BEST ZONE COVERAGE DEFENSIVE BACKS 2028 NFL Draft

2028 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.

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

Daryus
Dixson

CB
Penn State   Mascot
Penn State Mascot
65 65 90 86
87.1
2

Jayden
Sanders

CB
Michigan   Mascot
Michigan Mascot
55 72 88 87
85.9
3

Bryce
Fitzgerald

S
Miami   Mascot
Miami Mascot
68 76 82 89
86.1
4

DJ
Pickett

CB
LSU   Mascot
LSU Mascot
63 84 81 87
88.4
5

Shawn
Lee Jr.

CB
Pittsburgh   Mascot
Pittsburgh Mascot
55 69 80 78
82.1
6

Tae
Harris

S
Georgia Tech   Mascot
Georgia Tech Mascot
69 75 78 75
83.1
7

Graceson
Littleton

CB
Texas   Mascot
Texas Mascot
69 70 76 71
85.8
8

Tyren
Polley

S
SMU   Mascot
SMU Mascot
73 71 75 75
81.1
9

Rylon
Dillard-Alle...

S
Washington   Mascot
Washington Mascot
63 70 75 73
85.0
10

Kade
Phillips

CB
Texas   Mascot
Texas Mascot
80 73 74 65
87.3
11

Elijah
Green

CB
Tulsa   Mascot
Tulsa Mascot
73 73 73 73
75.0
12

Courtland
Guillory

CB
Oklahoma   Mascot
Oklahoma Mascot
59 70 72 75
83.0
13

Devin
Sanchez

CB
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
83 76 70 68
84.8
14

Messiah
Delhomme

S
Maryland   Mascot
Maryland Mascot
72 65 69 78
80.2
15

Braden
Awls

S
Iowa State   Mascot
Iowa State Mascot
70 84 69 69
81.1
16

Dylan
Robinson

CB
Washington   Mascot
Washington Mascot
52 56 67 71
83.3
17

Edrees
Farooq

S
Tennessee   Mascot
Tennessee Mascot
48 56 65 66
74.0
18

Xavier
Filsaime

S
Texas   Mascot
Texas Mascot
38 66 62 63
64.3
19

Na'Eem
Offord

CB
Oregon   Mascot
Oregon Mascot
39 72 61 57
81.9
20

Jaydan
Hardy

S
Colorado   Mascot
Colorado Mascot
37 52 58 63
66.1