State of the New York Jets Roster, Cornerbacks

The ratings of the roster now move to the cornerback position. Click here if you want a reminder on how the ratings work.

Darrelle Revis (1-A)

Like Nick Mangold, Revis is not just in the top tier. He is the best player in the league at his position. When God thought up what a perfect corner would look like, he probably had Revis in mind. He can run with anybody (4.39 40 time). He has great instincts and ball skills. He has excellent strength to jam receivers and rip balls away from them to cause incompletions. He is a sound tackler so even if you complete a pass in front of him, it is not going for much. It is getting to the point where quarterbacks do not even bother to look in his direction. It is tough to blame them. Throws in his direction have a completion percentage under 40% the past two years as Revis has regularly taken top receivers out of the game in man coverage with little help, which has allowed the team to get creative with its approach.

Antonio Cromartie (2-B)

Cromartie is a guy I find frustrating. He might be the one corner in the league with better physical tools than Revis. He should dominate every week. He does not, though. Revis is a great football player. Cromartie is a great athlete who happens to play football. When the test is a battle of pure athletic ability like a vertical route, Cro is excellent. When it requires something football related like reacting to a guy making a cut, he is not as good. He is also inconsistent with physicality. He is strong enough to bully receivers all day but sometimes is not as physical as he should be. His skills are still nothing to sneeze at. Being able to run down the field and blanket the fastest receivers in the league is one of the most difficult aspects of being a cornerback. Anybody who masters this has a lot of value. He also has good ball skills and is electric as a returner. It is just frustrating to see a guy with so much talent still so raw at this point of his career. Cromartie is a feast or famine guy. He's like a baseball pitcher with incredible stuff who also might implode at any minute. He is the NFL's answer to A.J. Burnett.

Kyle Wilson (3-D)

The more I reexamine last season, the more I am convinced Wilson is going to be really, really good. He was something of a disappointment as a rookie, but there was a lot going on. First of all, the Jets were trying to teach him a new position by moving him inside to the nickel. The thing is they couldn't have him spend all of his time there in camp because there was no telling whether Darrelle Revis would show. Wilson's services might have been needed outside. The scheme the Jets play puts a ton of stress on its corners. Wilson looked a bit tentative out there. The thing is he was in good position on a lot of the completions he allowed. Once he is more comfortable with the speed of the pro game, he will learn to look for the ball and break those passes up. He was also close as a return man to busting some big ones. A lot of people including me were probably too hard on him. He has shown great work ethic by training with Revis this offseason. I think it is going to start paying dividends.

Drew Coleman (3-E)

This is certainly higher than he would have been ranked a year ago. Coleman showed in 2010 that if not a great player, he at least can stick on an NFL roster. His coverage skills improved enough for him to pass Wilson on the depth chart and become the nickel. He is still marginal in coverage. He sometimes makes tackles after completions to nullify their effect. He is a great blitzer. If you have to live with him as the third corner, you can. I still think you would prefer to have somebody else.

Marquice Cole (3-E)

I like this guy. He contributes on special teams and is starting to develop in coverage. He did good work on subpackages late in the season.

Dwight Lowery (3-D)

Lowery is a corner/safety hybrid so I am going to rate him at both positions. He is not that good as a corner. He never been relied upon as a starter if the team could avoid it since his benching as a rookie in 2008. He is not very fast and seems better at diagnosing things in front of him than having to read where a receiver is going down the field. He would be better in a zone based scheme at corner.

Will Billingsley (4-F)

Some positions are easier than others for young players to make the team. On the Jets, cornerback is a difficult one.

Richard Taylor (4-F)

Same here.

Ellis Lankster (4-F)

Same here.