NFL FREE AGENCY: TOP 8 AVAILABLE CORNERBACKS

BY ADAM GREENE

Our cornerback list is loaded with high-end talent, with the majority of these guys all beginning their NFL careers as first or second round draft picks.

There are a lot of injury concerns here, and maybe some locker room issues as well.

1. MARCUS PETERS

Age: 30

Size: 6-0, 197 pounds

2022: 47 tackles, one sack, two tackles for a loss, one interception, six passes defended, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries

PFF Grade: 67.7

Marcus Peters was a first-round pick out of Washington by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2015. Peters came into the league with some baggage that seems to have never really left him. While he’s not gotten into trouble in the NFL, there seems to be something about him that just makes it tough to keep a job. His problems in college were all “team discipline” related and got him kicked off the Huskies team November of his senior year. He did land the Defensive Rookie of the Year award for the Chiefs, but after three seasons, Andy Reid sent him to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for a sixth rounder.; He lasted a season and a half with the Rams, a team notoriously easy for a “personality” to be successful with, landing with the Baltimore Ravens when LA added Jalen Ramsey. He spent the last two seasons in Baltimore, starting every game in which he was healthy. In fact, he’s only not started one game in which he could have since he entered the league eight years ago. Peters was a two-time first team All Pro in 2016 and 2019, made the Pro Bowl three times and co-led the NFL in picks in 2015 with eight.

Where he should end up: Denver Broncos

Odds to win the Super Bowl: +5500

The real contenders probably don’t have the cap space to add Peters, who is currently healthy from what I can tell and a potential Pro Bowler in the correct situation. If you have a team that’s not going to contend, or even tank, Peters would probably be the worst guy to add to your locker room. So, he needs to go to a franchise with an elite, respected coach and one where he can just blend into the scenery and not be the focus of extra media attention. Considering the attention that Russell Wilson will get implementing Sean Payton’s system in Denver, I think Peters could just slide in and, with Payton, maybe be a solid, and untroubling, member of the team.

2. CASEY HAYWARD

Age: 33

Size: 5-11, 180 pounds

2022: 17 tackles, three passes defended, one interception

PFF Grade: 64.7

For the first time since his second season in the league, Casey Haywards didn’t appear in at least 14 games. Hayward missed 11 starts last season with an injury and was cut by the Atlanta Falcons in April after he failed a physical. That probably means he’ll be sitting a while as a free agent and, after a solid 11-year career, he could just hang up his spurs for good. Even with just six starts last season, Hayward has started all but a handful of games in which he was eligible to play since being drafted in the second round out of Vanderbilt by the Green Bay Packers in 2012. Hayward made Pro Bowl twice, was a two-time second team All Pro and led the NFL in interceptions with seven in 2016.

Where he should end up: Las Vegas Raiders

Odds to win the Super Bowl: +5500

While Peters might be avoided by a team that already appears out of it, a squad like the Raiders, with a desperate head coach like Josh McDaniels looking at getting jettisoned out the airlock at the end of the season, some real leadership on the defense could be a positive thing. Hayward missed a lot of games last season and he’s not healthy just yet. But he’s probably going to be a position coach at worst someday, if he wants to be. Why not add that guy to your roster and roll the dice? Especially if he can pass a physical this summer. Vegas doesn’t have much on the defensive backend at all and Hayward, as long as he can suit up, would be their best defensive back from day one.

3. TROY HILL

Age: 31

Size: 5-11, 189 pounds

2022: 67 tackles, one tackle for a loss, one interception, four passes defended

PFF Grade: 65.4

Troy Hill has maximized his career as an undrafted free agent out of Oregon in 2015. He spent a season with the Cincinnati Bengals before landing with the Los Angeles Rams and finding a home for six years. Hill started four games his second season, but by his third with Los Angeles, he was a permanent starter and led the NFL in interception return yards (119) and interceptions (2) in 2020 opposite Jalen Ramsey. He spent a season with the Cleveland Browns, starting four games and appearing in 12 before returning for a curtain call with the Rams last year, where he played in 12 games again.

Where he should end up: Los Angeles Chargers

Odds to win the Super Bowl: +2500

Hill had his best season as a pro playing in Brandon Staley’s defense, so I see no reason for Staley not to look for a reunion. As of today, JC Jackson is slated to start opposite Asante Samuel, Jr. and he wasn’t healthy all year in 2022, playing in just five games. But Hill doesn’t have to start. He played nickel for the Rams for years and would create an elite starting three with a healthy Jackson and Samuel.

4. ELI APPLE

Age: 27

Size: 6-1, 199 pounds

2022: 49 tackles, one tackle for a loss, eight passes defended

PFF Grade: 52.9

For a former first round pick that started for a Super Bowl team, Eli Apple has struggled to find a forever home on a roster. He’s still young and has plenty of football years left in him, but he had a rough season in 2022 after a less than stellar Super Bowl performance. Now, to be fair, he was asked to line up across from Cooper Kupp, the best receiver in the NFL that season. Kupp, of course, would go on to win the Super Bowl MVP and get jokingly added to Apple’s Wikipedia page as his father. Apple spent two and a half seasons with the New York Giants, the team that selected him 10^th overall out of Ohio State, before getting traded to the New Orleans Saints. In 2020, he suited up for two games with the Carolina Panthers, but missed most of the season with injury. He had a solid 2021 with the Bengals (and I don’t even hold the Super Bowl against him. Kupp was the NFL’s Triple Crown winner. Nobody stopped him all year.). Last season, though, Apple took a little stumble. It’s why he’s on the street today.

Where he should end up: Indianapolis Colts

Odds to win the Super Bowl: +10000

Frank Reich will do everything he can to field the best squad he’s able to in Indy and Apple is probably better than both his current starters. As of this writing, Kenny Moore II, all of 5-9, is slated to start opposite Isaiah Rodgers, Sr. Moore has been relatively solid in his NFL career and played plenty of football, all for the Colts. Rodgers is a stop gap at best and, at the time I put this together, was being probed by the NFL for a possible gambling suspension. Indianapolis probably won’t contend for anything this season and the sooner we all see Anthony Richardson at quarterback, the better. But Reich will have no desire to just phone in his first season with the team. Apple not only would improve the defense, if he bounces back to his 2021 form, he could find, if not a forever home, certainly a two or three year stay with the team.

5. WILLIAM JACKSON III

Age: 30

Size: 6-0, 189 pounds

2022: 16 tackles, one tackle for a loss, two passes defended

PFF Grade: 49.6

William Jackson III is our second former Cincinnati Bengals first rounder to make the list in a row. The Bengals selected Jackson out of Houston in 2017 at No. 24 overall in 2016 and he was immediately injured and didn’t play a down. If you’re a Bengals fan (or know one), you’ll recognize that scenario as something they just seem to regularly deal with. Jackson got onto the field in Year Two, starting five games and playing in 15. He took over as a permanent starter in 2018 and kept the job until he left the team for the Washington Commanders as a free agent in 2021. Jackson started 12 games for the Commanders that season. He suffered a back injury four games into 2022 and was traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers at the deadline, but never suited up in the Black and Gold and spent the rest of the season on injured reserve. Jackson is still relatively young and has moved into mercenary territory. He still has plenty of speed, which was the thing that got him drafted in the first place when he ran a 4.37 at the 2016 NFL Combine.

Where he should end up: Jacksonville Jaguars

Odds to win the Super Bowl: +2500

Jackson probably isn’t being brought in as a potential starter at this point, though he could do it if called upon. The Jags have two decent guys locking down the CB1 and CB2 spots in 2021 second round pick Tyson Campbell and 2022 free agent acquisition Darius Williams, fresh from his Super Bowl championship with the Rams. The third and fourth guys, Montaric Brown and Tre Hendon, are very replaceable and will certainly be exposed in any three or more wide receiver sets.  

6. BRADLEY ROBY

Age:  31

Size: 5-11, 194 pounds

2022: 36 tackles, one tackle for a loss, five passes defended, two fumble recoveries

PFF Grade: 45.4

If you’re keeping track, Roby is our third consecutive former first round pick to make the list and the fourth so far to find his way currently consciously uncoupled from an NFL team. Roby was an excellent player for the Denver Broncos, who took him at No. 31 overall in the 2014 NFL Draft. His problem was he had Aquib Talib and Chris Harris, Jr. in front of him, pushing him into a part time starter and nickel role until Talib was traded to the Rams in 2018. Roby started 15 games for Denver that season, then left for the Houston Texans, where he struggled to stay healthy, appearing in 20 games out of a possible 32 over the nest two seasons. He spent the following two years with the New Orleans Saints, but only took over as a starter last in 10 games last year.

Where he should end up: Minnesota Vikings

Odds to win the Super Bowl: +4500

Roby should be looked at, by any team that signs him, as an opportunity to steal a starter. The Vikings defense was terrible last season and their best player, Andrew Booth, a rookie second round pick out of Clemson, only played in six games before getting hurt. They’ve populated the rest of their defensive backfield with cast offs from other teams, a rookie third rounder, Mekhi Blackmon from USC and their fourth round pick last year, Akayleb Evans. Roby would likely start over this entire group and, if he can stay healthy, allow the Vikings to pick their other two prospective starters out of the draft picks they keep throwing at the position. Minnesota, whether anyone believes it or not, has a Super Bowl window here. Not that they could win one, but they could certainly go to one and represent the NFC if the stars align. You know what would help with that? Being able to stop the other team once in a while.

7. RONALD DARBY

Age:  29

Size: 5-11, 180 pounds

2022: 14 tackles, two for a loss, three passes defended

PFF Grade: 71.1

Darby was a second round pick out of Florida State by the Buffalo Bills in 2015 and started all but one game as a rookie. He made 14 starts in his second season, but struggled with injuries in his third and fourth, both with the Philadelphia Eagles after a 2017 trade. And that’s pretty much been the knock on Darby since. If he’s healthy, he not only plays, but starts for every single team he’s been on, which will be five after he signs with someone this season. He was with the Broncos the last two campaigns, both 17 game seasons I remind you, and played a total of 16 games. That’s right, Roby hasn’t played a full season in two seasons. He did suit up in every game for the Washington Commanders in 2020, only the third full-ish season of his eight year career.

Where he should end up: New Orleans Saints

Odds to win the Super Bowl: +5000

The Saints should have every reason to believe they can win the NFC South this upcoming season and host a playoff game in which they will be summarily destroyed by a far superior team. So, if they want to make sure they win all of nine games and secure a postseason berth in what will be Dennis Allen’s second, and most assuredly final season if he can’t do just that, they need to shore up their defense. Darby, healthy is better than Paulson Adebo and  but the Saints could probably make sure he stays healthy by keeping him as a nickel. Also, Adebo was a third rounder two years ago and has played pretty well, but he missed four games in 2022 himself. Darby would add a veteran presence, a trusted every down player and, if you can get a full season out of him, a third corner that could start anywhere in the league. He played in five games a season ago, but still posted the highest Pro Football Focus score of any other player on this list. By a mile.

8. JASON VERRETT

Age:  31

Size: 5-10, 178 pounds

2022: 5 tackles

PFF Grade: No grade

The current NFL season is 17 games long, with a maximum of 21 games played for the Super Bowl winning team. Jason Verrett, since 2015, has played in 20 games. That’s right, over the last six seasons, Verrett has played the same number of games Patrick Mahomes has hit or exceeded in each of the last five years. You could say the dude has bad luck, but he entered the league that way as a first round pick, 25^th overall, to the then San Diego Chargers out of TCU. Even that rookie year, he was only healthy for six games. In 2015, he played in 14 out of the 16 regular season games. Verrett would only get anywhere close to that one more time, a 13-start 2020 with the San Francisco 49ers.. He didn’t play a down of football last year. Since 2017, Verrett gas played in one or fewer (yes, fewer) games five times.

Where he should end up: Houston Texans

Odds to win the Super Bowl: +10000

DeMeco Ryans was the defensive coordinator for the 49ers the last time Verrett took the field. More than that, he was a defensive assistant with the Niners the last year Verrett played any significant football, when he suited up for 13 times and finished the year with a career high 60 tackles, two for a loss, two interceptions and seven passes defended. No one expects Ryans to win in Houston this year except maybe Ryans. And, sure, he’s wrong, but it wouldn’t hurt to bring Varrett in on a low-end contract to kick the tires and see if he can’t help the defense.

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

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