Bills Elimination Game — Cornerback

History would say that 24 cornerbacks will be picked in the coming draft. Pick the Over for April 24-26, 2025, but expect the Bills to take one vet from free agency and one from this draft class. The free agent market for cornerback is terrific, with options like DJ Reed and Charvarius Ward. If the Bills need a CB, he needs to be adept in both zone and man, with high number solos per game over his career (if Bills draft history is an indication). He’ll be a CB from the SEC, Big10, or ACC. And he’ll be fast, with fewer DPI penalties than Kaiir Elam.

The 6 fastest, most-heavily-scouted corners are Jason Marshall Jr, Jahdae Barron, Benjamin Morrison, Zy Alexander, Jordan Hancock, and Trey Amos. The best zone corners with tackling chops and no dropoff in man coverage are Benjamin Morrison, Jahdae Barron, Mello Dotson, O’Donnell Fortune, Shavon Revel, and Zy Alexander. See the overlap?

Travis Hunter and Will Johnson will go in the Top 10, and are not listed below on Beane’s initial CB Board. Here’s a list of the other CBs that I expect to be in play in the first five picks the Bills have at #30, #56, #62, #108, and #131:

Let’s eliminate some CBs with ScoutScores of 5 or less. ScoutScore is something I made up, the sum of credentialed scout visits, weighted as follows: 1 Game with 1 Scout=1 pt., Beane=3 pts. extra, Joe Brady/Bobby Babich=2 pts. extra, Tropicana=1 pt., Shrine=2 pts., Senior Bowl 3 pts., McDermott/Aranda or Diaz connection= 3 pts., Combine meeting=2 pts., Pro Day attendance =2 pts., 30-Visit=5 pts.

The results, arranged by ScoutScore, looks like this:

Some corners may pop back on this list when Pro Days and 30-visits come out. If any of those with 5 ScoutScore points –Shavon Revel Jr., Darien Porter, Quincy Riley, Mello Dotson, or Jermari Harris — show up at 1 Bills Drive, we’ll factor them in at that time.

The fastest corner in the CB room not named Elam is Taron Johnson at 4.5. Let’s look at the corners still on the list who can tie Taron (for reference, Tre White ran a 4.47, Elam 4.39):

We seem to be getting somewhere. Even Nohl Williams, who would tie Dane Jackson in a race, isn’t totally out of the picture in RD4; he’s the FBS leader with 7 interceptions this season. It’s also more impressive at 200 pounds, which is why you’ll see Jason Marshall Jr. climb the boards from his current spots in the Consensus rankings when the Combine, Pro Days, and 30-Visits come out. This past season, despite missing three games due to injury, Marshall served as game captain twice and amassed an impressive 30 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, three INTs, one fumble recovery, and one pass breakup.

Zy Alexander is going to be an easy evaluation. Alexander, a transfer after 3 years at FCS school SE Louisiana, has played two years at LSU and ranks #2 among all cornerback draft prospects in solo tackles per game. Under the tutelage of the current Bills’ DB Coach Jahmile Addae in 2023, Alexander continued to shine at a school known for producing elite defensive backs, like our own Tre White. Recovering from ACL surgery, Zy sat out the opener against USC, a scouted game, but returned for 4 tackles and a PBU in the scouted game vs Florida. His teammates call him “The Silent Assassin“. If healthy, I could see Zy being the Bills’ third pick at #62.

One more colorful chart. The Bills always choose corners and safeties who can tackle. Here’s the above list showing solo tackles per game over their careers:

It is encouraging to me that the Bills have poured considerable scouting into the top five players. The top three beat the college scores of Rasul Douglas (2.29), Taron Johnson (2.62), and even Tre White (2.27).E

Jahdae Barron, pronounced “zha-DAY”, is the best listed corner in man-press coverage, and is tied with Benjamin Morrison as the second-best in zone coverage (Michigan’s Will Johnson is the top dog). In 2023, Barron maintained a perfect record of zero touchdowns allowed and a passer rating of just 64.2 against him. Barron is known for his vision, anticipation, and consistency. This year, he allowed under 3.0 yards per attempt thrown his way, and allowed under 40 yards in coverage all season. I don’t think he’ll be there at #30, and if the Bills don’t bring in a top-five veteran corner, Barron’s worth going up to get, and it’d likely take the #56 or #62 to git ‘er done.

Benjamin Morrison had the best interview of the cornerbacks; I listened to 52 of them. He and ND teammate Xavier Watts would make a peach of a pair. Morrison’s October 2024 hip injury had the junior out for the season, and he missed the Natty, but declared nevertheless. He is a “beast in man coverage” (7 PBU’s in 2023) with 4.39 speed to shadow your #1 receiver. His run defense isn’t his strong suit yet, but a clever defensive coordinator will know how to maximize his talents. Last season, Morrison allowed a 46% comp. rate, and had a 55 QB rating against him.

The most scout visits were at Ohio State this year (my bet is Tyleik Williams, their DT1T, but that’s another Elimination Game). Denzel Burke has had some questions about consistency. On the one hand, you don’t see Burke’s instincts, awareness, long speed, and size coalesce in one person that often. I do have some reservations, though. Burke played better as a freshman and senior than as a sophomore or junior. The other knock on him is his lack of game-changer productivity (37 games, 37 starts, only 3 INT). He was abused by EvanStewart of Oregon, for sure, so if you take Burke, be sure to take Stewart! Other cons I’ve collected: limited experience vs slot receivers, not twitchy or sudden, limited play strength, feet can be overactive near the LOS, punches in press need to be stronger, bumped off his coverage by sturdy receivers, and gets grabby at times in man on comeback routes. Grabby is Kaiir Elam’s middle name.

I would expect that by the draft, Brandon Beane would have acceptable answers at CB, SS, and DT1T, and maybe EDGE. This will preclude drafting for need in April. Big Baller has our back; he wants the ring as much as the players and fans. That’s why the RD4 corners are equally as appealing as pulling the trigger on Day 1, at least for now. Let’s cool our jets; it’s still 72 days, 8 hours, 6 minutes away… not that I’m counting.

Editor’s babble: This is Dean’s time to shine. We are so grateful. You can also find Dean on Xwitter @TCBILLS_Astro.