Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. A few years ago, this meant Earl Thomas-type players who occupied the single-high zone in defenses playing almost exclusively Cover 3 or Cover 1. Over the past two seasons, he has 10 picks and four pass breakups. Savage recorded four picks and seven pass breakups and made several critical hits last year. Jevon Holland, Oregon (third round) 5. Curl could be primed for a big sophomore campaign. It is difficult to find quality interior pass rushers so that makes a player with Carter's skill set even more valuable. Amos is often underrated and overlooked because he doesnt make as many spectacular plays as other safeties he has just nine interceptions in six years but he produced the highest PFF coverage grade among all safeties in 2020 (91.5), with seven pass breakups and three picks on the year. Thornhills second season was something of a letdown, given how good he was in his first, but a torn ACL in Week 17 of that debut season probably impacted his play in Year 2. Adams is a better player than he showed last season in Seattle, albeit likely not one good enough to justify the two first-round picks in the trade that took him there. The agility that Robinson plays with for a 200-plus-pound safety makes me think he missed his calling as a running back. Having a slot player who can fill in in run support with authority makes defensive coordinators far more comfortable taking their safeties out of the box. Reed Blankenship | Middle Tennessee State, https://draftwire.usatoday.com/gallery/2021-nfl-draft-rankings-safety-trevon-moehrig-jevon-holland-richie-grant/, 2023 NFL mock draft: New 1st-round projections with trades, 2023 NFL mock draft: Pre-combine 3-round forecast with trades, comp picks, 2023 NFL mock draft: New 3-round projections with trades, comp picks, 2023 NFL mock draft: 3-round projections after Senior Bowl week, 2023 NFL mock draft: 2-round projections with big trades, and a new No. That season brought forth his best career PFF grade by more than 10 grading points, although the campaigns on either side of it might be why the Bengals have seemed reluctant to hand him a monster new contract. A former cornerback, Jackson has transitioned to safety and enjoyed a second career once he moved past the age of 30. As we look ahead to the next big mile marker in the predraft process, the NFL Scouting Combine, heres an updated look at how we rank the top safety prospects in this years draft: Chicago Mayor Lightfoot ousted; Vallas, Johnson in runoff, King asks Duke and Duchess of Sussex to move out of Frogmore so Prince Andrew can move in, Biden Mocks Marjorie Taylor Greene With 1 Simple Hand Gesture, A Nebraska high-school cheerleader competed on her own after the rest of her squad quit. 2021 NFL Draft Safety Rankings Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak. Kevin Byard has been a prototypical free safety since he was a draft prospect. Rankings the 2023 NFL Draft safety prospects with all of their scouting reports linked to their draft profile. The 2023 NFL draft is getting closer, and our analysts are building their draft boards. See his 2024 Rankings as well! You'll find the 40 time on the Y-axis and on the X-axis the weight in pounds. He also has ideal size, loo Verone McKinley III was an elite high school player, a good college player but may only ever be an average pro. For the purpose of the NFL Draft Bible big board, we have done our best to separate prospects into free safety and strong safety designations. Antonio Johnson's season was not as inspiring as the 2021 campaign, but he has a versatile skill set. The strong safeties of old continue to be replaced by hybrid matchup defenders, players who can line up in the box but also cover tight ends and running backs in single coverage from the slot or in other alignments as if they were cornerbacks. Ronnie Harrison, S, Alabama: Round 1, 4. Kyle Hamilton | Notre Dame. Some of that play is built off the back of a couple of exceptional games, but he now has nine picks and 11 pass breakups over the last two seasons, including the playoffs. The 2023 Senior Bowl is officially in the books, and after another revelatory week of action in Mobile, its time to update our prospect rankings for each position group in the 2023 NFL draft class. We dont particularly know how hell fare if asked to expand his horizons in the NFL. Pick Six Newsletter Crafted By The Best NFL Experts Get the day's big stories + fun stuff you love like mock drafts, picks and power rankings. Production often translates and Anderson has the height, weight and speed to be a top-10 edge rusher in the NFL. Hyde is often put in a good position by the defensive scheme in Buffalo, but he responds by making the plays he is given the opportunity to make. Jackson has earned three of the best five overall PFF grades of his career since turning 30 and is coming off back-to-back years with a mark north of 80.0 overall. Maye earned a career-high PFF grade of 82.9 last season, also notching career highs in snaps from the slot and in the box. Some team sources said they graded Davis in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft. His ability to line up in any safety position within any coverage shell allowed the rest of the pieces to fall into place around him. The now fifth-year safety missed just two tackles from 67 attempts in 2020. He collected 16 stops in the run game this past fall and proved to have one of the more versatile skill sets in the draft class. Henry To'o'To'o had a higher grade last year than his teammate, Christian Harris, who went No. The Florida State product posted an overall PFF grade of 87.8 as a rookie, but he has played just 299 total snaps in the two seasons since. Similarly, Justin Simmons 90.7 PFF grade from 2019 represents his career-high by more than 10 grading points. linebackers, particularly in sub packages, and the league has come to covet other skills for strong safeties. Safety in the NFL is, in truth, several different positions with wildly different responsibilities, and comparing them directly is tricky. 2018 NFL Draft Safety Rankings - DraftUtopia.com S Rankings 2017 NFL Safety Rankings Projected Rounds: 1. As part of Athlon Sports' 2020 NFL Draft Guide, we have ranked each position, including 45 total safeties. https://draftwire.usatoday.com/lists/2023-nfl-draft-rankings-safety-brian-branch-antonio-johnson-jordan-battle/, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 2021 NFL draft: Safety rankings led by TCU's Trevon Moehrig USA TODAY Sports Network Prospect rankings by position: QB | RB | WR | TE | OL | Edge | DT | ILB | CB 2021 NFL Draft: Safety Rankings. Mathieu hasnt been at his best for a few years now, but his alignment versatility makes him incredibly valuable to any defense. Myles Murphy is a powerful edge rusher with the quick twitch qualities to develop, but he lacks a refined pass rush plan. Smith can really cover some ground. His 26 coverage stops over that span were the fourth most among Power Five defensive backs, as his 91 targets went for only 368 yards (4.0 yards per target). 2023 NFL Draft Safety Rankings are updated weekly. Thats Branchs game. Yet, Joseph makes this list because of how adeptly he sees the game. There's Bryan Cook was a distinctly unremarkable playing heading into 2021 and looked like a probable UDFA prospect, however, following an Cam Taylor Britt is a good NFL prospect who really elevated his stock with an impressive combine and senior bowl performance. Now, those players. Your inbox approves See the data Golfweek's top news 's best, via On average, the league has been very consistent, drafting approximately 20 safeties per year over the past decade. Another strong candidate to hear his name called on Day Three of the draft, Harris was one One player who seems to sit atop big boards around the league is Brian Branch of Alabama. He is a tall, high-waisted player capable of flashing downhill or impacting pass lanes. Battle is sort of a jack-of-all-trades, but a master of none. Teams looking to add some size, speed, physicality, and athleticism to their secondary will have their share of options at the safety Joseph is able to read route combinations and anticipate breaks in his sleep. Trenton Simpson and Drew Sanders will almost certainly be the first two linebackers off the board. The only worry is thats just about the only role weve ever seen him play. In-depth prospect rankings with linked reports and all updated player information. Brown racked up six picks and six pass breakups in large part due to that make-up speed, but also because hes an all-around fluid athlete in space. Last season saw him earn a career-high PFF coverage grade (68.9). 2023 NFL Scouting Combine: See the prospects invited, by position, NBC Sports EDGE's 2023 NFL Draft Content Hub, 2023 NFL scouting combine: List of draft prospects, workout schedule, TV and streaming info. He can get a little wild as a tackler, although when he does catch a ball carrier cleanly, they stop in their tracks. Big 12 Picks, Lines For Saturday, February 25, College Basketball Predictions, Lines, How To Watch: Sunday, February 26, NCAA Tournament Bracket Projections, 68 Team Predictions, Bubble Teams February 27, AP Poll Top 25 Projection College Basketball Rankings Prediction Week 17, Coaches Poll Top 25 Projection College Basketball Rankings Prediction Week 17, Coaches Poll Top 25 College Basketball Rankings Week 17, AP Poll Top 25 College Basketball Rankings Week 17. His 2022 tape is littered with such splash plays, as he attacks with no fear despite being on the smaller end for the position. Which prospects should boost their draft stock at the NFL Scouting Combine? Fast forward a year and Carter is on the doorstep of making good on that claim. Tyree Wilson is a long, explosive athlete who has shown growth over the past year, but still has a ways to go before he repays the top-five draft capital likely to be used on him in April. Heres how we stack this years safety class: Mickey Welsh/The Montgomery Advertiser via USA TODAY Sports, Sign up for the The Draft Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. The Fighting Illini secondary was no joke in 2022, and Martin was a big reason why. Tyrann Mathieu is a complete and versatile player who has been a difference-maker within the Chiefs defense since he arrived there. He finished the year with 34 total pressures, 15 more than any other safety. 2024 NFL Draft Position Rankings: QB | RB | FB | WR | TE | OT | G | C | DE | DT | NT | 3-4 OLB | 3-4 DE | OLB | ILB | CB | S | K | P Johnathan Abram, S, Mississippi State Height: 5-11. Marcus Maye was the deep-lying free safety who allowed Jamal Adams to be the do-it-all star in the Jets secondary. He earned a PFF run-defense grade of 85.4, making some plays that caused flashbacks to the way his father played the run with the Minnesota Vikings years ago. Hes reportedly reached over 22 mph on the GPS readings, and if you watch his tape from any point this past season, its very believable. Sign Up. Jessie Bates III is only a year removed from a 90.1 PFF grade and a truly elite season for the Bengals. There were similar concerns with Jaycee Horn coming out of South Carolina: handsy downfield in coverage and a high missed tackle rate. His overall PFF grade dropped, but he was still above average in every facet of play that PFF measures. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports. Jackson is still just 26 and has too much talent to never find elite play again, but he needs to find a solution this offseason. At almost 34 years old, McCourty is coming off his lowest-graded season since 2011, when he was still playing cornerback for the Patriots. WebThe NFL Draft Bible Primer Series concludes with a look at the top safety prospects, as we get set to depart for the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, buckle up! Kyle Hamilton can do it all -- he has the perfect size and agility for the position combined with nice coverage skills, hard tackling, and Jaquan Brisker is a great athlete with an elite combination of speed, size, tackling, and natural coverage ability to be a pro-bowl level sa Hill has played all over the secondary for the Wolverines, and this versatility is always in demand in the NFL especially when paired with Aspiring college or profootball journalist? It offers one of the best groups of slot cornerbacks in recent memory along with some size-speed freaks and versatile safeties. Thats the kind of defender you want around the football. Some of these players could fit more than one of these buckets, and in fact have throughout their careers, but this is where they sit right now based on the past couple of seasons. Find out where your favorite Position stacks up against the 2023 class and view expert mock drafts. 9 of 11. 2021 NFL Draft: Safety Rankings. Joseph rarely pops off the tape as a high-end athlete. His range is average at best, and his change-of-direction ability doesn't come close to that of others on this list. His ability to get sideline to sideline, as well as downhill in the run game from a deep alignment, will serve him well at the next level. Bryan Bresee is a player who has the coveted athletic qualities, but plays a bit stiff and lacking urgency. WebOUR RATING 95.0 OG All Scouts Average Overall Rank 3.9 All Scouts Average Position Rank 1 Height Feet 6-7 Weight Lbs 350lbs College Junior Alabama Forty Time Secs 5.37 Player Summary Neal is the consensus #1 tackle in the 2022 NFL Draft and is viewed as an almost can't miss prospect by most scouts. Of 30 particularly in sub packages, and his change-of-direction ability does come! Rights/Privacy Policy certainly be the do-it-all star in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft responsibilities and. 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