Every Wednesday from now until preseason I’ll be going through each position group in the NFC South. I’ll rank them from worst to first. Here is a list of the positions already covered:

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends 

Offensive Tackles

Offensive Guards

Centers

Defensive Tackles

Edge

Linebackers

We now move on to cornerbacks. But first, two small notes.

First, today is Saturday, not Wednesday. Due to some scheduling conflicts and Bucs training camp starting on Wednesday, we decided to push this back a few days. Next week I should be back on schedule. Second, I have decided to break nickelbacks into their own position preview as it has really become its own position in the modern NFL.

I also want to note (and apologize for not having done this sooner), that I am getting depth charts from Ourlads.com

1. Atlanta Falcons

Bucs WR Mike Evans and Falcons CB AJ Terrell – Photo by: USA Today

The Falcons boast the best corner in the division at this point in each player’s respective career. A.J. Terrell is a lockdown No. 1 who has a legitimate case to reset the cornerback market soon and possibly become the highest-paid defensive back in the NFL. He is big and fast and can lock down an opposing team’s best receiver – although Bucs wide receiver Mike Evans has given him fits. Terrell is solid in both man and zone coverage, and he has allowed less than one yard per coverage rep in each of the last three seasons.

Opposite Terrell is one of my draft crushes from last year’s class in Clark Phillips III. Phillips had some of the best cornerback tape in that year’s draft class but fell to the fourth round for two reasons. His 4.51 40-yard dash was slower than most anticipated he would run and his height (5-9) led to concerns that he might be a slot-only option in the NFL where receivers are regularly six feet or taller.

The Falcons believed in Phillips’ ability to play outside as they lined him up on the perimeter 90% of the time last year and he played well down the stretch after missing the first nine weeks of the season due to injury. Phillips allowed just 108 yards on 115 coverage snaps over his last three games of his rookie campaign. He makes up for the athleticism concerns with incredible instincts and quick-twitch movements in short bursts. With just 414 career snaps he is a projection, but an exciting one.

Much like another NFC South team, the Falcons decided to hedge their bets on a young and largely unproven cornerback by signing a solid veteran to a cheap, one-year deal. Antonio Hamilton is coming off three solid years in Arizona. At 31, his best days are behind him, but the smart corner is still capable in man coverage and provides a good safety net for the Falcons if their bet on Phillips doesn’t pay off.

Kevin King was out of football for the past two years and struggled mightily during his five years with the Packers. He isn’t a lock to make the team, although I am sure Bucs fans are rooting for it in an effort to remember the good ole days of the 2020 NFC Championship Game.

The Falcons rank first in the NFC South for cornerback due to a good mix of high-end talent, projectable upside and solid depth.

2. New Orleans Saints

Bucs WR Mike Evans and Saints CB Marshon Lattimore – Photo by: USA Today

The Saints still have a good defensive backfield, and it starts with Marshon Lattimore. He may not be the lockdown, top-tier corner that his rookie season promised, but Lattimore is one of the more consistent players at an incredibly volatile position. But if there is one thing that hurts him more than anything, it is his penchant for missing time. Lattimore has barely logged 1,000 snaps over the past two seasons and has never hit the 1k mark in any season since entering the league in 2017. But when he is on the field, he is one of the better press-man corners in the NFL and provides a good ceiling for the Saints.

Playing opposite Lattimore is Paulson Adebo. The former third-round pick has established himself as one of the better cornerbacks in the NFL even if he may not be a household name. He is coming off of an elite coverage season (Pro Football Focus coverage grade of 80 or higher) and creates the best one-two punch in the division. With another strong season, he could be setting himself up for a big payday in 2025.

The technical depth behind the top two guys is suspect at best. Rejzohn Wright is a 2023 undrafted free agent who hasn’t played a defensive snap yet and Shemar Jean-Charles has allowed over two yards per coverage snap in his very limited experience. However, if either Adebo, Lattimore or both were to miss time, it is likely that the Saints would turn to a pair of guys who are currently competing for the starting nickel back job to move outside.

Kool-Aid McKinstry, the team’s 2024 first-round pick, would be the first man to move to the outside if needed. And I think New Orleans would go with Alontae Taylor out there before either of the inexperienced players that are mentioned in the paragraph above.

McKinstry provides upside and is the likely heir-apparent to Adebo if the team decides not to re-sign him. He was rarely targeted at Alabama.

3. Tampa Bay Bucs

Bucs CB Zyon McCollum Photo By: USA Today

Full disclosure. I would not be the least bit surprised if the Bucs ended 2024 with the best outside corner room in the division. I personally believe Zyon McCollum is on the verge of a breakout season. And if he hits his ceiling, paired with a bounce-back year from Jamel Dean, they could easily take the top spot. However, that is projection on my part and the 50th percentile outcome is more centered around a solid and capable pairing.

Dean has peaks of being an elite corner, but injuries and inconsistency have borne out that he is more of a second-tier guy and the Bucs paid him like he was last year. He is big and physical but is often asked to play more zone than man coverage when his strengths lie in press-man. This will be the first year he is asked to be the Bucs’ top corner and it will be interesting to see if he is up to the challenge.

McCollum has all of the physical tools to be elite. Last year you saw a big jump in his performance as he played within the defense and understood his assignments better. The Bucs have shown a lot of faith in him by trading away Carlton Davis III.

Similarly to the Falcons, Tampa Bay did hedge its McCollum bet a bit by signing former Jet Bryce Hall. He played well as a starter in 2021 but was relegated to backup after the Jets drafted All-World cornerback Sauce Gardner in 2022. Hall has been plagued by a lack of playing time and injuries ever since but has still played well when he has had a chance to play. He provides solid insurance for McCollum’s uncertainty and Dean’s injury certainty.

Josh Hayes is looking to be CB4 if he can hold off Keenan Isaac and Tyler Funderburk. Hayes saw limited playing time last year as he a backup nickel. The Bucs have switched him fully to outside corner this year.

4. Carolina Panthers

Panthers CB Jaycee Horn Photo By: USA Today

The Panthers could be much higher on this list if I had any faith that Jaycee Horn could make it through an entire season. The Panthers took him eighth overall in the 2021 NFL Draft and when he has been on the field, he has been stellar.

For his career, he has allowed just 0.68 yards per coverage snap. That is elite efficiency. Unfortunately, Horn has played less than 300 snaps in two of his three seasons, has never topped 850 snaps in any season, and played just six games last year. Anything he provides this year should be considered a bonus rather than an expectation.

But to give you the best understanding of what Horn can be, despite all of his missed time the Panthers still picked up his 2025 fifth-year option.

Dane Jackson has been a fill-in starter for three years now. He is a low-ceiling option who the Panthers are hoping can be a stop-gap starter for them. Dicaprio Bootle is a former undrafted free agent who has found his way onto the field in each season since entering the league. He graded out solid over three games in his most extended action last year with the Panthers. D’Shawn Jamison saw the field for fewer snaps over more games and did not fair as well.

Depth is a real concern for the Panthers at cornerback this year.