much went right with the Cardinals in 2018, as the team’s offensive and defensive coaches seemed uniquely ill-equipped to maximize the talents of their players. This affected Peterson as well. The Cardinals played man coverage on just 28.4% of their snaps—third-lowest in the league—and he’s one of the best man-coverage cornerbacks of his generation. Still, Peterson managed to allow just 30 receptions on 52 targets for 364 yards, three touchdowns, two interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 82.5.
Peterson has always had unbelievable footwork, hip turn, and the ability to trail receivers downfield, and he’s just added to that physical skill set over the years with his understanding of offenses and route concepts. He’ll be 30 in 2019, but Peterson can still bring it with the best. He’ll miss the first six games of the 2019 season due to a violation of the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances, but when he does return, new defensive coordinator Vance Joseph will at least have the good sense to have Peterson stacking No. 1 receivers as he was built to do.
5. Xavien Howard, Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins gave Howard a five-year, $76.5 million contract extension in early May, making him the highest-paid cornerback in the league. It’s also the biggest extension for any player at his position in NFL history. Whether a player “deserves” a contract is always a subjective discussion, but Howard has shown consistent improvement through his three-year career, and 2018 was his best season yet. That’s when the Baylor alum allowed 29 catches on 57 targets for 469 yards, four touchdowns, and a seven-pick total that tied for the league high.
An opportunistic defender who uses angles and leverage to stick and stay with his targets, Howard has also developed the on-field acumen to know when to break off from his own assignment to break up a play or steal a pass. If he plays as he did in 2018 over the next few seasons, he could make that contract look like a relative bargain.
4. Brandon Carr, Baltimore Ravens
Perhaps the most underrated player on this list. Carr had a really rough time in coverage his last few seasons with the Cowboys, but his two seasons in Baltimore have been a revelation. In 2017, he allowed 56% of his 84 targets to be caught for an opponent passer rating of 69.1, and in 2018, he allowed 47 catches on 83 targets for a catch rate of 56.6%, 625 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 70.6.
What’s caused this remarkable consistency late in Carr’s career? The 33-year-old veteran diagnoses routes as well as anyone in the business, and he’s still outstanding in short-to-intermediate coverage because he’s so good with his feet off the line of scrimmage, and in matching quick, angular routes. Carr will occasionally get beaten over the top, but that’s the only glaring issue for a guy who was thought to be washed up a few years back, and has reinvented himself rather impressively.
3. Tre’Davious White, Buffalo Bills
Most young cornerbacks find themselves in a vicious learning curve when transitioning from college to the NFL—receivers are better and smarter, route concepts are far more complex, and coverages are more variable. White has proven the exception to the rule. He allowed a 48.1% catch rate and an opponent passer rating of 64.9 in his rookie season of 2017, and given equivalent opportunities in 2018, White showed that he doesn’t know what a sophomore slump looks like—he allowed 30 catches on 52 targets for just 357 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 75.6.
Whether he’s playing bail or press coverage down the boundary or following a receiver through a crossing route or deciphering his assignment on a route combination, White has an impressive combination of savvy and aggressiveness that belies his relatively short time at the NFL level.
2. Kyle Fuller, Chicago Bears
Only Kansas City’s Stephen Nelson was targeted more among cornerbacks last season than Fuller was, and he kept things close to the vest through all those challenges. In 2018, the Bears’ top cornerback allowed 69 catches on 113 targets for 819 yards, four touchdowns, and a seven-interception mark that tied for the league lead. Fuller also allowed an opponent passer rating of 69.2 with all those targets.
One of the most consistent cornerbacks in the league, Fuller has been outstanding whenever he’s been healthy, and he has everything you want at the position—a quick and seamless backpedal, the ability to mirror receivers through angular routes, and an excellent sense of when to jump the route for the big play.
1. Stephon Gilmore, New England Patriots
Per Sports Info Solutions, no NFL team played more man coverage last season than the Patriots at 56.8% of their snaps, and when you consider that Gilmore was most often covering the opponent’s best receiver in those situations, you have a defender who can do the toughest thing any cornerback can do—erase top receivers in coverages that don’t frequently give the advantages of natural safety coverage.
Gilmore has become a perfect Bill Belichick defender because he’s asked to do a lot of things, and he does all of them well-he’s also one of the game’s best slot cornerbacks when put in that position. Wherever Gilmore is, his ability to match to any receiver through their routes stands alone. Last season, he allowed just 48 receptions on 109 targets for 611 yards, four interceptions, and an opponent passer rating of 65.2. Best known for the interception that clinched Super Bowl LIII, Gilmore was on lock all season.
