NFL Draft prospects: Ranking Cornerbacks heading into the 2023 NFL Combine

The path to the 2023 NFL Draft will cross a major checkpoint with the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine taking place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis from February 28 to March 6. With the NFL becoming more of a passing league, there is a tremendous need for defenses to counter those aerial attacks. That is why cornerback has been the most selected position in recent drafts as teams try their hand at finding a prospect who will put opposing receivers on an island.

There could be up to six corners taken in the first round this year and it starts with Penn State’s Joey Porter Jr., who is being projected as a mid-first rounder. The son of the former All-Pro linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers (yes, you’re old), he returned to Happy Valley for his senior year in 2022 and upped his draft stock, recording 27 tackles and eight passes defensed.

Bunched together right behind Porter are Oregon’s Christian Gonzalez, Georgia’s Kelee Ringo, and South Carolina’s Cam Smith. Gonzalez and Ringo both have good length and size at 6’2”, 200+ pounds while Smith was excellent at sticking to some of the top receivers in the SEC in man coverage. A pair of prospects who could also rise into the first round are Utah’s Clark Phillips III and Illinois’ Devon Witherspoon, both of whom earned All-American status during the 2022 season.

A few Day 2 prospects to keep your eye out on are Mississippi State’s Emmanuel Forbes, another All-American, and TCU’s Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, who won the Thorpe Award.