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NFL Week 5 cornerback rankings

2RY28CE Detroit Lions defensive back Brian Branch reacts during an NFL football game against the Atlanta Falcons, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)

Darious Williams back on top: After four weeks, Williams owns the league's best coverage grade and has been the league's best cornerback at preventing separation.

Brian Branch creeps into the top three: The second-round rookie climbs a spot and has been as advertised coming out of Alabama, preventing separation at the fourth-best rate in the NFL.

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Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes


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 do this in two ways: It can pressure the passer to disrupt his 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 2023 season. These rankings will drastically change over the first month, as one interception, one missed tackle or one deep completion can dramatically 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 corners.

These rankings will combine PFF coverage grades with our Successful Coverage Over Expected (SCOE) data, which looks at how well each coverage defender performed on non-targeted coverage snaps, as we grade every coverage defender’s ability to prevent separation whether they are targeted on the play or not.

WR:CB Matchup Chart

Here are the top 32 cornerbacks for the 2023 season through Week 4. For more grades and statistics on the league's best cornerbacks, check out PFF Premium Stats.

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