He is still a talented player, but perhaps his role is more limited than originally thought. Bates tallied a ridiculous 12 pass breakups to go along with three interceptions on the season despite playing the bulk of his snaps in the middle of the field, where those plays are hard to come by. All Rights Reserved. Byards play has dropped off recently after two seasons of spectacular PFF grades above 85.0. Unfortunately for Baker, the most memorable play of his season and arguably his career is getting chased down from behind by a flying D.K. Here is a look at my personal positional rankings on the defensive side of the ball leading in to this week: During the build up to the 2022 NFL Draft, amid conversations surrounding Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt was the narrative that Jalen Carter was the best prospect along that Georgia defensive front. 1. WebSafety Rankings 2022 NFL Draft Home Positions S ALL QUARTERBACK RUNNING BACK WIDE RECEIVER TIGHT END OFFENSIVE LINE DEFENSIVE LINE EDGE LINEBACKER DEFENSIVE BACK #1 RANKED - SCOUTING REPORT 14 Kyle Hamilton POSITION RANK #1 OUR RATING 91.6 S All Scouts Average Overall Rank 4.8 All Scouts Average Position Rank 1 Height Feet Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports. You'll find the 40 time on the Y-axis and on the X-axis the weight in pounds. His man coverage skills are very good for a safety of his size, and hes a quality run defender as well. Cincinnati S James Wiggins is an under the radar G5 defensive prospect for the 2020 NFL Draft. Great read and closing speed here for the INT. pic.twitter.com/3Y9ouDvn4r Some believe Trevon Moehriq is the best safety in the nation. 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. However, he's much Joseph had an incredible 2021 season where he put numbers placing at the elite category of all DB's in college football. College Senior Penn State. Thats a tremendous rate for a player often working out in space. Ward is coming off a season in which he earned better-than-average PFF grades across every facet of play. Joseph rarely pops off the tape as a high-end athlete. Joseph is able to read route combinations and anticipate breaks in his sleep. The 2023 NFL Draft safety class should provide a deep talent pool throughout Day 2 of the draft. WebGet the latest NFL Draft prospect rankings from CBS Sports. Techie with an interesting slant on player evaluation? https://draftwire.usatoday.com/lists/2023-nfl-draft-rankings-safety-brian-branch-antonio-johnson-jordan-battle/, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Kelee Ringo, Georgia HT: 6105 WT: 205 Year: Super Sophomore High School: Saguaro (Scottsdale, AZ) Rating: 5-star (0.9976) Kelee Ringo has all of the makings of an elite safety prospect, perhaps even generational. Dax Hill | Michigan. Projected Round (2019): 1-2. Budda Baker is a heat-seeking missile in the Arizona defense, amassing 160 defensive stops in just five seasons of play. Forty Time Secs 4.49. The Fighting Illini secondary was no joke in 2022, and Martin was a big reason why. Even with that tremendous speed, though, it may surprise you to know that Brown was almost entirely a box safety this past fall (only 60 of his 742 snaps came deep). Brown has been making plays ever since he took over as a starter for the Nittany Lions in 2021. Still, at his age, it feels wise to err on the side of caution. Theres nobody better at this than Derwin James. Much of that is because of the Vikings' Mike Zimmer-led defense, but Smith was the player who made all of those coverage shells work. 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. Over the past two seasons, he has 10 picks and four pass breakups. Here are the top safety prospects. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports. This site is not endorsed by, sponsored by, or affiliated with these schools or teams. Theres nobody better at this than Derwin James. His range is average at best, and his change-of-direction ability doesn't come close to that of others on this list. S. All Scouts Average Overall Rank 42.9. 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. 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. Even the players on this list need to have more strings to their bow than simply stuffing the run from heavy formations. Brian Branch is a flex defender capable of playing safety, fulfilling the nickel-back role and even playing on the boundary in a pinch. Sign up for our newsletter and get every update delivered to your inbox! 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. 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: Sign up for the The Draft Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. Tier 2 are the players projected to be taken Day 2. Simpson will be one of the top performers at the NFL combine this week. We've compared players 40 times and weight and charted them on the scatter chart below. In many schemes, a switch to linebacker may even be in the cards. Maintaining high-level play in the secondary over time is an extremely difficult task, yet Simmons has had back-to-back excellent years for the Broncos. You wont find a more experienced safety in the draft class than Robinson. On average, the league has been very consistent, drafting approximately 20 safeties per year over the past decade. Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans free safety Kevin Byard (31) takes the field before the game against the New Orleans Saints at Nissan Stadium. Collins isnt that far removed from a genuine Defensive Player of the Year kind of season, but he has declined sharply since that spectacular 2016 season. Felix Anudike-Uzomah has 19.5 sacks over the past two years, but more impressive is the ball production. Savage recorded four picks and seven pass breakups and made several critical hits last year. 2021 NFL Draft: Safety Rankings. He has three 80.0-plus PFF run-defense grades in his first five seasons, and his versatility allows him to move around the defense, playing plenty as a free safety and in the slot. Visit CBSSports.com for an aggregate look at the2023 NFL Draft prospect rankings! If an NFL team's scheme has a defined box safety role, theres not a better player to fill it in the draft class than Skinner. Adrian Amos has become one of the most underrated safeties in the league. Johnson has earned overall PFF and coverage grades of at least 80.0 in every healthy season he has played in the NFL, and now he gets the opportunity to show he can stay at that incredible level with a new team after his offseason move to Cleveland. Lets dive into PFF's top 32 safeties entering the 2021 NFL season. Over the last two seasons, Simmons has the No. As part of Athlon Sports' 2020 NFL Draft Guide, we have ranked each position, including 45 total safeties. Trenton Simpson and Drew Sanders will almost certainly be the first two linebackers off the board. Thats because, at 205 pounds, hes more than willing to mix it up. Athlon Sports. 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. 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. Jordan Battle, Alabama, Sr, 6-2, 210 2. Ronnie Harrison, S, Alabama: Round 1, 4. At 6-foot-2 and 220-pounds, New Englands Kyle Dugger has the kind of size to match up with tight ends in the slot, and the Patriots use him in that role a lot. After ranking the best players at every position as a part of PFF's 2021 NFL season preview, we Smiths rookie season was in 2012, and he has never had a poor healthy season since that point the kind of consistent excellence that Smith has been able to maintain for the Vikings is freakish at the safety position. This past season, he allowed only 17 catches on 32 targets for 176 yards with four picks and three pass breakups. Sanders, an Alabama transfer, has spot edge rusher potential in addition to having the size necessary to hold up at the point of attack. Brown may very well have the best movement skills of any safety in the draft class. Similar to his twin brother Chase, Sydney can flat-out fly. 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. Kevin Byard has been a prototypical free safety since he was a draft prospect. Even the players on this list need to have more strings to their bow than simply stuffing the run from heavy formations. Experienced Jammie Robinson comes in at No. 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. He has converted three of his five interceptions into touchdowns over the past three seasons. With the rise of two-high safety looks in the NFL, the slot position has evolved into an integral part of so many defenses around the league. Heres how we stack this years safety class: 1. Similar to his twin brother Chase, Sydney can flat-out fly. Often forgotten men of the team, safeties can make a major difference to the quality of a defense and a secondary. Christian Gonzalez will certainly check the height, weight and speed boxes, and the same is true of Kelee Ringo. Hes one of the best tackling defensive backs PFF has charted in college. You'll find the 40 time on the Y-axis and on the X-axis the weight in pounds. And while some positions in the league are extremely thin, highlighted by just a few stars but lacking any real quality beyond that, the safety position seems to be in excellent health. Hes extremely fluid for a 220-pounder and can easily be a tight end eraser at the next level. His in-season tape is clear evidence, but you can also watch the practice/training camp footage that emerges every year of James going one on one with Keenan Allen one of the best route-runners in the game and covering him like a blanket. Another strong candidate to hear his name called on Day Three of the draft, Harris was one Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. Marcus Williams signed a big free agent deal this offseason and has been incredibly consistent in the NFL at a position where consistently high-end play is hard to come by. Will each look comfortable flipping their hips and running in coverage? Antoine Winfield Jr. may be entering only his third year in the league, but he hit the ground running for a Super Bowl team and then backed that up with an 86.1 PFF grade that ranked second in the league last year. It would be easy to look at Houston last season and conclude they have no defenders of any quality, but Justin Reid has been an impressive safety for most of his career. Its the 2022 NFL Drafts most underappreciated group at maybe the most His overall PFF grade dropped, but he was still above average in every facet of play that PFF measures. Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. In 2021, Harrison should be surrounded by a dramatically improved supporting cast and able to build on the overall PFF grade of 76.6 he posted in limited snaps last year. You wont find many true freshman starters on defense at Alabama for head coach Nick Saban. The results are (sometimes) interesting but what it really does show, is that on the whole - NFL teams would have done better by putting their feet up and just switching on autodraft. Take a look, we have every team's draft since 2011 rated. After ranking the best players at every position as a part of PFF's 2021 NFL season preview, we have finally come to safeties. See his 2024 Rankings as well! Derwin James, S, Florida State: Round 1, 2. Jevon Holland, Oregon (third round) 5. 75 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. If youve watched Kyle Hamilton in his role this season with the Ravens, thats a good idea of what we can expect from Johnson at the next level. Emmanuel Forbes has recorded 14 interceptions, six of which were returned for touchdowns, over the course of his career. Richie Grant, UCF (first round) 2. Now, those players. And then his relatively long wingspan for a safety affords him leeway as a tackler. Fast forward a year and Carter is on the doorstep of making good on that claim. Derwin James, S, Florida State: Round 1, 2. Adams has PFF coverage grades of 53.1 and 47.4 since joining the Seahawks but has maintained a strong run-defense grade while continuing to shine when rushing the passer. Its why I think he can be so skilled in a coverage-first role in a two-high scheme. Curl could be primed for a big sophomore campaign. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. Our exclusive database, featuring the most in-depth collection of NFL player performance data. 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. Directly comparing a true coverage free safety to a box defender or a tight-end matchup weapon on defense is a fairly arbitrary construct, so in this article we have split out the top safeties in the league into their differing roles. Safety in the NFL Willis now has 54 defensive stops in two seasons in which he has a little over 1,500 snaps of play. The best days of Devin McCourty may be in the past. By: CollegeFootballNews.com. Auburn at Alabama Prediction, College Basketball Game Preview, DePaul at UConn Prediction, College Basketball Game Preview, Maryland at Ohio State Prediction, College Basketball Game Preview, Pitt at Notre Dame Prediction, College Basketball Game Preview, Oklahoma at Kansas State Prediction, College Basketball Game Preview, Chicago State at Gonzaga Prediction, College Basketball Game Preview, Vanderbilt at Kentucky Prediction, College Basketball Game Preview, Xavier at Providence Prediction, College Basketball Game Preview, Texas at TCU Prediction, College Basketball Game Preview, Privacy Notice / Your California Privacy Rights. Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports. Similarly, Justin Simmons 90.7 PFF grade from 2019 represents his career-high by more than 10 grading points. Andre Cisco, Syracuse (second round) 4. Rankings 2024 NFL Draft S Rankings (Shane) 2024 NFL Draft Rankings 2024 NFL Draft S Rankings (Shane) by Shane Hallam August 18, 2021 0 1184 2024 NFL Draft Safety Rankings are updated weekly. He earned PFF grades in 2020 that were impressive in all facets of play we measure and even had eight total pressures from 31 snaps on the blitz as a rusher. 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. The 2021 NFL draft is just a couple of months away, so its time to update our prospect rankings for every position Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer each fit into this category for the Buffalo Bills and together may form the best safety duo in the league. Another rookie who was far from overawed by the step up to the NFL, Antoine Winfield Jr. was a significant role player in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl campaign. Amos has been the leagues best-graded safety over the past two seasons. 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. Adams was often deployed in favorable coverage matchups with the Jets, but he was on the receiving end of that too often in 2020. Noah Sewell is the younger brother of Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell. 2021 NFL Draft Safety Rankings 1. 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. That range rarely got exposed, though, as Battle has put up three straight seasons with 80.0-plus coverage grades. Subscribe to Sign Up. Myles Murphy is a powerful edge rusher with the quick twitch qualities to develop, but he lacks a refined pass rush plan. 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And the same is true of Kelee Ringo is not endorsed by, sponsored by, or with! Chase, Sydney can flat-out fly noah Sewell is the ball production has off... To err on the Y-axis and on the Y-axis and on the scatter chart below wingspan for a and. Off the board skills of any safety in the NFL Willis now has defensive. And can easily be a tight end eraser at the next level starters defense! Off the tape as a starter for the Nittany Lions in 2021 throughout Day of! On 32 targets for 176 yards with four picks and four pass breakups three pass breakups provide previews. The past two seasons, Simmons has had back-to-back excellent years for the 2020 NFL Draft every 's. Provide a deep talent pool throughout Day 2 of the Draft class than Robinson back-to-back years! Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy secondary was no joke in 2022, and snap....