Former NFL player and scout Bucky Brooks knows the ins and outs of this league, providing keen insight in his notebook. Today's installment covers:
• CB1 in 2026: Who is the best cover man in football right now?
But first, a look at one cornerback who's living a double life on the gridiron ...
Travis Hunter's highly anticipated rookie campaign came to an abrupt conclusion when the No. 2 overall pick suffered a season-ending knee injury during practice in October. But if you thought that setback would end his days of playing both ways, you were wrong.
Despite all the skepticism around the idea of a two-way player in the modern NFL, Jaguars head coach Liam Coen and general manager James Gladstone are committed to their plan of having the 2024 Heisman Trophy winner fill roles on each side of the ball. Yeah, they're tweaking the usage formula, but the general sentiment remains the same: Jacksonville brass ultimately envision the dynamic athlete shuffling back and forth between cornerback and wide receiver on a team that expects to compete at a championship level. The Jags have openly expressed this intention all offseason.
"He is set to play both sides of the ball," Gladstone said during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show back in May. "The piece that I think we can expect to see is actually an uptick in corner usage. Last year, it was a higher volume, higher percentage of wide receiver usage than it was corner. I think we can expect to see that corner percentile and count go up. That's not to say anything impacts his availability and usage on offense. It just means that cornerback usage will increase."
Over seven games in 2025, Hunter spent two-thirds of his snaps from scrimmage on offense (305 of 459, per Next Gen Stats). Typically serving as a WR3/4 in Jacksonville's spread-formation packages, the talented playmaker caught 28 passes for 298 yards and a touchdown, but the non-contact knee injury happened just as he was assuming a more prominent offensive role. In what ended up being his final game of Year 1, Hunter logged his first 100-yard effort, providing the Jaguars with a silver lining in an otherwise-humiliating loss to the Rams in London. Commanding a whopping 14 targets in that contest, the 6-foot-1, 185-pounder corralled eight balls for 101 yards, scoring his first NFL touchdown on a deep corner route and generally showcasing the playmaking potential that inspired Jacksonville to aggressively jump up the draft board in order to secure his services.
Heading into this season, Jacksonville still views Hunter as a potent offensive weapon, but the current roster makeup calls for him to major in defense, at least at the outset.
"It's not to say [his usage] won't increase on offense, either, but it was lower on the defensive side this past season," Gladstone told Eisen. "We also have a different defensive cornerback room, and the bodies are different than it was a year ago. Our roster construction is different than it was a year ago, so it's more fitting to slot him at corner than it was last year."
Part of the rationale for primarily deploying Hunter on defense early this season revolves around second-year DC Anthony Campanile's desire to play stickier coverage on the perimeter. Jacksonville swapped cornerbacks with Cleveland last October, trading Tyson Campbell for Greg Newsome II, but Newsome experienced some struggles in Duval before ultimately departing in free agency. On the plus side, Montaric "Buster" Brown really established himself as a solid starter, motivating the Jags to hand the 27-year-old corner a three-year, $31.8 million extension this offseason. Still, Jacksonville had an opening in the opposite CB slot. And Campanile tweaked his coverage plan this offseason: Instead of leaning on traditional zone, the Jaguars will play more match concepts with man principles. This plays to Hunter's strengths as an athletic cover man with supreme ball skills. The decision to place him at left cornerback makes perfect sense, putting a bona fide ballhawk on the more-targeted side of the field. (Most NFL quarterbacks are right-handed, so the defensive left is routinely targeted more often than the right side of the field.)
Furthermore, while Hunter was sidelined by injury last year, Jacksonville's receiving corps really came together during the team's eight-game winning streak to close out the regular season. Veteran trade acquisition Jakobi Meyers immediately established a rapport with Trevor Lawrence; Parker Washington broke out in spectacular fashion: and Brian Thomas Jr. rekindled his big-play ability. Consequently, the Jags aren't in a position where they need to lean on Hunter as a wideout.
This plan makes plenty of sense to me. During the 2025 pre-draft process, I ranked Hunter as the No. 1 prospect at wide receiver and cornerback. However, I frequently suggested the Jackson State/Colorado product was a more natural CB. On defense, Hunter's able to showcase the "see ball, get ball" skills that have stood out since he was a five-star recruit and YouTube sensation at Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Georgia.
Loading...Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback/wide receiver Travis Hunter drills field goal at Jaguars practice.
While skeptics have suggested Hunter's transition to a more prominent defensive role will curtail his offensive contributions, Coen has perfectly explained how "packaging" the second-year pro on offense could be a more efficient way to maximize his talents and big-play potential.
"I think we have a better feel now at what he's best at and where we need him," Coen told ESPN's Jeremy Fowler during training camp. "Where you want him in there is contested [plays], tough catches -- trying to get the ball in his hand because he can make you miss in a phone booth. Quick screens, bubbles ... what that looks like as a rep count, I still have no clue.
"He's got to be able to know X, F -- both those positions within the game plan and not the whole playbook. Third down, red zone, two-minute, specific offense of plays in the normal flow of the game, we will package him in, as opposed to, 'Look, bro, you've got to know the whole offense.' That was a little much last year."
As a full-time starter at cornerback, Hunter shouldn't be asked to consume an expansive offensive playbook that clutters his mind and hurts his ability to flourish as a defender. By giving him a smaller menu of offensive plays that change based on the weekly game plan, the Jaguars can deploy him when the ball is likely to head in his direction on a quick-rhythm throw or a progression concept that makes him the primary read. Additionally, Hunter's mere presence will create more opportunities for Washington, Meyers and Thomas, with defensive coordinators sounding the alarm whenever No. 12 trots onto the field.
Given Hunter's enticing flashes as a wideout in limited action last season, it's worthwhile to continue the two-way approach. Although he might start the season as CB1/WR4, Hunter absolutely could make his offensive mark early and carve out a bigger role on that side of the ball as the season progresses.
Top five cornerbacks in 2026
Travis Hunter will continue to command attention in his first season as a starting cornerback, but the 23-year-old has a lot to prove before he can be considered one of the true stars at the position. Those guys are worth their weight in gold, as evidenced by the offseason contract extensions signed by Devon Witherspoon, Denzel Ward and Trent McDuffie, all of whom now receive north of $30 million per season.
In a pass-happy league, cornerback has become a critical piece of the championship puzzle. And the job requirements are more expansive than ever before. Teams utilizing more DB-heavy personnel packages are prioritizing versatility and instincts over sheer speed and athleticism. Given how much football intelligence and situational awareness drive perimeter playmaking in the modern game, today's top cover men bring a mix of intangibles, agility and explosiveness that sets them apart from the rest of the pack.
After spending some time in the film room, I'd like to provide my ranking of the NFL's top five CBs entering the '26 season.
The ultra-talented technician plays with such pristine footwork and fundamentals that his game film is teach tape for young cornerbacks. Surtain blankets receivers, minimizing their impact on games. His instincts, awareness and savvy show up in pivotal moments, when he regularly makes timely breaks on throws. Although the term "shutdown corner" is overused in the pro game, the 2024 Defensive Player of the Year's spectacular skills force opponents to target the opposite side of the field. And given his ability to thrive within man or zone schemes, Surtain is my choice as the league's current CB1.
Now the NFL's highest-paid corner, Witherspoon is the versatile playmaker every defensive coordinator covets in the secondary. The feisty tone-setter is a rare find as a defender who can blitz, run and cover from out wide or in the slot, while operating as CB1 for a defense that routinely puts its DBs on an island to serve creative scheming. Making the Pro Bowl in each of his first three seasons, Witherspoon excels in a role that few elite corners can handle, while exhibiting the supreme confidence to take on the challenge. With Mike Macdonald planning to expand the playbook to give Witherspoon more opportunities to impact the game as a pass rusher, the fourth-year pro could take over the top spot with another stellar season that showcases his versatility and physicality.
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The ball-hawking cover corner has picked off 14 passes in the last three seasons, showcasing his superb instincts, awareness and anticipation in coverage. Playing behind a ferocious pass rush that forces errant passes and hurried throws, Stingley aggressively squats on routes, looking for picks on tips and overthrows in his area. While his ability to thrive in a "vision and break" system overshadows his superb man-to-man cover skills, the back-to-back first-team All-Pro is a sticky defender capable of blanketing WR1s all over the field.
Big, fast and physical corners are always coveted at a premium in the NFL. That's why New England's ultra-talented CB has drawn a line in the sand when it comes to his desire to be the highest-paid player at the position. Studying Gonzalez's game, it is easy to fall in love with his lockdown ability and aggressive approach. The 6-1, 205-pounder is a skilled technician with the patience, poise and peskiness to make life miserable for WR1s facing him for 60 minutes. Whether playing nose-to-nose in press coverage or sitting back and shadowing from distance, Gonzalez's diverse skill set creates problems for quarterbacks, receivers and play-callers attempting to find a fatal flaw in his game.
It is uncommon for a slot defender to seamlessly transition to a CB1 role on the outside, but McDuffie excels wherever he's asked to play. Earning a pair of All-Pro nods and winning two Super Bowls in his first four seasons, McDuffie has shown airtight coverage against slot receivers and outside pass catchers, while also displaying A+ instincts, awareness and diagnostic skills. As a "see ball, get ball" defender who can handle the stress of playing Cover 0 (no safety help, with an all-out blitz up front) in pivotal moments, McDuffie is built to play the CB1 role as an inside or outside cover man in a pass-happy league.