Packer Central

Scouting Combine Winners: Packers, Teams That Need Cornerbacks

The Green Bay Packers might need to add multiple players at cornerback in the 2025 NFL Draft. Their athleticism showed at the Scouting Combine.

Bill Huber

Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron runs the 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine.
Texas defensive back Jahdae Barron runs the 40-yard dash at the Scouting Combine. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
In this story:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers’ starting cornerbacks for Week 1, Jaire Alexander and Eric Stokes, might not be back for the 2025 season. Plus, Robert Rochell and Corey Ballentine will be free agents.

Yes, the Packers need a cornerback. Or cornerbacks.

Whether it’s a first-round pick or a late-round pick, the talent showed at the Scouting Combine on Friday. While only about half the cornerbacks ran a 40, eight hit 4.40 or lower.

First-Round Cornerbacks

Texas’ Jahdae Barron

With Keisean Nixon standing 5-foot-10 1/4 and Carrington Valentine 5-foot-11 5/8, general manager Brian Gutekunst said he’d like to add a taller cornerback but that it’s not a necessity because of Jeff Hafley’s defensive scheme..

“It’s still very important to me that we’re big out there and have some length, but I will say both those guys played very, very well for us,” he said on Tuesday. “I’m excited about what they’re going to do continuing in this scheme.”

Jahdae Barron, who won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in college football in 2024, measured 5-foot-10 3/4 and ran his 40 in 4.39 seconds. For the Longhorns, he played in the slot in 2022 and 2023 and at corner in 2024. His height and speed might allow him to play both spots.

“I’m more versatile than anybody in this draft class,” he said. “I know it will help a defense. I like watching (the Chiefs’ Isaiah) McDuffie, how he gets moved around, from corner to nickel. A team won’t anticipate where I’m at in the next week or the next drive.”

Barron met with the Packers at the Combine. While Barron’s height fits, his 29 5/8-inch arms would be an anomaly; of the Packers’ drafted corners, Kalen King and Shemar Jean-Charles had the shortest arms at 30 7/8.

Kentucky’s Maxwell Hairston

Maxwell Hairston punched his ticket into the first round by running an electric 4.28 in the 40 – fastest among the corners. With sizzling speed, elite athleticism (39 1/2 inches) and adequate size (5-foot-11 1/4), he could be an option for the Packers at No. 23.

Hairston led the SEC in interceptions (five), interception-return yards (131) and pick-sixes (two) in 2023. He had one interception and five passes defensed in 2024 despite missing five games with a shoulder injury.

Day 2 Cornerbacks

Iowa State’s Darien Porter

Porter is the most unusual prospect in the draft. He was a three-star recruit as a receiver, which is where he spent his first three seasons at Iowa State. He was a nonfactor on offense, though, with most of his action coming on special teams.

In 2022, the Cyclones moved to defense. In 2024, he became a part-time starter. He intercepted three passes and finished with five passes defensed. He played only 202 coverage snaps; he allowed just 5-of-17 passing, according to PFF.

But what a toolbox. He measured 6-foot-2 7/8 with 33 1/8-inch arms, then ran his 40 in 4.30 seconds – second only to Hairston. Nixon and Valentine might not be great but they’re good enough to buy Porter some time. From a pure physical skill-set, he is as good a prospect as there’s ever been.

“I think obviously, I had great success this past season, but still think that there's a lot left,” he told reporters. “Really, I’m just scratching the surface. My best football is still ahead of me.”

Mississippi’s Trey Amos

Of the Senior Bowl cornerbacks, no player had a lower miles per hour than Amos, according to Zebra Sports. So, his 4.43 speed and 6-foot 3/4 was welcome news. However, his 32 1/2-inch vertical left plenty to be desired.

After three seasons at Louisiana-Lafayette and one season playing as a reserve at Alabama, Amos was superb at Ole Miss in 2024 with three interceptions, a completion rate of 51.6 percent and just 8.8 yards per reception.

“These past two months, I wanted to get stronger at the point of attack,” he said at the Combine. “I feel like that’s really going to help me be a better tackler in this league, because you’ve got to get the man down.”

Day 3 Cornerbacks

Tulane’s Caleb Ransaw

Ransaw measured 5-foot-11 3/8 and put up elite testing numbers with a 4.33 in the 40 and a 40-inch vertical. The 40 ranked third among corners.

Ransaw had four interceptions and 13 passes defensed in 2023 and one interception and eight passes defensed in 2024. He played mostly cornerback in 2022 and mostly in the slot in 2023 and 2024.

Rutgers’ Roger Longerbeam

At 5-foot-11 with 31 1/2-inch arms, Longerbeam ran his 40 in 4.39 seconds and added an elite broad jump of 11 feet, 2 inches.

Longerbeam has tons of experience. With four seasons of extensive playing time, he produced five interceptions, 37 passes defensed and five forced fumbles, including double-digit PBUs in 2021, 2023 and 2024. His career completion rate was 50.5 percent, according to PFF.

Texas-San Antonio’s Zah Frazier

If you like Porter, you’ll like Frazier, too. At 6-foot-2 7/8, he ran his 40 in 4.38 seconds, making him fifth-fastest among the corners. Also like Porter, he didn’t play much defense until 2024, when he was superb with six interceptions, 15 passes defensed and a 47.5 percent completion rate.

More Green Bay Packers News

Published
Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.