With the college football season winding down and the NFL Combine just around the corner, the 2025 NFL Draft is coming into focus. With that in mind, former NFL defensive back Brock Vereen, who is now a current studio commentator on CBS Sports Network's "That Other Pregame Show," offered his thoughts on some of the top defensive backs expected to hear their names called in April.
One prospect who has created his own narratives this season has been Colorado's Travis Hunter Jr., who plays both wide receiver and cornerback for the Buffaloes.
He is so much fun to watch: how smooth he is, he doesn't make a lot of sharp movements. If you are picturing a cornerback backpedaling and they plant that foot, drive that arm and they break out, it is sharp, it is tense, it is sudden. If they just put an [isolation] cam on everything that he does, it is almost like he is at a walkthrough. It is so effortless for him.
In zone situations, he has so much confidence in route concepts from playing wide receiver and understanding what offenses are trying to do. He knows where the ball is going to be. Even when the ball is not thrown his way, against Utah, he had that one interception off of a deflection. He had no business being over there. He understands, 'My guy ran this route, my guy is over there. He is not going to throw to my guy.' There are so many risks that he takes that really aren't risks because he knows what is going to happen.
He high-points the football very well because he plays wide receiver. Think about how many jump balls he comes down with as a receiver in the end zone on a fade or on the sideline, you can translate that ability to him as a cornerback. He can high-point the football better than any receiver that he has covered. He is never going to lose in those situations. Long arms. He is always swiping for the football.
The biggest thing is that he is never panicky. He is as smooth in his movement as anyone I think I've ever seen.
Vereen went on to make a unique comparison to Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
Watching him is like watching Josh Allen. People are supposed to stop being able to do this in high school. It looks like he is playing at a different speed than everyone else. It just looks like there is a level of confidence in that, 'I am so much stronger and more athletic than anyone else out here, that I can process things at a slower rate, because I do not have to question my athletic abilities.' That guy is different.
The NFL has not been faced with a prospect of Hunter's two-way skillset for quite some time, if ever. He will most likely have to focus on either wide receiver or cornerback at the next level. The interesting component of that conversation is whether the decision will be made by Hunter, who is CBSSports.com's No. 1 overall prospect, and his representatives, or the team that drafts him.
Most, including Vereen, are in line with the thinking that Hunter should embrace his role on defense and, if he lands in the right situation, be utilized in the occasional offensive package.
I am obviously biased, but I want to see him play corner. I feel corner offers more because he could play outside corner, he could play slot corner, he could play free safety. Not the greatest tackler, but he does not shy away from tackling. There are five different positions that he could play in the secondary. That alone excites me. A lot of his success as a wide receiver is not because of his route-running, it is because of his athleticism. Yes, you are more athletic than the corners at Oklahoma State or BYU, but an NFL corner, the advantage just wouldn't be the same. If New England drafts him and says, 'We are playing you at wide receiver,' then I think he would be very successful at that. But I feel that if you say, 'What will he be more dominant at, what position can he play for 12 years,' I would say DB, in general.
Hunter is not the only tantalizing cornerback prospect eligible for the 2025 NFL Draft. Michigan's Will Johnson had been more highly rated a year ago, but injuries limited his availability in 2024. Vereen compared CBSSports.com's No. 2 overall prospect to Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain II.
There is a physical presence. I like watching when a cornerback gets the call and there is that seven seconds from standing there waiting for the offense to break the huddle or seeing who their matchup is going to be and it is a body language thing; that is my favorite thing that Surtain does. There is a confidence and body language that he has in those seven seconds that I love. From that moment to when he lines up, you know he is going to win this rep.
[Johnson's] biggest thing from a press man standpoint, he has great size and he is so firm at the line of scrimmage. There are a lot of guys who have good feet and are strong and can really punch you and put that hand in your chest, but they panic. He is just so confident and patient that when you combine that with his strength and aggressiveness, he is just mirroring wide receivers, he stays square until the very last moment. You can only do that with confidence. He is the real deal. If it was not for Travis Hunter, he would far and away be the best corner.
In addition to Hunter and Johnson, there are a few other cornerback prospects ranked among the top-20 overall prospects.
Notre Dame's Benjamin Morrison (No. 17 overall) was limited to six games this season due to a season-ending hip injury. He recorded nine interceptions over the prior two seasons with the Irish.
He may have the highest ceiling of anyone. He is incredible. When he was a true freshman playing and then last year, when he more or less shut down Marvin Harrison Jr. as a sophomore, that was when I was like, 'OK, I am not crazy. This guy is legit.' He was the best corner on the team even when Cam Hart was there. He is a true man-to-man guy. Obviously, the NFL pedigree helps. True 4.4 (seconds in the 40-yard dash) speed if I am not mistaken. His short-area quickness is great. I love watching him in [man coverage].
Morrison is not the only cornerback prospect whose season ended prematurely. East Carolina's Shavon Revel (No. 20 overall) logged interceptions in two of the Pirates' first three games. Unfortunately, a torn ACL prevented him from building upon those numbers. Revel's situation is a bit more complicated, however, because unlike Morrison, there are not years of prior production towards which he can point.
I like Shavon Revel. No one wants to take the guy who really only played at that caliber for one year. Your gut feeling is, 'Well, why did it take you so long to be this guy?' But if you are 6-3 with long arms and can run a 4.3 (second 40-yard dash), then someone is going to swing on you.
The rise of pass happy offenses that spread the ball out and stress defenses in space has led to a rise in defensive back usage and diminished rates of base defense. In the past year, the league welcomed Kentucky's Andru Phillips, Washington's Mike Sainristil and other collegiate nickel backs who have produced as rookies. Next in line may well be Texas' Jahdae Barron.
If you are looking specifically for nickel, I would go for him. He loves tackling. He is active at the line of scrimmage. A lot of DBs, they are fine tackling, but they do not understand run fits: the linebacker is filling there, the guard is pulling, that adjusts my gap, I have move on to the C-gap. He understands stuff like that. A defense like Pittsburgh with a lot of zone blitz, that would be perfect for him.
Barron, who is CBSSports.com's No. 61 overall prospect, has played five seasons of collegiate football at Texas. During that time, he has accumulated eight interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.
When the conversation turned to safeties, Vereen had a bold take: South Carolina's Nick Emmanwori will be the first player drafted at his position.
This guy is a monster. He is the perfect example of where defenses are going.
We want a hybrid DB-linebacker type. That way we don't have to take him off the field and also because tight ends can run routes like wide receivers. I can't have a linebacker on Brock Bowers. I can't have a linebacker on Sam LaPorta. This guy is probably going to be the first safety taken because he is a linebacker that can play safety. He is a safety that can play linebacker. He is like 6-4, 230 (pounds). He can play nickel. He can play back as a safety. He can blitz. He is smart as hell. Anyone that comes from an SEC school, because of the caliber of defensive coordinators there, they understand a lot of schemes. He is an insane student and plays a bunch of positions. I think understanding the ins and outs of football, plus that size and the willingness to hit, whoever gets him makes their defense better from Day 1.
Over the past two seasons, Emmanwori has recorded six interceptions. His measurables are similar to Kam Chancellor, Taylor Mays and George Iloka. In that regard, he is certainly an outlier. However, if he has the skillset to succeed in his role, then his potential is as high as any other has been able to accomplish.
Georgia's Malaki Starks was the next safety Vereen mentioned. The junior has been contributing for the Bulldogs since his true freshman season. In the three years of service that the NFL requires before declaring for the draft, Starks has logged six interceptions. One potential negative is that Starks underwent surgery this spring after suffering a shoulder injury last season.
Probably the best athlete in the draft. I am excited for him to go to the Combine and tear it up. I think he ran like a [10.55 seconds] 100 (meter dash) in high school. He was an option quarterback in high school and ran all over the place. Then, learning from Kirby Smart, he is going to be plug-and-play ready from Day 1 because that is what Georgia guys do. He can come down in the box quite a bit, nickel, slot corner and stuff like that. The thing that will hurt him is that surgery. He has played all year, but if you stub your toe in the eighth grade, some teams are going to sour on you.
Those are the defensive back prospects who will be at the forefront of conversation in the coming months as the draft approaches.
The 2025 NFL Draft is to take place from April 24-26 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. More draft coverage can be found at CBSSports.com, including the weekly mock drafts and a regularly available look at the eligible prospects.