2025 NFL Draft – An Early Look at CB

Updated 7/31/2024

This is the first of our early looks at each position in the 2025 NFL Draft class, and CB is a nice place to start. The first column is the player’s rank on the BuffaloFAMBase Big Board, which you can use for mock drafts on FanSpeak’s Draft simulator. Players do vault up big boards with impressive final seasons, and my intent is to update these lists as we watch them play the sport we love.

I’ve listened to an interview given by each player, and was most impressed by those getting the “A+++” in gold and black (the very best, Notre Dame’s Benjamin Morrison’s, is in gold and yellow), and marking the least-impressive player interviews with an A+ in pink and black. After the player’s height, weight, and forty time, I’ve entered a “Scout Score”, weighted for the level of interest that player’s team was given by Bills scouts in 2023. I also have tried to assign the best NFL position for each player.

I love the corners highlighted in turquoise the most, and my second tier of players are in the darker shades of green. ALL of the Bills drafted in 2023 and 2024 were either turquoise or that darkest green! Players highlighted in pink (Denver Harris, Nyland Green) have some character concerns that might take them off of some teams’ boards.

I’ve added some specific colleges you’ll want to view this fall, and picked some early candidates for my “pet cats” at CB.

I expect that the Bills will miss out on the first three corners on this Top 100 list because, with any luck, they’ll be drafting near the end of the round. They do have two RD2 picks which might help Beane trade up for a player. If BBB lets the board fall to him, one CB that might be there is Denzel Burke (instincts, awareness, long speed, and size), and he’s worth a hard look this season. I’m warming up to Jordan Hancock, as well. I have him as a top 6 man corner; just not quite as good in zone as in man. Should a special IDL or EDGE fall into Beane’s lap in RD1, and he wants to wait for CB until his second RD2 pick, Jason Marshall Jr. or Davison Igbinosun would fit the bill. Marshall‘s top-5 size and speed makes him a versatile DB who would excel in a CB role or Safety role –a chameleon. Igbinosun’s not fast, but he’s done very well in scouted games (5 solo tackles in 2 different games). It’s too early, but Beane could conceivably wait until RD3 –his 4th pick– to select Zy Alexander or Daylen Everette. Alexander leads the entire draft class in solo tackles per game (3.33), it’s Tre White’s school, and Jahmile Addae coached him at LSU in 2023. Brian Kelly raved about Zy Alexander stepping up when Auburn was throwing fades at him in the first half of LSU-Auburn.

Pet Cat: Jason Marshall Jr. without a doubt. He successfully faced the likes of Eugene Wilson in practice, plus Brian Thomas Jr., Ladd McConkey, Keon Coleman, Will Sheppard, Dominic Lovett, and others in 2023.

Watch Michigan and Ohio State games this year, and the better SEC teams (I’ll be watching Florida, Georgia, and LSU for sure).

Nickel corner is certainly in the cards for one of BBB’s ten 2025 draft picks, if not a second boundary CB, as Rasul Douglas becomes a 31-year-old free agent in 2025. With three RD4 picks currently in Beane’s war chest, he will maneuver around in the 110-140 range for “his” guy. Interest in 2023 seemed high in Gentry Williams and Keionte Scott. Scott’s top-four forty time, experience against SEC wideouts, and impressive kick-return experience (led the SEC in punt return average in 2023) make him especially attractive, especially since Scott’s the best tackler of all the speedy corners. Watch Keionte to move up into the early RD4 convo, if not higher. JQ Hardaway‘s size and keen football intelligence, eye discipline, and high-end athletic ability, as reflected by his In-Game Athleticism (IGA) Score, and Fentrell Cypress‘s boundary-slot flexibility will weigh on Beane’s mind, but Cam Miller‘s familiarity with the 4-2-5 the Bills run, plus so many Penn State connections (5 PSU players on Bills: KJ Hamler, Austin Johnson, DaQuan Jones, Connor McGovern, and Daequan Hardy, plus Manny Diaz previously served as their defensive coordinator, plus Pegula’s alma mater) might tilt the scales.

Pet Cat: Keionte Scott.

Watch Oklahoma, Auburn, and Florida State in addition to the Nittany Lions.

Beane currently has no RD7 pick, so his final selection will likely be in the low 200’s. The CB class is deep enough to make a selection that late and still have a potential starter. Duce Chestnut and Tony Grimes, even Azareye’h Thomas would have appeal. Grimes is one of only two 2025-draftable CBs with Tre White’s measurables (5-11, 192, 4.47) or better with a career 2 solo tackles per game, . He has an insane Adjusted Catch Rate Allowed of -21.5% vs Explosive Routes (h/t SIS). Chestnut’s 75.6 coverage grade in 2022 was top 10 in the ACC, and in 2023, his 2.5 solo tackles per game was top 5 in this draft class. He transferred to LSU for 2023 (where Jahmile Addae was the DB Coach), got no starts, so he transferred back. Thomas is the biggest of these three, and he ranked 4th in the ACC with 10 PBUs in 2023. The ACC has fallen behind the BIG10 and SEC in Scout Score for the Bills, but between Cypress and Thomas –and FSU’s planned movement to the BIG10 in 2025– the Bills’ scouts will likely return to Tallahassee this season.

Pet Cat: None, really, but Azareye’h Thomas is most appealing.

Notre Dame should be on your TV viewing list. If you’re a big CFB fan, watch Cole Bishop’s Utah Utes, catch a Syracuse game or two, see how Texas A&M is doing, and tune in on Kentucky.

Julian Humphrey and Lorenzo Styles Jr. have attracted interest in the Priority Free Agent range, and I expect them both to have stellar seasons this year. Humphrey is the fastest draftable corner not named Noah Daniels, His HUDL page shows a 4.34 forty. Jahmile Addae, the DB Coach for Bills, was 2021 DB coach for Georgia, but this guy started in 2022, and still has some eligibility left, and he should stay in school. Styles Jr. has plenty of upside, as well: he is athletic enough to learn the skills, has a documented 10’10” broad jump, and has hit 22 MPH before. Speed, explosiveness, length — all in heavy supply. Good developmental CB with some ST versatility, and he’s even stepped in at WR before.

Pet Cat: Lorenzo Styles Jr.

Watch Georgia despite their sticking with the 3-4, and see how Hairston and Hardaway perform at Kentucky.

Editor’s babble: Dean Kindig gets us ready to pay attention to particular players in college. I find these posts invaluable as a casual college football fan. We are grateful to Dean for his many contributions to our blog. You can also find Dean on Xwitter @TCBILLS_Astro.