Cornerbacks often do not get enough love in IDP leagues. Fortunately, IDP leagues are evolving to mandating starting cornerbacks, giving cornerbacks extra points for tackles, and cranking up the points for passes defended. If you play in any of these leagues, then paying attention to rookie cornerbacks in your upcoming drafts is imperative. Below are my cornerback tiers updated per the combine data. If you missed any of the 2015 rookie defensive position tiers, check out the positional links below.
Post Combine: 2015 Rookie Linebacker Tiers
Post Combine: 2015 Rookie Defensive Line Tiers
Tier 1: Starting Corners
Tier one is full of the players I expect to be on the field a lot in their rookie seasons and have a high probability to become multi-year starters. Peters may be the best press cover corner in this class, although his tackling ability appears to be lacking. If you play in a tackle heavy league without any premium corner type stats, Peters is not worth reaching for. After a strong combine, the draft community seems enthralled Waynes. I’m not sold on Waynes as a press corner, but he is strong tackler. Rowe and Johnson are not getting the same press as Peters and Waynes, but they should be. I think both could be solid value picks in upcoming rookie drafts.
- Marcus Peters CB
- Eric Rowe CB/S
- Kevin Johnson CB
- Trae Waynes CB
Strong, pls play big. RT @johnowning: Marcus Peters with a clinic on how to play press-man vs Jaelen Strong: http://t.co/w0xLT4Aw2b
— Matt Harmon (@MattHarmon_BYB) March 2, 2015
Tier 2: NFL Starting Potential
This tier is filled with athletic upside players like Mager and Marshall. There are also players that are ranked high according to the draft community but lack something to be in the top tier. Marshall is an interesting convert to corner with a lot of upside. Lippett would do better in this draft if he converted to corner, but I suspect he will stick with wide receiver. If you are looking for a corner in this draft and miss out on the top tier, this tier all has starting potential. The difference is that the hit rate is lower here. These are also good names to remember because it may take them a few years to mature enough to hold down a starting job.
- Ronald Darby CB
- PJ Williams CB
- Justin Coleman CB
- Jalen Collins CB
- Alex Carter CB
- Josh Shaw CB/S
- Craig Mager CB
- Nick Marshall QB/CB
- Tony Lippett WR/CB
Per reports Tony Lippett ran between a 4.45-4.52 40 at Michigan State pro day. Worked at WR & DB. Still think playing CB is his best ticket — Justin Higdon (@afc2nfc) March 18, 2015
Tier 3: Flashing Ability
