2022 NFL Draft cornerbacks by arm length
Will the Seahawks favor 32" arms again or is that an archaic measurement from the past?
Since the Seattle Seahawks helped turn Richard Sherman from a fifth round pick into a future Hall of Famer and signed Brandon Browner from CFL purgatory to a Pro Bowler with two Super Bowl rings, size and length at the cornerback position has been an area of focus in the draft.
This has led to some really bad NFL Draft picks, maybe none more memorable than Stanley Jean-Baptiste going 58th overall to the Saints in 2014, but arm length is hardly a thing of the past and is still something that teams are taking into consideration with each cornerback prospect.
Patrick Surtain and Jaycee Horn, the consensus top corners in the 2021 draft, uncoincidentally met the 32” threshold with room to spare. Many of the corners who fell to day three or went undrafted were under this mark. Surprisingly, Tre Brown (30.4” arms) became the first Pete Carroll/John Schneider cornerback drafted to fall below 32” arms.
However, Brown is perhaps the exception that proves the rule and his presence as a potential nickel corner of the future could be what blocks anyone in this draft who falls under a 32” or 31” threshold at cornerback from going to Seattle.
The Seahawks could end up in a weird position at pick nine because I believe that offensive tackles and edge rushers—the two positions that Seattle needs to focus its attention on the most in the first round—could be gobbled up within the first eight picks. Potentially leaving Sauce Gardner and/or Derek Stingley as the “BPA” at pick nine.
One of those guys is well above 32” arms. One of those guys is well below.
Today, as I did with the top-30ish WRs, I want to list out a bunch of cornerback names. Instead of ordering them by 40-yard dash, as I did the receivers, I’ll order them by arm length. This doesn’t mean that I’m RANKING them by arm length, it’s just an order. Though the order might help shed some light on just how far down you must scroll to find some people’s top-ranked cornerback in this class.
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CBs with 32” arms
Tariq Woolen, UTSA, 6’4, 205 lbs, 33.6” arms, 78.7” wing, 4.26
Sauce Gardner, Cincinnati, 6’2, 190 lbs, 33.5” arms, 79.4” wing, 4.41
Martin Emerson, Miss State, 6’1, 201 lbs, 33.5” arms, 79.5” wing, 4.51
Josh Williams, Fayetteville State, 6’2, 195 lbs, 32.8” arms, 77.7” wing, 4.51
Josh Jobe, Alabama, 5’11, 182 lbs, 32.6” arms, 76.4” wing, DNR
Quandre Mosely, Kentucky, 6’, 185 lbs, 32.6” arms, 79.2” wing, 4.38
Vincent Gray, Michigan, 6’2, 192 lbs, 32.4” arms, 78.2” wing, 4.54
Jaylen Watson, Washington State, 6’2, 197 lbs, 32.2” arms, 76.5” wing, 4.48
Sam Webb, Missouri Western, 6’, 202 lbs, 32.1” arms, 78” wing, 4.48
Akayleb Evans, Missouri, 6’2, 197 lbs, 32” arms, 74.7” wing, 4.46
Dallis Flowers, Pittsburg, 6’1, 196 lbs, 32” arms, 78” wing, 4.45
Daron Bland, Fresno State, 6’, 197 lbs, 32” arms, 76.7” wing, 4.46
Notes:
Sauce Gardner comes out as the top-ranked corner in this class because he’s got the best length and physical attributes of all the 2022 prospects who have also produced at a high level in college. As you can clearly see, Gardner is also the only player with 32” arms (and he’s well longer than that) in the entire first round cornerback conversation.
If teams were only drafting length and athleticism, Woolen would be a top-10 pick. But he’s a converted wide receiver who has only been at the position for two years and he didn’t face much, if any, NFL talent while playing at UTSA. It’s a long road between elite athletic traits and being a top-32 starting cornerback in the pros and Woolen is projected as a day two pick.
The best of the rest: Gardner might be the only top-10 corner in this class with 32” arms, followed by Woolen. Williams, Evans, Jobe, Watson are the other candidates expected to go in the first five rounds of the draft.
Watson plays at nearby WSU, but at 23 and a half is one of the older players in the draft and his 4.48 is well behind the competition. Jobe checks in at 24-years-old and reports have been: bad senior season, foot injury, might move to safety.
Joshua Williams of Fayateville State faces same competition questions as Woolen but might be more ready for the NFL. He’s a player the Seahawks could target in the middle rounds of the draft. He was one of the fastest players at the Senior Bowl too:
Evans could fit in similar category as the others but has dealt with injuries throughout his college career.
The rest of the names are expected to be late round picks or undrafted. Quandre Mosely of Kentucky brings the most intriguing combo of size/speed of that group.
CBs with 31-31.9” arms
Damarri Mathis, Pitt, 5’11, 196 lbs, 31.9” arms, 77.5” wing, 4.39
Chase Lucas, ASU, 5’11, 180 lbs, 31.9” arms, 74.5” wing, 4.48
Sam Womack, Toledo, 5’9, 189 lbs, 31.9” arms, 74.7” wing, 4.39
Kalon Barnes, Baylor, 5’11, 183 lbs, 31.75” arms, 76.75” wing, 4.23
Darrell Baker, Georgia Southern, 6’1, 190 lbs, 31.75” arms, 77.9” wing, 4.41
Andrew Booth, Clemson, 6’, 194 lbs, 31.5” arms, 76.9” wing, DNR
Cam Taylor-Britt, Nebraska, 5’10, 196 lbs, 31.5” arms, 75” wing, 4.38
Isaac Taylor-Stuart, USC, 6’1, 201 lbs, 31.5” arms, 77.25” wing, 4.42
Montaric Brown, Arkansas, 6’, 196 lbs, 31.25” arms, 76” wing, 4.54
Chris Steele, USC, 6’, 187 lbs, 31.2” arms, 74.75” wing, 4.48
Jermaine Waller, Virginia Tech, 6’, 180 lbs, 31.2” arms, 73.7” wing, 4.68
Kyler Gordon, Washington, 5’11, 194 lbs, 31” arms, 74.75” wing, 4.52
Bryce Watts, UMass, 5’11, 187 lbs, 31” arms, 76.25” wing, 4.4
Derion Kendrick, Georgia, 6’, 194 lbs, 31” arms, 74.75” wing, 4.78
Notes:
The top-ranked corners in this group, by far, are Booth and Gordon. Either could be drafted in the late-first/early-second round area. Booth has better length and James Fragoza of ProFootballNetwork argued for him as the best cornerback in the 2022 NFL Draft. “Based on physical attributes alone, Andrew Booth Jr. would be the CB1 in the class. He is downright explosive with unmatched twitchiness to mirror his opponents. Booth fits into any scheme, on any team, at any CB position.”
Gordon could go as high as the middle of the first round or fall to day two. His 40-yard time is well behind the competition though.
Taylor-Britt might be a mid-day two pick. Mathis, Barnes would be the next two expected to come off the board. The rest could be mid-to-late day three picks and priority free agents.
CBs with 30.5-30.9” arms
Kaiir Elam, Florida, 6’1, 191 lbs, 30.8” arms, 76.5” wing, 4.39
Jalyn Armour-Davis, Alabama, 6’1, 197 lbs, 30.8” arms, 74.5” wing, 4.39
Gregory Junior, Ouchita Baptist, 6’, 203 lbs, 30.8” arms, 76.25” wing, 4.45
Josh Thompson, Texas, 5’11, 194 lbs, 30.8” arms, 74.8” wing, 4.55
Zyon Gilbert, FAU, 6’, 193 lbs, 30.8” arms, 76.25” wing, 4.42
Zyon McCollum, Sam Houston, 6’2, 199 lbs, 30.75” arms, 73.7” wing, 4.33
Tariq Castro-Fields, Penn State, 6’1, 197 lbs, 30.75” arms, 76” wing, 4.38
Cobie Durant, SC State, 5’10, 180 lbs, 30.75” arms, 72.75” wing, 4.38
Jack Jones, ASU, 5’11, 177 lbs, 30.75” arms, 74” wing, 4.5
Derek Stingley, LSU, 6’, 190 lbs, 30.6” arms, 74.1” wing, 4.44
Coby Bryant, Cincinnati, 6’1, 193 lbs, 30.6” arms, 73.6” wing, 4.47
Mario Goodrich, Clemson, 6’, 176 lbs, 30.6” arms, 74.6” wing, 4.52
Ja’Sir Taylor, Wake Forest, 6’11, 188 lbs, 30.6” arms, 72.6” wing, 4.46
Mykael Wright, Oregon, 5’10, 181 lbs, 30.5” arms, 74.75” wing, 4.55
Notes:
So, 35 cornerbacks in the 2022 NFL Draft have longer arms than Derek Stingley, Jr. At least 35 cornerbacks measured with greater wingspan. At least 20 cornerbacks posted a faster 40-yard dash than Stingley. At least 28 cornerbacks posted a faster 10-yard split than Stingley. Most cornerbacks in the 2022 NFL Draft have also played more football in the last two years than Stingley. Most cornerbacks don’t have a Lisfranc foot injury in their past, as well as other physical setbacks in the last few years, like Stingley. I’ve got nothing against Derek Stingley, I’m not predicting any sort of NFL failure (sometimes I think readers confuse my evaluation of someone’s DRAFT VALUE or SEAHAWKS FIT with me saying someone isn’t/won’t be a good football player; I’m only writing about DRAFT RESUMES and FIT with regards to draft picks) but there’s too much risk to make him one of the highest-drafted cornerbacks of all-time.
If the Seahawks come out of this draft with the next Shaquill Griffin, I think that’s plenty valuable enough to not have to worry about attempting to come out of this draft with the next Jalen Ramsey. There is not a “Jalen Ramsey” in this draft anyway and there’s a gluttony of intriguing day two prospects at the position.
Stingley is one of the youngest players in this draft, he’s yet to turn 21, but Elam is only a few weeks older. Elam, once considered in the running as the best CB in this class, may not have fallen that far behind the competition and could be available on day two.
McCollum, Castro-Fields, and Bryant could be the next three best prospects. They’ll be sitting in the middle of the draft, though maybe McCollum goes as early as round two.
The best CBs under 30.5” arms
Trent McDuffie, Washington, 5’11, 193 lbs, 29.75” arms, 72.3” wing, 4.44
Roger McCreary, Auburn, 5’11, 190 lbs, 28.8” arms, 70.6” wing, 4.5
Marcus Jones, Houston, 5’8, 174 lbs, 28.8” arms, 69.75” wing, DNR
Damarion Williams, Houston, 5’10, 182 lbs, 29.6” arms, 72.6” wing, 4.53
Cordale Flott, LSU, 6’, 175 lbs, 30.2” arms, 74.4” wing, 4.5
Ja’Quan McMillian, East Carolina, 5’10, 181 lbs, 29” arms, 71” wing, 4.55
Notes:
Nobody will challenge “does arm length matter?” like McDuffie, a projected top-20 pick who doesn’t even reach 30” in arm length. That’s much better though than McCreary, a physical player who gets a lot of praise for his play (that might get him drafted on day two) but his length is really underwhelming. The same for Marcus Jones and Damarion Williams, teammates out of Houston. Flott is another one of the youngest players in this draft but he lacks length, speed, and strength.
Who do you like the most out of this draft? Who do you find to be overrated? Let me know in the comments and hit subscribe if you found this to be useful.
Marcus Jones is a very good punt returner, which we need, and so he checks two boxes for us, and he is perhaps the best nickel corner this year. I'd take him in the 4th for sure.