- Cooper DeJean remains on top: DeJean ranks fifth in PFF coverage grade and 17th in EPA allowed per target, but his biggest impact comes as a tackler. His 18 pass stops rank fourth in the NFL, and his 12 forced incompletions rank 10th, highlighting his ability to consistently end plays in coverage.
- Jamel Dean has been the model of consistency throughout his career: Dean has never posted a PFF coverage grade lower than 72.5 or higher than 78.9 across seven seasons and currently sits at a 76.9 mark. Dean has allowed a passer rating of just 46.9 when targeted and has recorded three interceptions — including a pick-six — contributing to a stellar -0.407 EPA allowed per target.
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If quarterback is the most important position on the football field, then limiting the effectiveness of that player is the most important thing a defense can do.
A team can achieve this in two ways: it can pressure the passer to disrupt their timing, rhythm and accuracy, or it can shut down the opposing receivers.
Each week, after every NFL game is graded and reviewed, PFF will check in on the top cornerbacks of the 2025 season.
These rankings utilize PFF All-Coverage charting and data to rank the cornerbacks, providing insights into PFF coverage grades and our Successful Coverage Over Expected (SCOE) metric, which measures how well each coverage defender performed above expectations on non-targeted coverage snaps.
We grade every coverage defender’s ability to prevent separation, whether they are targeted on the play or not. These rankings utilize play-level normalization and expectation adjustments. After all, matching up with a receiver is more difficult than covering a running back, and playing man coverage is typically more difficult than matching in a zone.
Here are the top 32 cornerbacks in PFF’s advanced coverage grade after Week 17 of the 2025 season.
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