For those who care about these things, for comparison sake to where you can find elite players in the draft, here's how it shakes out for cornerbacks in the Hall of Fame:
There are currently 17 players in the Hall of Fame that played cornerback (the position was not created until the early 1940's by Earle "Greasy" Neale, when he created the defensive halfback position in his Eagle defense). Here's where they were drafted (NOTE: this shows Mel Renfro, Ronnie Lott, Rod Woodson and Aeneas Williams as cornerbacks):
- 8 were selected in the First Round of the draft - 47% of the total
- 2 were selected in the Second Round of the draft
- 2 were selected in the Third Round of the draft
- 1 was selected in the Fifth Round of the draft
- 4 were Undrafted Free Agents
Here's how the safety position is represented in the Hall of Fame:
There are currently 7 safeties in the Hall of Fame (grossly underrepresented, IMHO). Here's where they were drafted:
- 1 was selected in the Second Round of the draft
- 1 was selected in the Third Round of the draft
- 1 was selected in the Sixth Round of the draft
- 1 was selected in the Seventh Round of the draft
- 1 was selected in the Ninth Round of the draft
- 2 were Undrafted Free Agents
Using this as a barometer, if you want an elite corner, you generally will find them in the First Round. If you want an elite safety, you can literally find them anywhere, and don't need to use a First Round pick to do it.
If you view Jalen Ramsey as being a cornerback, and a potentially elite one, the numbers bear out selecting him high. The percentage of running backs in the HOF selected in the First Round is higher, though (55%-47%).
If you view him as a safety, and a potentially elite one, history doesn't bear this out.