The tour through the NFC East now focuses its gaze on the cornerback position. Thus far, three different teams have coe out atop the rankings. While the Dallas Cowboys took the WR crown, the linebacker rankings went to the Washington Commanders, and the running backs to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Eagles’ championship was possible thanks to a quick turnaround at the corner spot, led by two excellent rookies. However this offseason they lost their veteran leader of the room. Now Washington and New York are trying to replicate the turnaround Philadelphia had; one by drafting someone in the top 50 and the other by relying on the development of previously drafted corners making a giant leap. Dallas already has two All-Pro players, but they must find improved health to be their best.
Sep 10, 2023; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) is tackled by New York Giants safety Xavier McKinney (29) and cornerback Deonte Banks (25) during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
The future of the position is second-year corner, Andru Phillips. He played 14 games as a rookie with six starts and had the best Pro Football Focus (PFF) grades of any cornerback on the Giants. He was graded 77.5 overall, 75.8 in coverage, and 78.1 against the run. Occasionally, he was used as a blitzer and added a sack and a few pressures. He will likely pair with free agent signing Paulson Adebo as the two starting corners, even though Phillips will slide inside to the slot corner spot as necessary.
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Adebo only played in seven games last year due to injuries. His PFF grades were in the low 60s overall and in coverage, but he did have 10 pass breakups, and he held opposing quarterbacks to a 60% completion percentage and 71.9 QB rating allowed. Deonte Banks hasn’t been very good in his first two seasons, and the Giants need him to take a big leap. or he might lose his starting spot. He allowed over 70% completion percentage when targeted and a QB rating 124. His coverage grade was 50.3, and his overall grade was 50.9. If he isn’t better immediately, New York could look to Cor’Dale Flott to start for them.
Flott started 10 games last season, playing 666 snaps to 788 for Banks. When targeted, he allowed a lower completion percentage and a 35-point lower QB rating. One of these two will be the second outside corner, and teams will look to attack them in their game plans.
3. Washington Commanders
NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 07: Marshon Lattimore #23 of the New Orleans Saints reacts during the first half of the NFC Wild Card playoff game against the Carolina Panthers at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 7, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
Trey Amos is the type of corner Dan Quinn loves. He is tall, nearly 200 pounds, has excellent length, isn’t afraid to play the run, and causes turnovers. He will have his ups and downs as a rookie, but he is likely the future of the unit in Washington. He is a Cover 1 and Cover 3 corner who will be the future replacement for Marshawn Lattimore. Lattimore was once a great corner, but injuries the past three seasons have sapped him of his great play. He still had a coverage grade and overall grade over 70, but he allowed a QB rating over 105 in his six games for the Commanders.
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Mike Sainristil was made a starter as a rookie and did many promising things. He had 93 tackles as a corner and a low missed tackle percentage of 7%. He allowed a 60% completion percentage against, had 14 pass breakups, and two interceptions. His PFF grades were 66.1 overall, 64.1 in coverage, and 69.5 against the run. If Sainristil can take a leap in his second season, he could become a good nickel corner for them to pair with Amos and Lattimore on the outside this season. It’s not an elite trio, but two high-potential young guys in the future with a good veteran leader to show them the ropes.
Noah Igbinoghene followed Quinn from Dallas, where he didn’t get many defensive snaps, but he did something to get Quinn to bring him in and start him last season. He isn’t likely to be the starter in 2025, but he will be Washington’s top depth piece. He had poor PFF grades of 49.3 overall, 55.8 in coverage, and 33 against the run, which doesn’t offer a good case for Igbinoghene to be a significant contributor.
Jul 31, 2023; Oxnard, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs (7) during training camp at the Marriott Residence Inn-River Ridge playing fields. Mandatory Credit: Jason Parkhurst-USA TODAY Sports
The Dallas cornerback room would easily top the division if they were healthy. Trevon Diggs was an All-Pro in 2021 and played better as a coverage corner in 2022. He tore his ACL in 2023 and wasn’t the same in 2024 before injuring himself again. Diggs can’t be counted on to be who he was pre-injuries if he plays in 2025.
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Josh Butler played well in limited starts before tearing his ACL. He was on pace for 71 tackles, 17 pass breakups, and 3.5 sacks if he played 17 games, but he could miss all of 2025. Shavon Revel Jr. was considered one of the top corner prospects in the draft, but an ACL injury forced him to drop to the third round. He should be ready for training camp, but he is a rookie coming off a significant injury, so his abilities are unknown, too.
Caelen Carson was a promising rookie who looked lost playing through a shoulder injury, Israel Mukuamu played well in a playoff game a few years ago, but hasn’t been trusted with many defensive snaps since then, and Kaiir Elam is a former first-round pick, but the Buffalo Bills traded him away for a Day 3 pick swap. Elam will likely be the starter outside until Revel Jr. or Diggs are ready. He had PFF grades over 70 in every area except coverage, where he scored a 67. The potential is nice in the cornerback room, but DaRon Bland is the only known commodity. He has played well in the slot and was an All-Pro outside the 2023 season, in which he broke the record for interceptions returned for a touchdown. He started the season injured, but played well in his seven starts with a PFF coverage and overall grade over 70. If Diggs and Bland play at their All-Pro level, it leaves multiple players as the third option. Revel Jr., Butler, Elam, Carson, or Mukuamu will all get a chance, and it would only require one to break out, but with those unknowns, plus Diggs’s health, Dallas falls second in the division.
Dec 29, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Jalen Tolbert (1) makes a touchdown catch against Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Quinyon Mitchell (27) during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
The Eagles are in a weird spot because they are very young, and their top corner was a cap casualty, but they have the fewest question marks from their starters at cornerback.
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Quinyon Mitchell was a good cover guy in his rookie season. He was in the top 10 in both passer rating allowed and pass breakups. He was 11th in completion percentage allowed and first in yards after the catch allowed. He isn’t a playmaking corner, adding no interceptions or tackles for a loss, but he did enough to be second in the defensive rookie of the year award rankings. Mitchell takes over for Darius Slay Jr. as the top corner on the team.
Cooper DeJean is the second corner and will play mainly in the slot. He had an underrated rookie season and was fourth in the Defensive Rookie of the Year voting. He adds a playmaking element to their defensive back room. DeJean forced two fumbles and recovered three of them. He’s their best versus the run, with a PFF grade over 90, but his coverage and overall grades were also better than Mitchell’s. He missed more tackles though and allowed a slightly higher completion percentage. Still, he will be tasked with replacing the playmaking ability of the starting safety from 2024, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, even though they don’t play the same position.
Adoree Jackson isn’t the same player he was for the Tennessee Titans or his first few years in New York, but he is still a solid starting option. According to PFF, he was the 57th-rated corner out of 2022, but that was based on his run defense more than coverage. He ranked in the top 10 against the run, but 79th in coverage. He can be the mentor the team lost with Slay Jr. while adding adequate starting snaps on defense.
Kelee Ringo played just over 100 snaps for Philadelphia in 2024, but is likely the top reserve. He is another promising young player from Georgia that the Eagles hope will break out, like Nakobe Dean did last year. The Philadelphia corner unit is young, but they’re the best mix of known ability without availability question marks.
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You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or Bluesky @mike-crum-cdpiglet.bsky.social
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: 2025 Rankings: Cowboys or Eagles? Who has best CB depth in NFC East?