By Cooper Girolamo
Stopping the opponent’s passing game is of vital importance for every team. So, improving your team’s secondary is at the top of most NFL general managers’ minds come this time of year. If they didn’t do it in free agency, they will ensure they improve the back end of their defense during the NFL Draft. There are a lot of top talented corners in the draft who can make immediate impacts on many teams at the pro level.
First being the uber-talented Travis Hunter. Hunter is the most talked-about and hyped-up prospect we have seen in many years simply because he plays on both sides of the ball, which is something NFL scouts haven’t ever seen out of a prospect.
The 2024 Heisman Trophy winner out of Colorado has teams oozing over the possibility of adding him to their team. Scouts believe he can be a top 10 player at both cornerback and wide receiver on day one in the NFL. While he may not play both ways all of the time, he will have packages on offense and defense making him impossible to gameplan for and why every team wants to get their hands on him.
On offense this past season Hunter racked up 96 receptions, 1,200 yards and 15 touchdowns along with posting 36 tackles, four interceptions, 11 pass deflections, with a game-saving forced fumble mixed in there on the defensive side of the ball. Hunter also racked up the awards winning the Walter Camp Award for player of the year, the Chuck Bednarik Award as the best defensive player, the Fred Biletnikoff Award for the nation’s best receiver, to go along with college football’s most prestigious award—the Heisman.
While Hunter could easily go No. 1 to the Tennessee Titans, No. 2 to the Cleveland Browns or No. 3 to the New York Giants, the New England Patriots seem like a dream fit for both parties. First off, the Patriots have been missing a big market, big-time player since Tom Brady left. Also, the Patriots found their franchise quarterback in last year’s draft with Drake Maye, who spent the season throwing to a non-descript group of wide receivers. Hunter immediately becomes the alpha.
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Finally, why not pair one of the league’s best young cornerbacks in Christian Gonzalez with another great young cornerback in Hunter? The Patriots, who were 22nd in total defense last season, could use a lot of help on that side of the ball. With the hiring of Mike Vrabel as their new head coach the Patriots are looking to win now.
Former Texas Longhorns cornerback Jahdae Barron has flown under the radar but might be a better overall cornerback could end up being the steal of the first round.
Last season’s Thorpe Award winner as the nation’s best defensive back would be a perfect fit in the struggling Cincinnati Bengals secondary. The Bengals’ disappointing season last year was because their defense couldn’t stop a brick wall which led to many high-scoring losses or quarterback Joe Burrow having to play hero ball to scratch out a win.
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They resigned their biggest offensive weapons in wide receivers Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins to massive extensions this offseason, but did little to improve their below average defense. I fully expect them to take defensive players with every pick they have in the draft starting with Barron in the first round. They were at the bottom of the league in passing yards allowed, passing touchdowns allowed and first downs allowed as a defensive unit. That needs to change if they want to get back to the Super Bowl in Burrow’s prime years.
At Texas Barron posted around 200 tackles, eight interceptions and 20 passes defended in his final three seasons. He was a lockdown corner and head coach, Steve Sarkisian didn’t mind putting him on an island against the other team’s top receiver. While he is a little undersized at 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds, his elite athleticism makes him an elite prospect. He is extremely quick, has great lateral movement and is an absolute ballhawk with great hands for a cornerback. If the Bengals let Barron slide past them it would be a massive mistake that they will regret for many years down the road.
Will Johnson is regarded by many as the top true cornerback in this entire draft. The DB out of Michigan was putting the nation’s top collegiate receivers in metaphorical jail during his time as a Wolverine. Receivers simply could not get open, and teams simply did not throw Johnson’s way because he is so talented.
Many scouts have compared him to the Denver Broncos’ Patrick Surtain when he was coming out of college. The speed, quickness and ball skills Johnson possesses are very similar, making him an asset to any team that picks him. In three seasons with the Wolverines, despite rarely being thrown at, tallied nine interceptions and 10 passes defended.
While it’s doubtful, he drops this far, if Johnson were to be selected by the Green Bay Packers it would be a match made in heaven. The Packers are most likely going to get rid top corner, Jaire Alexander (through release or trade), and their 2021 first-round pick, Eric Stokes, has not panned out how they would have wanted to. Whether or not Alexander stays, cornerback is at the top the Packers wish list for the draft.
The Packers were in the bottom part of the league in completion percentage allowed to opposing quarterbacks and didn’t fare well in the amount of 20-plus-yard plays they allowed to opponents compared to the rest of the league. Which would make Johnson a perfect fit for the Packers.
