- Jourdan Lewis continues to reign atop the cornerback rankings: Lewis' 84.3% positive grade rate ranks third among all corners, while his -0.634 EPA per target allowed is second-best in the NFL among cornerbacks with at least 15 targets.
- Will Johnson returned to action in Week: The Cardinals rookie now ranks sixth in advanced coverage grade, leads the league with an 87.74% positive grade rate and holds the second-highest PFF coverage grade at 84.2.
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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 will change drastically over the first month, as one interception, one missed tackle, or one deep completion can significantly alter a player's grade when the sample size is small. But as snap counts rise, the grades will stabilize and we'll get a clearer picture of the league's best cornerbacks.
Last year, these rankings utilized 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 5 of the 2025 season.
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