Caleb Farley has played just two years of the cornerback position but he’s already shown flashes that he can be one of the best cornerbacks in the league. He transferred from receiver to cornerback from high school to college and he dominated at Virginia Tech in 2019. His athletic profile is absolutely insane and with a little work on his technique he could be one of the best corners in the game.

Strengths: 

  • Great Size/Speed Profile

At 6’2 210 lbs Caleb Farley is one of the bigger players at the cornerback position. When you then combine that size with blazing fast speed you get a cornerback that won’t be bullied by bigger receivers and a guy who can run with the fastest receivers.

  • Very Good in Press Coverage

Caleb Farley’s elite size allows him to get up close to the line of scrimmage and bully receivers in press. He has great hand placement and knocks guys off their timing. He also has elite recovery speed and smooth hips in case he messes up.

  • Incredibly Smooth Hips

Caleb Farley turns his hips incredibly well, the motion is just so fluid and there is absolutely no wasted movement or time when he’s turning his hips to run downfied.

  • Great Tracking Ability

Being a former receiver Farley does a great job at tracking the ball. He has more than enough experience to know where the ball is going to be when it’s thrown. 

  • Insane Ball Skills

Knowing where the ball is going to be isn’t useful if you don’t have great ball skills but Farley certainly does. He positions himself incredibly well and gets his hand in the right place to knock away balls and even come away with interceptions.

  • Combination of All the Tools to be Elite Man Corner

When it comes to the man to man aspect of his game Farley is the complete package which is so rare. He has size, speed, fluid hips, tracking, ball skills, and with a little better technique with NFL coaching he’s going to be a truly elite man corner, a guy who can be on an island with a skillset that is so rare and so valuable.

  • Still Has Room to Grow

Caleb Farley is already so good and the scary thing is that he has room to still grow. He’s played the cornerback position for just two years at this point and he could stand to improve his hand placement and footwork. Two things that will really put him over the top.

Weaknesses: 

  • Injury Concerns

Recently concerns about Caleb Farley’s health have risen and many are questioning if he will be able to have a fruitful career in the NFL because of the back concerns. Quite frankly I don’t have the medical reports so I’m not factoring this in much.

  • Run Defense

As is an issue with many of the top cornerback prospects coming out every year Farley isn’t always eager to help out in the run game. He’ll pitch in sometimes but he doesn’t go out of his way every run play to help out.

  • Not Immediately Ready for Zone

Caleb Farley should primarily be drafted as a man corner and there will be some growing pains from lack of experience in zone to start. He lacks zone instincts and a feel for where he is, although he still has incredible potential in zone as well and there a few plays in zone he makes that look unbelievable.

Player Comp: I think Caleb Farley has the potential to be even better than the lofty player comparison that I gave him, and that’s Xavier Rhodes in his prime. They’re both big corners who are very good in man coverage and could be left alone with little safety help. They’re both extremely physical and zone and very fast, although Farley is even faster than Rhodes. Rhodes had a great tracking ability as well as great ball skills and Farley is similar in that way. I think if Farley develops proper footwork and hand placement which he is already not that bad at, he can become Xavier Rhodes with more speed and better ball skills.

Final Thoughts: Caleb Farley is one of my draft crushes this draft season. I really like Farley a lot and he’s definitely my CB1 which most others don’t have. He played on an island in college with absolutely no safety help, and his skillset translates for him to be able to do that in the NFL. It’s such a valuable thing to have when a team can rely on a corner to completely lock down one guy because it makes the rest of the game 10 on 10 with less space to operate, and gives the defense a huge advantage. I love his skill set although I think he would be severely misused if he goes to a zone team. I think the Falcons trading back from 4 and drafting Farley would be a great fit because they will probably end up playing a lot of man with Belichick disciple Dean Pees at DC, and they also are lacking a true CB1.