Consensus board vs. draft day: the full CB class, charted.
The Steal
Parry Nickerson was ranked CB19 on the consensus board (#133 overall) but lasted until pick 179, where the New York Jets took him in Round 6. A 46-spot fall, the largest gap between consensus and draft day of any CB in the class. Behind him, Josh Jackson (+34) and Greg Stroman (+30) also outlasted their rankings.
The Conviction Pick
The Buffalo Bills took Taron Johnson at pick 121, 88 spots ahead of his #209 consensus rank. That's the league's strongest disagreement with the public board at the position. Teams showed similar conviction on Avonte Maddox (71 spots) and Rashaan Gaulden (52 spots).
The Cliff
After Cornell Armstrong went at pick 209, the next CB didn't come off the board for 32 picks. That's the sharpest drop in the class.
The Spend
Teams spent 27 picks on CB, 9 of them in the first two rounds. That's below the position's average of 32.8 since 2018.
The Bet
The Green Bay Packers spent more draft capital on CB than any other club: picks 18 and 45, 45% of their total draft investment.
The One Who Slipped
Kris Weatherspoon, ranked #90 on the consensus board, went undrafted through all 256 picks.
| Pick | Player | Pos Rank | Consensus | Δ | School | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Denzel Ward | CB1 | #9 | −5 | Ohio State | Cleveland |
| 18 | Jaire Alexander | CB3 | #23 | −5 | Louisville | Green Bay |
| 30 | Mike Hughes | CB4 | #34 | −4 | UCF | Minnesota |
| 45 | Josh Jackson | CB2 | #11 | +34 | Iowa | Green Bay |
| 53 | M.J. Stewart | CB8 | #67 | −14 | North Carolina | Tampa Bay |
| 55 | Donte Jackson | CB6 | #47 | +8 | LSU | Carolina |
| 56 | Duke Dawson | CB9 | #85 | −29 | Florida | New England |
| 58 | Isaiah Oliver | CB5 | #35 | +23 | Colorado | Atlanta |
| 63 | Carlton Davis | CB7 | #50 | +13 | Auburn | Tampa Bay |
| 85 | Rashaan Gaulden | CB20 | #137 | −52 | Tennessee | Carolina |
| 99 | Isaac Yiadom | CB13 | #94 | +5 | Boston College | Denver |
| 110 | Nick Nelson | CB12 | #93 | +17 | Wisconsin | Las Vegas |
| 118 | Anthony Averett | CB11 | #91 | +27 | Alabama | Baltimore |
| 121 | Taron Johnson | CB28 | #209 | −88 | Weber State | Buffalo |
| 125 | Avonte Maddox | CB25 | #196 | −71 | Pittsburgh | Philadelphia |
| 142 | D.J. Reed | CB15 | #121 | +21 | Kansas State | San Francisco |
| 151 | Davontae Harris | CB34 | #258 | −107 | Illinois State | Cincinnati |
| 161 | Jermaine Carter | CB57 | #464 | −303 | Maryland | Carolina |
| 170 | Darius Phillips | CB24 | #181 | −11 | Western Michigan | Cincinnati |
| 179 | Parry Nickerson | CB19 | #133 | +46 | Tulane | NY Jets |
| 182 | Chris Campbell | CB31 | #229 | −47 | Penn State | Arizona |
| 188 | Simeon Thomas | CB58 | #465 | −277 | Louisiana | Cleveland |
| 189 | Kamrin Moore | CB52 | #408 | −219 | Boston College | New Orleans |
| 196 | Tremon Smith | CB27 | #202 | −6 | Central Arkansas | Kansas City |
| 209 | Cornell Armstrong | CB49 | #380 | −171 | Southern Miss | Miami |
| 241 | Greg Stroman | CB30 | #211 | +30 | Virginia Tech | Washington |
| 243 | Keion Crossen | CB50 | #380 | −137 | Western Carolina | New England |
| Undrafted (UDFA) | ||||||
| — | Kris Weatherspoon | CB10 | #90 | — | — | — |
| — | Holton Hill | CB14 | #107 | — | Texas | — |
| — | Quenton Meeks | CB16 | #124 | — | Stanford | — |
| — | Charvarius Ward | CB17 | #129 | — | — | — |
| — | Darious Williams | CB18 | #132 | — | — | — |
| — | Tarvarus McFadden | CB21 | #143 | — | Florida State | — |
| — | Kevin Toliver | CB22 | #156 | — | LSU | — |
| — | J.C. Jackson | CB23 | #163 | — | Maryland | — |
| — | Levi Wallace | CB26 | #198 | — | Alabama | — |
| — | Tony Brown | CB29 | #210 | — | Alabama | — |
| — | Ranthony Texada | CB32 | #244 | — | — | — |
| — | Ryan Carter | CB33 | #251 | — | — | — |
| — | Brandon Facyson | CB35 | #261 | — | Virginia Tech | — |
| — | Grant Haley | CB36 | #266 | — | Penn State | — |
| — | Arrion Springs | CB37 | #284 | — | — | — |
| — | Danny Johnson | CB38 | #289 | — | Southern | — |
| — | JaMarcus King | CB39 | #304 | — | South Carolina | — |
| — | Michael Joseph | CB40 | #305 | — | Dubuque | — |
| — | Rashard Fant | CB41 | #310 | — | Indiana | — |
| — | Chandon Sullivan | CB42 | #312 | — | Georgia State | — |
| — | Mike Ford | CB43 | #322 | — | — | — |
| — | Andre Chachere | CB44 | #333 | — | San Jose State | — |
| — | Devron Davis | CB45 | #343 | — | — | — |
| — | Deatrick Nichols | CB46 | #350 | — | — | — |
| — | D'Montre Wade | CB47 | #351 | — | Murray State | — |
| — | Malik Reaves | CB48 | #353 | — | — | — |
| — | Jordan Thomas | CB51 | #405 | — | Oklahoma | — |
| — | Heath Harding | CB53 | #414 | — | — | — |
| — | Emmanuel Moseley | CB54 | #443 | — | — | — |
| — | Rico Gafford | CB55 | #450 | — | — | — |
| — | Amari Coleman | CB56 | #463 | — | — | — |