Each year, a new crop of young cornerbacks make a splash on the fantasy scene, giving the savvy IDP owner a chance to scoop up tons of production from the tail end of the draft, or even the waiver wire. It’s such a tried-and-true tactic, that it has its own name: the Rookie Corner Rule.
Sounds so simple. Just snag a rookie cornerback and wait for your trophy.
The reality of this Rookie Corner Rule is that it’s largely hit-or-miss. Several cornerbacks enter the league each year, and most end up being irrelevant for fantasy (and often irrelevant for real football, too). But there are some strong indicators that point us in the direction of the CBs who can help us, both in redraft and in dynasty.
Draft Position + Snaps = Fantasy Relevance
While that might seem like a no-brainer (and it is), the punchline is that the chances that a cornerback taken after the 2nd round will become fantasy relevant in their rookie season are basically nill. So you can immediately eliminate any CB taken after the 2nd round.
But draft position (and the perceived talent that comes with an early-round pedigree), is only half the equation. We also need said player to crack the starting lineup, and play significant snaps to be a weekly starter for us. If that happens, you’ve got instant backend production with frontend upside.
Let’s take a look at the last four years of rookie CBs based on draft position, snaps (min. 750), and fantasy finish.
| Draft Year | Name | Draft Spot | Snaps | DB Finish |
| 2019 | DeAndre Baker | 30th | 971 | 103 |
| 2019 | Byron Murphy | 33rd | 1106 | 43 |
| 2019 | Rock Ya-Sin | 34th | 861 | 83 |
| 2018 | Denzel Ward | 4th | 841 | 65 |
| 2018 | Jaire Alexander | 18th | 760 | 60 |
| 2018 | Donte Jackson | 55th | 896 | 22 |
| 2017 | Marshon Lattimore | 11th | 751 | 39 |
| 2017 | Adoree Jackson | 18th | 1020 | 30 |
| 2017 | Tre'Davious White | 27th | 1093 | 10 |
| 2016 | Jalen Ramsey | 5th | 1059 | 31 |
| 2016 | Vernon Hargreaves | 11th | 1037 | 42 |
| 2016 | Artie Burns | 25th | 810 | 56 |
| 2016 | James Bradberry | 62nd | 799 | 81 |
This shows us that the odds of getting a DB3/4 or CB 2/3 are solid if you pair a 1st or 2nd round CB with a full-time starting job. If that player is aggressive enough and posts multiple INTs and PD, he can finish as a DB1 (like Marcus Peters in 2015 or Tre’Davious White in 2017).
For redraft, here are the players out of the first two rounds with the best shot at 900+ snaps this season:
C.J. Henderson
Jeff Okudah
Jeff Gladney
The Dynasty Longview
While obviously we want our rookie corners to hit for us out of the gate, it’s important to note that for dynasty, draft position is king. Check out these top CBs from 2019 and note their draft position.
| Name | 2019 DB Finish | 2019 CB Finish | Draft Spot |
| Marlon Humphrey | 10 | 2 | 16th |
| Joe Haden | 20 | 4 | 7th |
| Stephon Gilmore | 22 | 5 | 10th |
| Kevin King | 23 | 6 | 33rd |
| Kyle Fuller | 26 | 7 | 14th |
| Tre’Davious White | 28 | 8 | 27th |
| Marcus Peters | 29 | 9 | 18th |
In CB-required leagues, 7 of the top 10 corners were former 1st round picks (we’ll squeeze King into the first round, as he missed by one pick). So stashing 1st round CBs in dynasty has a high hit rate over the long haul. And most of them can be had on the cheap if they don’t have a starting job waiting on them.
2020 1st Round CBs:
C.J. Henderson (9th overall)
A.J. Terrell (16th overall)
Damon Arnette (24th overall)
Noah Igbinoghene (30th overall)
Jeff Gladney (31st overall)
Back to that “Draft Position + Snaps” Thing
Yes, it’s awesome when a rookie has a full-time job waiting on him. But that doesn’t mean that’s all the value on the table. When rookies eventually see increased playing time (either through earning it, or injury to a starter), they tend to produce similarly as their league-long counterparts, if only in small doses.
These are our waiver wire darlings. The ones who go unnoticed until a sudden change in snap count. Like Trayvon Mullen (46th overall), who didn’t get a start until Week Seven, but then produced 46 tackles, 10 PD, and 1 INT in the final 10 games. Or Lonnie Johnson (54th overall), who averaged almost 5 tackles per game and had 7 PD in his seven starts.
And while last year was a bad year for corners (the earliest CB drafted in 2019 was Deandre Baker at 30th overall), 2020 is chock full of top-tier cornerback talent. Players to keep an eye on to see if/when they become starters, who could instantly post CB2/DB3 production (if not significantly more) off the waiver wire are:
Jaylon Johnson
A.J. Terrell
Trevon Diggs
Damon Arnette
Noah Igbinoghene
Finally, keep in mind that these rookie corners possess a decent floor based on volume, and a solid ceiling based on talent. But their value comes in acquiring that combination of volume and talent cheaply. Aim to draft these players at the very tail end of the draft at the earliest (even in dynasty), or preferably pick them off the waiver wire. Throughout the season, watch our Waiver Wire articles for when it’s time to start targeting some of these players who dodged your leagues’ drafts.
