BEST ZONE COVERAGE DEFENSIVE BACKS 2027 NFL Draft

2027 BEST ZONE COVERAGE DEFENSIVE BACKS

Zone coverage grade scores snaps where the defender is responsible for an area: reading the quarterback, passing off routes, breaking on the ball. It rewards instincts more than speed, and it is where safeties and off-coverage corners build their value. Richard Sherman (Stanford) and Earl Thomas (Texas) both graded near the top here.

The table ranks this year’s draft-eligible defensive backs by zone coverage grade, alongside man and press coverage, tackling, run defense and overall rating.

2027 Defensive Backs ranked by ZONE

RANK Player Pos Team TACKLING RUN DEFENSE ZONE MAN/PRESS Rating
1

John
Nestor

CB
Minnesota   Mascot
Minnesota Mascot
71 93 89 90
84.5
2

Kingston
Lopa

S
California   Mascot
California Mascot
64 59 88 89
84.7
3

Dashawn
Spears

CB
LSU   Mascot
LSU Mascot
76 78 88 76
84.6
4

Tae
Johnson

S
Notre Dame   Mascot
Notre Dame Mascot
88 83 87 83
86.3
5

Leonard
Moore

CB
Notre Dame   Mascot
Notre Dame Mascot
63 77 86 92
89.5
6

Ashton
Hampton

CB
Clemson   Mascot
Clemson Mascot
70 71 86 83
86.4
7

Ify
Obidegwu

CB
Oregon   Mascot
Oregon Mascot
91 67 86 82
78.5
8

Kelley
Jones

CB
Mississippi State   Mascot
Mississippi State Mascot
84 69 85 82
86.7
9

Ellis
Robinson IV

CB
Georgia   Mascot
Georgia Mascot
79 76 84 74
88.5
10

John
Curry

CB
Texas Tech   Mascot
Texas Tech Mascot
65 77 83 79
81.1
11

Amare
Ferrell

S
Indiana   Mascot
Indiana Mascot
75 74 83 82
84.5
12

Jelani
McDonald

S
Texas   Mascot
Texas Mascot
83 79 82 84
85.1
13

Randon
Fontenette

S
Colorado   Mascot
Colorado Mascot
75 72 82 70
78.0
14

Bryce
Thornton

S
Florida   Mascot
Florida Mascot
84 77 82 73
81.1
15

Marcus
Neal Jr.

S
Penn State   Mascot
Penn State Mascot
83 92 82 79
83.4
16

Robert
Fitzgerald

S
Northwestern   Mascot
Northwestern Mascot
72 85 82 73
81.0
17

Jyaire
Hill

CB
Michigan   Mascot
Michigan Mascot
66 80 81 79
84.7
18

Audavion
Collins

CB
Penn State   Mascot
Penn State Mascot
56 70 80 85
81.5
19

Evan
Johnson

CB
BYU   Mascot
BYU Mascot
64 68 80 69
79.9
20

Peyton
Bowen

S
Oklahoma   Mascot
Oklahoma Mascot
75 85 79 85
84.6