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. Metcalf to prevent a defensive touchdown, but Baker is a big-hitting safety who has always excelled against the run but has improved in coverage throughout his NFL career. 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. Dugger faced 84 targets in coverage over his first two seasons in the league, allowing 58 catches for 9.3 yards per reception. Marcus Maye was the deep-lying free safety who allowed Jamal Adams to be the do-it-all star in the Jets secondary. 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. 15. PFF BIG BOARD RANK: 112. Antonio Johnson, Texas A&M, Jr, 6-3, 190 3. Its exactly the role he handled for the Aggies the past two seasons. Coverage is king in todays NFL, and the safety position is pivoting toward players who excel deep downfield. College Senior Penn State. Experienced Jammie Robinson comes in at No. 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. Hes proven to be exceedingly versatile, playing 510 snaps in the box, 682 deep and 259 from the slot for his career. James Wiggins, Cincinnati (fourth round) 7. 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. 2023 NFL Draft Strong Safety Rankings John Vogel October 27, 2022 in 2023 Rankings - 9 Minutes 1. 9 of 11. Moehrig has some of the best ball production youll see from a safety prospect, as he led all FBS safeties in pass breakups in each of the past two seasons. At 6-foot-2, 202 pounds, Moehrig has ideal size and physicality for the position, as well. 2. Elijah Molden, Washington Molden is the gold standard in the slot for this class. He finished the year with 34 total pressures, 15 more than any other safety. John Johnson III backed up his fine play in Los Angeles with a solid year in Cleveland. 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. At almost 34 years old, McCourty is coming off his lowest-graded season since 2011, when he was still playing cornerback for the Patriots. Keeanu Benton is a proven run stopper who showed a bit more pass-rush potential at the Senior Bowl. 6-keys: media/spln/nfl/draft/free/stories, By pressing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the. Similarly, Justin Simmons 90.7 PFF grade from 2019 represents his career-high by more than 10 grading points. Sign Up. 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. Hes elite when on the field, but he needs to stay healthy. 2023 NFL Draft Eligible Safety Prospects 1. Ward struggled early in his NFL career despite entering the league with the prestige of a first-round pick, but the last two seasons have seen him at his best. The Fighting Illini secondary was no joke in 2022, and Martin was a big reason why. Ranking safeties in todays NFL is becoming increasingly complex because of defensive evolutions and the various roles the position encompasses. 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. S. All Scouts Average Overall Rank 42.9. Jevon Holland, Oregon (third round) 5. Weight: 205. It offers one of the best groups of slot cornerbacks in recent memory along with some size-speed freaks and versatile safeties. 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. Armani Watts, S, Texas A&M: Round Hamsah Nasirildeen, Florida State (third round) 6. Four! Here are the top 10 safeties in this year's draft class, per PFF's NFL Draft Guide. Draft Wire editor Luke Easterling updates his safety rankings for the 2023 NFL draft following Senior Bowl week 2023 NFL draft: Post-Senior Bowl safety rankings Teams 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. The Buffalo Bills have an incredibly reliable pair of safeties, and the first on the list is Micah Hyde, who now has four straight seasons with an overall PFF grade of at least 70.0 and three of the four are significantly better than 70.0. Hes extremely steady and rarely caught out of control. Ronnie Harrison, S, Alabama: Round 1, 4. Derwin James, S, Florida State: Round 1, 2. 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. 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. He is still a talented player, but perhaps his role is more limited than originally thought. 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. 2004-2023 CBS Interactive. Noah Sewell is the younger brother of Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell. We've compared players post combine 40 times and weight and charted them on the scatter chart below. 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. That snap breakdown is precisely what most safeties at the next level will be asked to do. 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. There were similar concerns with Jaycee Horn coming out of South Carolina: handsy downfield in coverage and a high missed tackle rate. We've compared players 40 times and weight and charted them on the scatter chart below. All the while, hes been an outstanding tackler (7.3% career missed tackle rate) and developed into a difference-maker in coverage. 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. Hes extremely fluid for a 220-pounder and can easily be a tight end eraser at the next level. Felix Anudike-Uzomah has 19.5 sacks over the past two years, but more impressive is the ball production. With the NFL Scouting Combine getting set to begin positional workouts, heres a look at the biggest combine snubs at each position in the 2023 NFL Draft Class. Find out where your favorite Position stacks up against the 2023 class and view expert mock drafts. McCourty wasnt the only player who struggled for the Patriots in 2020, so maybe he can bounce back with the reinforcements they have assembled this year. Heres our updated list of this years top safety prospects: Sign up for the The Draft Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. 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. This has been true for a long time, but it seems to be getting more extreme. Ranking safeties in todays NFL is becoming increasingly complex because of defensive evolutions and the various roles the position encompasses. Gipson missed just seven tackles from 80 attempts in 2020. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings) 2. Please check your email for a confirmation. 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. Kevin Byard has been a prototypical free safety since he was a draft prospect. A few years ago, this meant, Strong safety used to be a coveted specialty role in the NFL, encompassing those who played more like auxiliary linebackers and patrolled the box, defending the run and covering short zones underneath. Keilahn Harris, Oklahoma Baptist, rJr, 5096, 179, 4.45e, No.33 ranked WR. Those are great strengths to have on the back end. He has converted three of his five interceptions into touchdowns over the past three seasons. Hes been instinctual ever since he stepped on the field at Alabama for 290 snaps as a true freshman. That all gives Robinson one of the higher floors at the safety position in the class. In a four-year career, he has played just over 2,000 snaps, which is essentially half of the available playing time. Brown has been making plays ever since he took over as a starter for the Nittany Lions in 2021. 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. Still, at his age, it feels wise to err on the side of caution. 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. Sign up for our newsletter and get every update delivered to your inbox! We dont particularly know how hell fare if asked to expand his horizons in the NFL. Its the 2022 NFL Drafts most underappreciated group at maybe the most The 2023 NFL Draft safety class should provide a deep talent pool throughout Day 2 of the draft. He possesses good size and physicality for the position with average range and physicality. Eraser at the Senior Bowl elijah Molden, Washington Molden is the brother! 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