Choosing the top players at any position in the NFL is a difficult task. It’s especially challenging at cornerback and wide receiver where there are so many talented players standing out on a weekly basis.
Jalen Ramsey is deserving of being in the top five of every list ranking the five best defensive backs in football, and being an elite cornerback, he’s gone head-to-head with almost all of the best wide receivers in the league right now.
So when he was asked to list his top five defensive backs and top three receivers, his answers warranted attention. He put himself in the top five among defensive backs, of course, so he named the other four in that group with him during an appearance on the “Million Dollaz Worth of Game” podcast.
“This is tough, too, because I’ve got a lot of respect for a lot of DBs because it ain’t really me against them. It’s me against the receiver, so I’ve got a lot of respect for them,” he said. “Everybody’s got their different styles so my top five, off my opinion and my style – like, who I like to watch and even who I would like to team up with if I had the chance: Stephon Gilmore, I like his style. Tre’Davious White, Buffalo Bills. I’ll go Xavien Howard. And I’ll go Jaire Alexander, Green Bay.”
No major surprises in that group, though it’s worth noting that he didn’t include any safeties, only cornerbacks. He’s a huge fan of Derwin James, and Justin Simmons is an outstanding safety, but the cornerbacks he named are all fantastic players.
It’s hard to argue against his top three receivers, too. He mentioned DeAndre Hopkins first, which isn’t surprising, given his frequent battles with the former Texans receiver and current Cardinal. Ramsey was then asked if Hopkins is the best receiver in the league, to which he said this.
“The reason I say yeah is because D-Hop done had 20 different quarterbacks and put up the same numbers year after year after year,” he said. “There’s some receivers who you’re like, ‘Dawg, without that quarterback, I don’t know if he could do what he’s doing. Or without that connection, I don’t know if he could do what he’s doing.’ He was in Houston, he had a thousand different quarterbacks and he was putting up numbers every year. Then he had Deshaun (Watson) for a couple years and he was putting up stupid numbers. Then he got Kyler (Murray) and put up stupid numbers again. So it’s like, I’ve got to respect that.”
Ramsey noted that Hopkins is the only receiver to ever go for at least 100 yards against him, remembering that it came in the last game of his third NFL season against the Texans.
Then he moved on to No. 2 on his list, which might surprise some folks. He went with Odell Beckham Jr., who has battled injuries over the years but still has averaged 83.3 yards per game in his career.
“Personally, off of people I’ve played, I got Odell. When Odell’s healthy and he’s on his (expletive), he’s tough, for real. He’s just fast, twitchy, runs good routes, got great hands. I like his game,” Ramsey said.”
And finally, the third spot went to Julio Jones, who the Rams showed some interest in this offseason.
“It’s tough. I’ve probably got Julio. Julio can do it all. He’s fast, he’s big, runs good routes, catch, run after the catch. He can do it all. When Julio’s healthy, he a dawg,” Ramsey said.
“I’ve got them three in my top, but right after that, the four and five area, there’s a bunch of dudes I can throw right there.”
Ramsey knows a good receiver when he sees one because he matches up with the top guys almost every week. That’s not something every receiver can say, but he’s a true shutdown cornerback – and the best in the NFL right now.