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

Ify
Obidegwu

CB
Oregon   Mascot
Oregon Mascot
94 68 91 86
78.5
2

John
Nestor

CB
Minnesota   Mascot
Minnesota Mascot
69 94 89 90
84.5
3

Kingston
Lopa

S
California   Mascot
California Mascot
64 59 88 89
84.7
4

Dashawn
Spears

CB
LSU   Mascot
LSU Mascot
76 78 88 76
84.6
5

Ashton
Hampton

CB
Clemson   Mascot
Clemson Mascot
70 62 87 86
86.4
6

Tae
Johnson

S
Notre Dame   Mascot
Notre Dame Mascot
88 83 87 83
86.3
7

Kelley
Jones

CB
Mississippi State   Mascot
Mississippi State Mascot
88 74 86 82
86.7
8

Peyton
Bowen

S
Oklahoma   Mascot
Oklahoma Mascot
73 86 85 85
84.6
9

Leonard
Moore

CB
Notre Dame   Mascot
Notre Dame Mascot
61 78 84 92
89.5
10

Robert
Fitzgerald

S
Northwestern   Mascot
Northwestern Mascot
70 85 84 75
81.0
11

Ellis
Robinson IV

CB
Georgia   Mascot
Georgia Mascot
83 75 83 77
88.5
12

Bryce
Thornton

S
Florida   Mascot
Florida Mascot
80 72 83 72
81.1
13

Amare
Ferrell

S
Indiana   Mascot
Indiana Mascot
75 75 83 82
84.5
14

Jelani
McDonald

S
Texas   Mascot
Texas Mascot
79 81 83 83
85.1
15

Marcus
Neal Jr.

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

Earl
Little Jr.

S
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
80 82 82 77
84.4
17

Audavion
Collins

CB
Penn State   Mascot
Penn State Mascot
59 70 82 85
81.5
18

John
Curry

CB
Texas Tech   Mascot
Texas Tech Mascot
63 76 82 78
81.1
19

KJ
Bolden

S
Georgia   Mascot
Georgia Mascot
73 81 80 80
87.8
20

Evan
Johnson

CB
BYU   Mascot
BYU Mascot
64 68 80 69
79.9