Packers Positions of Need: Top 10 Cornerbacks

Here are the top 10 cornerback prospects - and their personal stories.

The Green Bay Packers fielded one of the better pass defenses in the league, with rising star Jaire Alexander at one corner, Kevin King at the other and veteran Tramon Williams in the slot. However, King will be entering his final season under contract, Williams is 36 and headed to free agency, and 2018 second-round pick Josh Jackson and 2019 sixth-round pick Ka’Dar Hollman couldn’t get off the bench. With that, here is our early look at the top 10 prospects at the position. (Underclassmen are noted with an asterisk.)

Jeff Okudah, Ohio State (6-1, 200)*: In 2019, Okudah had three interceptions – the first three of his career – and an additional nine pass breakups in earning unanimous All-American honors. He broke up eight passes as a sophomore.

Okudah announced his entry into the NFL Draft with a letter to his mom at The Players Tribune. “I’m 20 years old, if you can believe it — which means it’s been almost three full years since the two most important things in my life happened. First, in January of 2017, I enrolled early at the Ohio State University. And then second, later that same month, you lost your long battle with lymphoma.” Marie Okudahwas diagnosed with lymphoma when her son was a toddler. She died less than a week after he arrived at Ohio State. “It was tough because I was far away,” Okudah told Buckeye Extra. “Not that it really mattered, but I was so far away and I couldn’t do anything about it. For me, I never dealt with anyone passing away. So for the first one to be your mom, it kind of hits differently.” He played through personal pain, too. He had shoulder surgery in January 2018. “I played with this injury senior year of high school, my junior year of high school and my freshman year at Ohio State,” Okudah told the Columbus Dispatch. “I’m kind of interested to see if there will be a change in performance now that I’m getting back to being fully healthy. I think it’ll definitely give a lot of confidence. You can go out and play knowing your body feels good.” This first career interception was a “monkey off my back.” New cornerbacks coach Jeff Hafley, a former 49ers assistant, made a strong impact, according to LettermenRow.com. “The first thing we did was watch all my targets from last year,” Okudah said. “He gave feedback after every single rep. After listening to him for that one-hour session, it was like: ‘OK, he knows what he’s talking about.’ And then, I listened to what he had to say, like his plan for getting me better. After that, I just bought in.”

C.J. Henderson, Florida (6-1, 202)*: Henderson intercepted a career-high four passes as a freshman, had career highs of three sacks and five tackles for losses as a sophomore and a career-high 11 passes defensed (zero interceptions) as a junior. He was first-team all-SEC and earned some All-American honors in 2019. His three-year totals were six interceptions and 14 additional breakups.

Henderson doesn’t say much but his play speaks volumes. “The thing about CJ is he gives relentless effort all the time,” defensive coordinator Todd Grantham told the Miami Herald. “He’s a really good player. He’s a guy that takes a lot of pride in his work, and he practices like that, honestly. That’s why he made that play and gave us a chance to bring him down.” He had pick-sixes in back-to-back games as a freshman. “He’s not your flashy, arrogant type of guy,” his high school coach told Jacksonville.com. “Even when you saw those two pick-6s, there wasn’t a whole lot of celebration. He stopped, gave the ball to the referee and went back to the sideline. That’s just the way he is.” At Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, Henderson was a star running back who gave cornerback a shot as a senior. He received scholarship offers to play running back but chose defense and the Gators. “I thought about down the line, looked at the league, different prototypes of cornerbacks in the league, and I looked at running backs,” he told the Orlando Sentinel. “I was a better fit at corner, so I just stuck with it.” His younger brother, Xzavier, signed to play receiver with the Gators in January.

Jaylon Johnson, Utah (6-0, 195)*: Johnson had a career-high four interceptions as a sophomore and a career-high 13 passes defensed (two interceptions, 11 breakups) as a junior. His three-season total was seven interceptions. He was second-team All-American in 2019 and first-team all-conference his final two seasons.

His parents’ hard times were a turning point in Johnson’s life. "I was a hot head when my parents were going through what they were going through," Johnson told The Associated Press during his freshman year. "I definitely hit a wall at one point and just realized I have to change who I was as a person. I didn't want to be that bad kid that had a bad attitude and people didn't want to be around. So I definitely changed my whole perspective on life and I just wanted to be better as a person.” Johnson wants to be the best, which is why he was up late watching tape on the eve of fall camp. “He’s got the whole package as far as what you look for in a corner,” coach Kyle Whittingham said. “He’s got size, quickness, great hips, instincts, ball skills, great balance, great closing speed. When you put together an ideal corner, he’s the whole package.” Johnson was a two-time member of the Pac-12’s academic team and graduated with a degree in economics in December. He received scholarship offers to play basketball in the Ivy League. One of his brothers, John, was a defensive back at UCLA.

Noah Igbinoghene, Auburn (5-11, 200)*: Igbinoghene’s lone interception came as a sophomore, when he broke up 10 passes for a total of 11 passes defensed. In 2019, he broke up seven passes. He’s a playmaker, with a 27.3-yard average and two touchdowns on kickoff returns.

Igbinoghene also competed in the long jump and triple jump for Auburn’s indoor and outdoor track teams. That’s no surprise. His parents, Faith and Festus Igbinoghene, were Olympic track athletes. His parents were born in Nigeria, with his father competing in track and field at Mississippi State and his mother at Alabama. Faith was part of the Nigerian women’s 400-meter that won bronze at the 1992 Summer Olympics. “They have a high expectation for you,” he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It can even get frustrating sometimes. We’ve had a few tough moments. My sophomore year, they’d always be saying, ‘You need to be jumping this. You need to be jumping that.’ There was a bunch of yelling. I guess all the frustration came then. But we let it out, and it made me better. But it’s so good for me having a parent-coach that you can go back home to.” He caught six passes as a freshman receiver, then made the move to corner and started immediately. “He loves playing DB,” Festus Igbinoghene told The Athletic. “To me, Noah can do this. Nothing is too hard for him, because Noah has been through hell with me. Noah can withstand any training with anybody; I don’t care who it is. Nothing is going to feel overwhelming to him.”

Kristian Fulton, LSU (6-0, 200): Fulton intercepted one pass and broke up six others as a sophomore before a big-time final season of one interception and 14 additional breakups for a total of 15 passes defensed as a junior. He was second-team all-SEC in 2019.

In 2017, Fulton tampered with a drug test and was suspended by the NCAA for two years – one year for failing a drug test and a second year for cheating on the test. After sitting out 2017, Fulton appealed and was allowed to play in 2018. “He got a suspension,” Alleva said via SI. “Never missed any classes. Really good GPA. Never missed weight lifting. A lot of kids would have packed it in. The kid was so engaged. That's part of the reason I fought so hard for him.” Fulton wasn’t LSU’s biggest-name cornerback – that would be All-American Derek Stingley Jr. – but he became its best cornerback. As defensive coordinator Dave Aranda told The Athletic: “When you get to a certain point, everybody’s good. Everybody’s smart. Everybody has a quality. So at that point, it becomes: What’s inside? What’s the drive? What’s the work ethic? What’s the confidence when you do get hit? Do you get back up?” In high school, he worked with Deion Sanders. "It was great to get that one-on-one time,” Fulton told Nola.com. “Obviously, he sees something special in me. He was coaching me up the whole game. He was just giving me pointers so I could play better.” At Archbishop Rummel High School in New Orleans, he had 11 interceptions as a junior and was all-state in track in the 300-meter hurdles.

Jeff Gladney, TCU (6-0, 183): In four seasons, Gladney intercepted five passes, had 43 total passes defensed and had six tackles for losses. His 37 breakups ranked sixth among active players. He had two interceptions as a sophomore and junior. As a senior, he had one interception and broke up and additional 15 passes to earn some All-American honors with his 14th-ranked 15 passes defensed.

Gladney offered sound advice to the team’s younger corners. “You’ve got to have amnesia,” Gladney told the Star-Telegram. “You can’t worry about the last play at all. That’s going to be in your head the whole time.” He also led by example and his toughness. “I was in pain, but I’m trying to be a leader,” Gladney told the Star-Telegram of playing through a foot injury. “I’ve only got one more year left. I know we’ve got a lot of young guys, so I’ve got to step up and lead them. I feel like just playing showed them like, ‘Hey, you’ve got to push through anything.’” He was a nominee for the Senior CLASS Award due to his play on the field, academics and work in the community.

Cameron Dantzler, Mississippi State (6-2, 185)*: In three seasons, Dantzler had five interceptions and a total of 20 passes defensed. He had two picks and seven additional breakups as a sophomore, when he earned second-team all-SEC, and two interceptions and eight additional breakups as a junior. His first career interception came against Lamar Jackson as a freshman.

At St. Thomas High School in Hammond, La., Dantzler was a dual-threat quarterback and state champion in the long jump. “In high school I only played DB a few times if they had a good receiver, but I had no experience at corner at all,” Dantzler told DJournal.com. “I’d never worked out or trained at cornerback. When I got here it was something new. Coach Buck (Terrell Buckley) just stayed on me because he saw something in me. He stayed on me hard every day and trusted me to get better.” Part of that progression was gaining 15 pounds of muscle during his career, a process that started when missing most of his redshirt season of 2016 with an ankle injury. Another was Buckley, a first-round pick by the Packers with 50 career interceptions and is one of the top position coaches in the nation. “After this year, I’ll have about 15 guys that have signed professional contracts and I have just as much confidence in him as I had about Xavier Rhodes and Jaire Alexander,” Buckley told DJournal.com. “He’s buying into not just the talent part. The talent and the mental capacity that he has is starting to merge. Once it really merges and he gets it, it’s just going to be scary.”

Trevon Diggs, Alabama (6-2, 207): Diggs started his career at receiver before making the move to defense. As a senior, he intercepted three passes and had eight additional breakups to earn some All-American honors. He ranked among the SEC leaders in passes defensed as a junior before a season-ending foot injury. On special teams, he had career averages of 23.8 yards per kickoff return and 9.2 yards per punt return.

Diggs played on both sides of the ball as a freshman before settling in at corner for his final three seasons. His brother is Vikings star receiver Stefon Diggs. How have those family battles gone? “I beat his ass. What do you mean?” Diggs told AL.com. “No, I’m just kidding. We do one-on-ones and work on his feet and just work on his breaks because, you know, you kind of have to stay sharp. He takes pride in his work and he’s been working really hard as of late, ever since he got hurt too. So, I look forward to him having a good year.” His father died of congestive heart failure 12 years ago at age 39. “My dad was a good father to me,” Diggs told 247Sports.com. “He always took me to football practice. Always made me do my homework at home, always made me do chores around the house. I couldn’t go outside unless my room was clean and stuff like that. The little bit of time that I did have with him, I enjoyed it, and I feel like it left just the right amount of impact with me to be able to carry that over and take it to my son.” His son, Aaiden, was born on Nov. 1, 2016.

A.J. Terrell, Clemson (6-1, 190)*: Johnson had six interceptions in his career, including a career-high three as a sophomore. As a senior, he had two picks and three additional breakups to earn first-team all-ACC honors.

Terrell finds motivation in his son, Aundell Terrell III, who was born in June. “It actually motivated me in all types of ways,” Terrell told The State. “I feel like I have a lot of responsibility now. Not saying that I didn’t before, but now it’s just given me an extra boost of energy to go out there and do what I do best.” One of his interceptions in 2018 was a pick-six in the national championship game vs. Alabama. “To be completely honest I like the play but don’t really much watch it,” he told GoUpState.com. “I don’t even like watching it as much as I used to when last season was over. I feel like it’s a new season and that was last year and I can’t be feeding off last year’s energy. We’re in the playoff again and this is all new so I’ve got to make a new play this year, that’s my mindset.” Athletics runs in the family, with two sisters competing in college track and field.

Darnay Holmes, UCLA (5-10, 199)*: A three-year starter, Darney had three interceptions as a freshman, three as a sophomore and two as a junior for a career total of eight. As a junior, he had the two picks and six additional breakups. Plus, he had a 23.1-yard career average with one touchdown on kickoff returns.

A five-star recruit, it took Holmes a little more than two years to earn his degree in African-American studies. In a feature by the Los Angeles Times: Steve Rourke, the Bruins associate director of athletic communications who has worked with the school’s football team for three decades, said Saturday that he could not recall another player having graduated in such a short span.” One of Holmes’ more memorable plays wasn’t an interception but a hustle play that produced a fumble. “He wants to be one of the best to ever do it,” his father, Darick, told the Los Angeles Daily News, “and he knows that in order to do that, you have to do the things that other people don’t do.” Darick Holmes played running back for Buffalo, Green Bay and Indianapolis over five seasons. Older brother, Darick Jr., was a running back at Arizona. “He’s a Kobe Bryant, he’s a Michael Jordan, he’s one of those guys who’s going to put in the work without everybody there,” Darick Sr. told the Daily News. “He really gets it. He wants to be the best.” It wasn’t always rosy, though. When he was 12, his father was shot seven times in a drug deal gone wrong. As described by the Los Angeles Times, he survived by pretending he was dead. “Just know that everything that’s thrown at me is happening for a reason, you know?” Holmes said. “The bad is always going to turn into the good.”

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