Leading the NFL in passes defensed last season with 18, DJ Turner broke out for the Bengals' defense in a big way. He settled in and showcased his natural feel for identifying route breaks, getting excellent depth in zone coverage, and closing to the catch point in man or zone. The speedy former first-rounder had the game slow down for him, and he was among the league leaders in matchups against a team's number-one receiver. He's quickly turned into a player to watch for 2026.

Brisker ended the season with a bang in the playoffs, having a fantastic game that would be his last in a Bears uniform. He was all over the field defending passes and making an impact closer to the line of scrimmage, which speaks to his usage last year. Brisker played with more lineup versatility and down in the box in Dennis Allen's defense and was used as a havoc-generating agent. He has more range and recovery than you'd think, but he's still best utilized from a two-high or box alignment. He fits well against the run and can play as a dime-backer in sub defensive sets to add an edge to more secondary members on the field.

After leading the NFL in passes defensed and setting a career high with five interceptions, Mike Jackson has established himself and helped create one of the league's best cornerback tandems. He's a solid all-around cover corner with the size, length, and ball skills to truly impact the catch point (40 passes broken up over the last two seasons, including playoffs). He's a willing player against the run and a solid tackler, and had an incredible performance in the Wild Card game against the Rams with four passes defensed and an interception. Last year was not only his best season, but it was one of the best across the NFL.

Mack sits at the tail end of his career and isn't the same impactful performer he used to be. Make no mistake about it, he can still turn speed-to-power as a pass-rusher and remains a plus-run defender. The nine-time Pro Bowler appears destined for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Mack can cement his status with one or two more strong seasons.

The ups and downs of an NFL season can be perfectly described while watching Woolen. He has moments of excellent, lockdown coverage and turnover creation, followed by mental lapses, emotional decisions, and back-breaking penalties. His antics hurt the Seahawks during their Super Bowl run, but he came back from them to make crucial plays and keep the Seahawks' defense on top of their game. He improved as a zone defender throughout the season, but is physical in man coverage, attacks the ball in the air, and can flip the field with his turnover potential.

Joey Porter Jr. might be the most physical corner in the NFL, and that's exactly the way he likes it. He is extremely handsy in press-man to the point that he gets flagged often. His length is an asset in breaking up passes, and he's best in zone coverage when he can read and react, breaking on throws and receiver breaks. He had a bounce-back season after a slump in 2024, but has issues with consistency in transitions and run support. Porter Jr. plays the game with an edge and confidence that every defender should have while still possessing room to grow.

Coming off a career year in 2024, the table was set for Byron Murphy to ascend as one of the best corners in the NFL. While it didn't go the way he or many in Minnesota wanted, he's still a corner that quarterbacks didn't want to throw at. He saw his fewest targets since 2022 and gave up the lowest passer rating of his career when targeted (73.0). Murphy is a great athlete, and he matches instincts and excellent depth in zone coverage with the ability to jump routes with twitchy movements. He has a tougher time with more physical route-runners in man coverage and saw his penalties spike last season (nine). He moves all around Brian Flores' defense and is a player the defense weaponizes in unique, effective ways.

Hines-Allen is a versatile pass-rusher who has the speed to win around the edge and the power to run through an offensive tackle's chest. He also has good hand-usage to win with a cross-chop and shows impressive athleticism to be an effective looper among line games. Against the run, Hines-Allen has the strength to beat tight ends at the point of attack and the athleticism to make impact tackles when unblocked from the backside. When taking on blocks from offensive linemen, he's often reliant on working around them and often disappears in that phase of the game.

Having a safety on your roster that just "gets it" is a huge bonus to the defense. Reed Blankenship isn't the best athlete on the field, but his football IQ makes up for a lot of that. He plays fast with play recognition, takes away routes over the middle of the field, and can handle whatever type of rotation the DC hands him. A hard worker and leader both on and off the field, Blankenship is a consistent player who wants to tackle and can be relied upon. He's the adult in the room at all times.

With an early-season calf injury that turned out to be Achilles-related, Kenny Moore came back in Week 7 and played the rest of the season as the Colts' nickel corner. His instincts, tenacity, and play recognition helped him remain a playmaker on defense, but his man-coverage skills suffered, and he was targeted more often as a result. His closing speed still helped limit overall production, and his willingness to support the run from the nickel spot helped. Moore's zone eyes and route recognition keep him among the better coverage nickels in the league, and with an offseason to heal up, he should be back to his usual self in 2026.

Even with an injury-reduced 2025 season, Lewis continued to showcase his impact in the nickel for the Jaguars. Fearless against the run, he's an instinctual downhill mover and does a great job sniffing out routes in zone coverage. He saw a career low in yards per reception (7.6), and while his missed tackle percentage was higher than ever (19.1%), he limited yards after the catch to 183, his best in a season where he saw 50 or more targets. Playing in the nickel is no easy task, and it is getting tougher as teams want to run the ball more at the "smaller" players on the field, but Lewis is one of the guys you want on the field as much as possible.

A twitchy, instinctual mover, Dee Alford turned the best ball production of his career into the biggest payday he's ever seen after entering the NFL as a UDFA. A nickel who's of slimmer build, which shows up in his tackling, Alford was all over the field for the Falcons last season with 13 passes defensed and three interceptions. He undercut throws, baited quarterbacks into poor decisions, and identified routes as they happened. More physical players can make life difficult for Alford, but he's always around the football, which is valuable for any defense. He takes some chances in coverage and his frame limits him to more of a part-time role, but the instincts and football IQ continue to show up on game day.

When you watch the Vikings' defense, guys are flying all over the place trying to cause havoc, and Josh Metellus is in the middle of it all, holding it together. He lines up at every level, but played more as a true safety last season than ever before in his career. He fills run lanes quickly from depth, can cut down a route over the middle of the field, and plays with the style of a linebacker who can cover like a safety. The scheme takes him to the ends of the field, and the effort and toughness he shows as a leader are among the traits Flores most wants in his defense. Play fast and tough, and he'll point you in the right direction.

Al-Shaair's combination of instincts and athleticism allows him to navigate the trash and make plays in both phases of the game. He has very good lateral movement skills to move gap-to-gap horizontally and make offensive linemen miss, and his speed gives him impressive sideline-to-sideline range and the ability to close in coverage. The 2025 Pro Bowler also added some ball skills to his repertoire this past season, collecting a career-high nine passes defended. However, he does have a tendency to veer out of his area in zone coverage, allowing a decent amount of catches and yards in coverage.

Allen makes his money as a pass-rusher, where his combination of hand-usage, solid athleticism and a hot motor allows him to rack up wins along the interior. Against the run, the 2025 All-Pro stands out when facing lower-tier competition but blends in when playing against better blockers. He also experiences consistency issues with tackling that knock him down a peg.

A year-two breakout for Tykee Smith resulted in him nearly doubling his tackling and passes defensed output while truly varying his positional versatility. Predominantly a slot player as a rookie, Smith played mostly as a safety but worked down in the nickel and in the box from a linebacker adjustment. He fits the run well from all levels, sorts through the trash in both phases, and closes to the ball carrier quickly with bad intentions. Smith's emergence helps this young group of secondary members by forming an excellent duo on the back end with Winfield to help bail them out if need be.

One of the top up-and-coming man corners in the NFL, Wiggins saw some tough times near the end of the season that summed up the Ravens' 2025 struggles. While he showcased better route recognition in zone, instincts to drive on throws and routes, and turned over the ball more with three interceptions, being targeted the most times in the NFL (113) will wear down almost any corner. He gave up 811 yards and three touchdowns. Even with some end-of-season struggles, Wiggins has the intellectual prowess and ball skills to challenge receivers and take another step in year three.

Despite only playing in seven games last season, Hendrickson still showed plenty as a pass-rusher. The 2024 league sack-leader can turn speed-to-power, work the hands and is incredibly smooth for his size. However, the nine-year veteran has never been known for his run defense and relies on working around blocks or going unblocked to make quality contributions in that phase of the game.

Tuipulotu made what will be his first of many Pro Bowls last season. He's gotten better and more productive as a pass-rusher every year so far, going from 4.5 sacks as a rookie to 13.5 sacks in 2025. The reason the USC product has a bright future in the NFL is that he can win in a variety of ways: turning speed to power, working the hands, with quickness around the edges, on stunts, and he does it from multiple alignments. Tuipulotu does have more work to do as a run defender, but he isn't bad in that phase of the game by any means.

Splitting his time on the back end and in the box for the Saints' defense, Justin Reid brought physicality, communication, and leadership with him to New Orleans. He was one of the veterans in a young secondary last season and allowed the lowest passer rating (76.8% according to NFLPro) in 2025 since his time in Houston. His well-rounded game and big nickel abilities were not tested as much as in previous seasons, with only 31 targets to his name. Reid is an underrated safety and a big-game player. If the Saints continue on the path they ended last season, he could see more big games in his future.

The Cardinals used Thompson in various ways to cover holes in their defense (due to injury) and to get more defensive backs on the field. While he can come down in the box, his size and ability are better suited to split field or post safety. He's a sound tackler and plays with play recognition and recovery skills on top of a defense. Thompson matches routes with the quarterback's eyes well and triggers downhill when the throwing motion starts. He and Budda Baker have been one of the best safety tandems in the NFL over the past few seasons, and now he's headed to Dallas to help shore up a defense that desperately needs it.

Benford didn't have the start to 2025 he was hoping for after giving up three touchdowns over the first four weeks of the season and getting picked on a bit. But after the bye week, he turned things up and got into a groove that saw him give up only 158 yards over his last eight games played to end the regular season. He blitzed more often, generating two sacks in the process, and played faster all over the field. A much better zone defender than man corner, Benford is a sure tackler and one of the best run defenders at the cornerback position. It wasn't his best season in terms of ball production, but he'll look to carry his improved play into his fifth season.

When healthy, Oliver is one of the league's most disruptive interior defensive linemen. Some boom-or-bust element exists within his game, but the seven-year pro is a gap-shooter who can frequently be found in opposing backfields against both phases of the game. However, injuries rattled Oliver last season thanks to a sprained ankle, biceps tear and a meniscus issue before returning for a handful of snaps during the AFC Championship Game, only to leave said game early after re-aggravating the knee. Possible regression should be expected after the injury-fraught campaign.

Sweat has been a productive pass-rusher for several years now, heading into his ninth NFL season with 55 career sacks. A big reason for that is he has several ways he can win, showing good speed off the edge, the ability to work the hands, and the combination of quickness and savviness to stem outside and beat the tackle inside or vice versa. The 2021 Pro Bowler isn't as impactful against the run, but he can beat tight ends at the point of attack or make tackles when unblocked on the backside of zone runs to contribute on early downs.

Making a fantastic pair on the Packers' back end, Evan Williams mirrors Xavier McKinney in a lot of ways, but just hasn't seen as much ball yet in only his second NFL season. There are still some false steps and signs that he's thinking too much in coverage, but he feels the game very well. Williams handles rotations to any area of the field, has good range, and is an impact run defender. He started 15 games for the Packers last season and watched his ball production increase. As he gains more football knowledge and trusts his eyes in coverage, the arrow is pointing way up for Williams.

After facing a murderers' row of receivers last season, Dean had one of the best seasons in the NFL and turned it into a nice payday. He set career lows in passer rating allowed (41.3%) and yards allowed (260), and did a great job limiting yards after the catch. Reading route concepts, triggering on body language, and getting consistent, good depth as a zone defender regularly put Dean in a great position. He limited missed tackles and played a physical brand of football, and brought a good all-around performance in his seventh NFL season.

An extremely versatile chess piece, Alontae Taylor is a havoc-creating nickel who has excellent football IQ and quick reaction time. He's a physical man-coverage defender who does a great job attacking the catch point and getting his head around. He tends to miss tackles and not always give his all against the run, but he's a high-energy player and gets his defense juiced up. He adds value as a blitzer with seven sacks over the past three seasons and routinely shows off his closing speed to the football. No matter where he's playing, he's a guy to watch out for.

In the span of about two years, Schwesinger has gone from a linebacker who barely saw the field for UCLA to the 2025 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. That's a testament to his work ethic, which shows up on the field the most through his instincts. Against the run, the former Bruin isn't fooled by eye candy and is constantly in the right spot to make tackles near the line of scrimmage. Coverage is where Schwesinger has the biggest room for improvement heading into year two. His eye discipline and awareness need to improve in zone coverage, as he gave up a good amount of catches by not recognizing threats coming into his area or drifting out of his zone.