2027 NFL Draft Prospect Preview: CB Leonard Moore, Notre Dame

• Elite cornerback prospect: Notre Dame's Leonard Moore ranks fifth overall on PFF's 2027 NFL Draft Big Board and is expected to be a top-10 selection.

• Outstanding coverage production: Moore earned a 91.8 PFF overall grade in 2025, the highest among college cornerbacks, and allowed a 45.1 passer rating when targeted.

• Man-coverage specialist: Six of Moore's seven career interceptions have come in man coverage, making him a strong fit for NFL defenses that frequently use that approach.

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Over the past decade, nine cornerbacks have been selected within the first 10 picks of the NFL Draft. Notre Dame’s Leonard Moore has a strong chance to become the next.

The consensus top cornerback prospect in the 2027 draft class, Moore ranks fifth overall on PFF’s 2027 Big Board. He opened his college career with back-to-back elite PFF grades in 2024 and 2025.

When Notre Dame lost top cornerback Benjamin Morrison to a season-ending injury in 2024, Moore stepped into the starting lineup as a true freshman and proved to be an upgrade.

After an excellent sophomore season, Moore would have been an easy top-10 selection in the 2026 NFL Draft had he been eligible. He enters the 2027 cycle as a more well-rounded prospect than Mansoor Delane, who was selected sixth overall in April.

Leonard Moore: Draft info

• Height: 6-foot-2
• Weight: 197 pounds
• Expected draft position: Top 10
• Best film: 2025 vs. Texas A&M

Moore recorded five interceptions on his way to becoming an established star in the Notre Dame defense last year. His 91.8 overall PFF grade in 2025 was the highest among all college cornerbacks, while quarterbacks posted a passer rating of just 45.1 when targeting him.

As a result, Moore entered the 2026 season as the most feared and widely recognized cornerback in college football. Opponents have made it a priority to avoid his side of the field whenever possible. Like many blue-chip cornerback prospects, he could have a quieter final season as offenses scheme their passing attacks toward the opposite side of the field.

Moore lines up exclusively on the perimeter and has the raw speed and length to keep pace with virtually any wide receiver.

Where Leonard Moore excels

Moore has been superb in man coverage throughout his career. Six of his seven career interceptions have come in man coverage, along with 17 of his 23 forced incompletions. He is also more reliable in the open field when playing man coverage, with his missed-tackle rate dropping from 33% in zone coverage to just 7% in man-to-man situations.

Moore sticks to wide receivers like a blanket in man coverage. And while recovery speed is an important trait for cornerbacks, Moore rarely needs to rely on it. He is almost never caught out of position and trailing an open receiver.

Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame defense plays man coverage more often than almost any other FBS defense. Across this season and last, Freeman has called Cover 1 on 42% of defensive snaps, the second-highest rate in the FBS.

Notre Dame leans so heavily on this coverage because it suits Moore’s strengths. He is an expert at playing with outside leverage, cutting off out-breaking routes and funneling receivers toward the deep-middle safety, where he knows he has help.

It can be tempting to generalize man-oriented cornerbacks as players who rely more on athleticism than coverage awareness, but Moore’s high football intelligence is evident on every passing play. Despite being only a three-star recruit out of high school, his top-tier awareness in the passing game stood out in his recruiting reports.

Moore can also thrive when Notre Dame uses two-high defensive structures such as Cover 2 or Cover 4, where the middle of the field is open. His best work, though, unquestionably comes when he can play with outside leverage.

As an athlete, Moore is long and rangy. His height ranks in the 90th percentile among cornerback prospects, and he has the arm length to complement his frame. He has added bulk since arriving on campus in South Bend and uses that increased physicality well at the line of scrimmage in press coverage.

Areas for improvement

Moore cannot simply become faster, but his speed on film looks adequate rather than exceptional for the position. I would expect him to run somewhere in the low 4.40-second range at the NFL Combine. Whether he elects to run at all will also be an interesting talking point during the pre-draft process.

Speed is rarely a problem for Moore because he is seldom caught out of position. It could become a bigger concern in the NFL, though, where keeping pace with receivers such as Ja’Marr Chase for an entire game presents a much tougher challenge.

Moore’s on-field production is undeniable, but NFL decision-makers still place significant value on certain athletic thresholds, particularly at cornerback. Some general managers may believe a cornerback needs a certain level of speed to warrant a top-10 selection, and Moore’s eventual testing numbers could fall short of what those teams expect.

Unlike previous blue-chip cornerback prospects such as Devon Witherspoon, Moore is not a game-changer against the run. His run defense has regressed since his 2024 campaign, when he posted an 86.5 PFF run-defense grade as a true freshman.

Moore’s missed-tackle rate has hovered around 17% throughout his career. That is notably higher than the rates posted by recent top-10 cornerback prospects Mansoor Delane, Devon Witherspoon and Travis Hunter. His tackling form remains rough around the edges, and he has not shown marked improvement in that area over the past couple of seasons.

Best team fits

Because Moore is a consensus blue-chip prospect, team needs will not be a major consideration for whichever team is on the clock while he remains available. PFF currently has six cornerbacks ranked among the top 50 on its 2027 Big Board, so teams that miss out on Moore should still have options.

Moore is one of the best true man-coverage cornerbacks to enter the draft in quite some time. He would be an ideal fit for a defensive coordinator who favors man coverage, much like the system Marcus Freeman runs at Notre Dame.

The most man-heavy defenses in the NFL so far in 2026 include Mike Rutenberg’s Cleveland Browns and Dennis Allen’s Chicago Bears. The Browns have started the season strongly, which could push them outside Moore’s draft range. However, they also have an additional first-round pick from the Rams as part of the Myles Garrett trade.

Rams defensive coordinator Chris Shula also runs one of the most man-heavy defenses in football. Los Angeles is unlikely to pick anywhere near Moore’s range, but Shula could be a head-coaching candidate for a struggling team looking for a fresh start after this season. Moore would be an excellent cornerstone for any first-time defensive head coach selecting within the top 10.

NFL outlook

One of Moore’s biggest selling points is that he has practically never played a bad game at Notre Dame. Even the best defensive backs in the sport get beaten from time to time, but since the midpoint of his freshman season, Moore has not allowed more than 50 receiving yards in a game. He has just one career start with a PFF coverage grade below 60.0 and none below 50.0.

Moore has faced high-caliber opposition, including Miami, Georgia, Indiana and Ohio State. Notre Dame is firmly on track to reach the College Football Playoff again this year, giving Moore another chance to face some of the best receivers college football has to offer.

He may need to answer some questions about his athleticism during the pre-draft process. At the very least, though, he will enter the NFL with one of the highest floors of any cornerback prospect in recent memory.