Having a top cornerback in the NFL could not be more important right now. Even with offenses getting back to the run game, much of what was caused by secondaries figuring out how to take away the deep pass.
The cornerback position, along with the starting safeties, have really become a massive 'must' for defenses. Teams are investing top-dollar into cornerbacks, and we're even seeing the safety market explode.
It's quite the sight to see, and it's been what has been happening in this league. We've rolled out a ton of different NFL power rankings thus far this offseason, and we have yet another one here, as we've taken a look at the best cornerbacks in the NFL approaching the 2026 season, ranking the 10 best.
We've primarily taken the total body of work from these players as the basis for our rankings. Let's dive into it, using our coverage statistics from Pro Football Reference.
NFL Power Rankings: Surtain and Stingley headline best CB rankings for 2026
10. Jamel Dean, Pittsburgh Steelers
Jamel Dean has been in the NFL since 2019, spending every year with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers thus far. He signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency and is now entering his age-30 season. Dean had three interceptions and nine passes defended this year.
In 96 regular season games across seven seasons, Dean has allowed an opposing passer rating of just 79.6. That type of success for that long proves just how solid of a player he is.
Not necessarily a household name compared to other cornerbacks on our list, Dean deserves a ton of credit for what he's done in the NFL.
What is a bit interesting is that Dean has never played more than 15 games in a season, but he's never played fewer than 12, so he's consistently almost available, if that makes sense.
Add us as a preferred source on Google