As I’ve called him before, the highest ceiling cornerback in the draft, former Washington DB Kyler Gordon is getting some love at the back end of the first round. It feels like he’s a lock for the top 50 picks in the 2022 NFL Draft, and whoever ends up with the former four-star recruit out of Archbishop Murphy in Everett, Washington, is going to get a star. Check out Realdawg’s full draft report of Gordon right here!
With that being said, what are some of the best landing spots for Gordon? As he continues to refine his technique, he’s going to continue to grow, and it feels like the back half of the first round would be great for him, as he can start off with a team that might not necessarily expect the world from him right away, and he can be a high end CB2 on a team with a defense that might already look pretty good on paper.
New England Patriots
There might not be a run of cornerbacks that could push Gordon up the board, and the Patriots at 21st overall feels like the ceiling for his draft stock. Just like Trent McDuffie’s fit with the team, Bill Belichick is not only going to love his versatility and athleticism, but it seems like he’s desperate to add another cornerback to his defense. He’s seen a lot of success with former Husky Myles Bryant, so could he dip back into the Montlake well?
Kansas City Chiefs
There has been some smoke in the last few days leading up to the draft that the Chiefs could use one of their back-to-back picks at 29 and 30 in the first round on the former Husky corner. After getting torched by both Josh Allen and Joe Burrow in the playoffs, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo will want to make sure his defense is up for the task of facing all the elite quarterbacks in the conference… not to mention that he’ll have to face Russell Wilson, Justin Herbert, and Derek Carr a total of six times a year too.
Cincinnati Bengals
Speaking of the Bengals… even though they’re coming off a Super Bowl run, they still have a glaring amount of holes on defense, namely at corner. When the best cornerback on your roster is Eli Apple, that’s a big problem that needs to be addressed immediately. If they want to make it back to the big game in an incredibly crowded AFC, they’ll need to make sure their defense isn’t bottom 10 in the league against the pass like it was in 2021.
Seattle Seahawks
It feels like the Seahawks have needed a shutdown cornerback for the last six years or so. While Gordon might not come in and be a lockdown CB1 right away, he would be a huge upgrade for a team that currently has a lot of money invested in their safeties (and still finished with the second-most passing yards allowed in 2021). LSU’s Derek Stingley might be an option at ninth overall if available, but it seems somewhat unlikely that he’ll be there. Seattle has also not selected a cornerback earlier than 90th overall since they used the 55th overall pick on Josh Wilson in 2007, so the hometown hero would be an exciting sell for the franchise.
