He possesses the skill set that suggests he can be a productive pass rusher, but is likely to be unrefined as a run defender early in his career. This past season, he allowed only 17 catches on 32 targets for 176 yards with four picks and three pass breakups. Ward is coming off a season in which he earned better-than-average PFF grades across every facet of play. Welcome to College Football News's European Union Experience. Both players have shown elite upside and play, but they havent been able to maintain that peak for as long as some others. From the college perspective, here are the best safety prospects in the 2022 NFL Draft. Unlock all tools and content including Player Grades, Fantasy, NFL Draft, Premium Stats, Greenline and DFS. WebGet the latest NFL Draft prospect rankings from CBS Sports. Super informed fan? But the ones that do often turn into quality starters in the NFL. He is coming off a season with a career-high 90.4 overall PFF grade and a 90.9 coverage grade. Since moving to Pittsburgh and being allowed to play his natural position, Fitzpatrick has blossomed into one of the best safeties in the NFL. 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. ', Greek transport minister resigns over train crash; 36 dead. Its exactly the role he handled for the Aggies the past two seasons. Tuli Tuipulotu was used as an edge rusher in Los Angeles, but projects to the inside. Brian Branch is a flex defender capable of playing safety, fulfilling the nickel-back role and even playing on the boundary in a pinch. 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. After ranking the best players at every position as a part of PFF's 2021 NFL season preview, we 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. Its why I think he can be so skilled in a coverage-first role in a two-high scheme. Now that he has an opportunity to play within a better defense again, we should see a rebound performance in 2022. Thankfully, that couldnt be further from the truth with Branch. Sanders, an Alabama transfer, has spot edge rusher potential in addition to having the size necessary to hold up at the point of attack. 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. Collins hasnt been the same player in Washington as he was at his best with the Giants, but he has never had a better defense around him than he will have in 2021. It offers one of the best groups of slot cornerbacks in recent memory along with some size-speed freaks and versatile safeties. Alabama head coach Nick Saban entrusted Branch with a significant share of the responsibility in that scheme. Over the last two seasons, Simmons has the No. From a testing perspective, theres a chance he puts up the most lackluster numbers at the combine of any player on this list. Experienced Jammie Robinson comes in at No. You'll now receive the top The Draft Wire stories each day directly in your inbox. 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 acceleration for a 6-foot-3 safety is what really makes him unique. Please check your email for a confirmation. Felix Anudike-Uzomah has 19.5 sacks over the past two years, but more impressive is the ball production. Hes proven to be exceedingly versatile, playing 510 snaps in the box, 682 deep and 259 from the slot for his career. 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. Since entering the league, Jeremy Chinn may have had the most unique deployment of any safety, to the point that he breaks a lot of position designations and really is operating in a one-man role. You'll find the 40 time on the Y-axis and on the X-axis the weight in pounds. His ability to adjust on the fly and break laterally is arguably the best in the draft class. He has eight forced fumbles over the past two seasons; a few pass rushers to have equally impressive forced fumble rates were Josh Allen and Brian Burns. Over the past two seasons, Martin has missed all of seven tackles on 129 attempts. 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. 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. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Wevers-USA TODAY Sports. Similar to his twin brother Chase, Sydney can flat-out fly. Poyer allowed just 8.7 yards per reception from 55 targets last season. John Johnson III backed up his fine play in Los Angeles with a solid year in Cleveland. Derwin James, S, Florida State: Round 1, 2. Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans free safety Kevin Byard (31) takes the field before the game against the New Orleans Saints at Nissan Stadium. section: | slug: nfl-draft-2023-jalen-carter-will-anderson-jr-atop-pre-combine-list-of-best-defensive-prospects-by-position | sport: football | route: article_single_special | Now he is a year removed from that injury, and a return to that PFF coverage grade of 78.0 or better this season would see Thornhill likely even climb higher on this list. Jevon Holland, Oregon (third round) 5. Hes one of the best true backend players in the draft class. 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. By: CollegeFootballNews.com. 1. The singular position safety doesnt feel like it does justice to the kind of deployment the Panthers orchestrated for Jeremy Chinn in his rookie season. 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. 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. 75 overall in the 2022 NFL Draft. Nolan Smith missed time with injury this year, but he is slippery around the corner. This has been true for a long time, but it seems to be getting more extreme. James Wiggins, Cincinnati (fourth round) 7. 2021 NFL Draft Safety Rankings Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak. He can get a little wild as a tackler, although when he does catch a ball carrier cleanly, they stop in their tracks. 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? Kyle Hamilton | Notre Dame. What was even more impressive was the development he showed over the season, with his overall PFF grade jumping from 53.1 to 74.4 from the first half of his season to the second. 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. 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. Mathieu hasnt been at his best for a few years now, but his alignment versatility makes him incredibly valuable to any defense. Jaquan Brisker is a SS prospect in the 2022 draft class. The 2021 NFL draft is just a couple of months away, so its time to update our prospect rankings for every position group in this years class. PFF's exclusive metrics provide matchup previews, position rankings, grades, and snap counts. See his 2024 Rankings as well! Fast forward a year and Carter is on the doorstep of making good on that claim. She said the support she got from other teams was 'overwhelming. Emmanuel Forbes has recorded 14 interceptions, six of which were returned for touchdowns, over the course of his career. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. That marked his third career 80.0-plus coverage grade, and it was also the third time he was aligned at free safety for more than 600 snaps over a season. Reed Blankenship | Middle Tennessee State, 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. 2021 NFL Draft: Top Safeties Oregon defensive back Jevon Holland (8) had nine interceptions in two seasons at Eugene before opting out in 2020. But both before and after that play, Williams has been one of the best in the NFL. Before that, Harris generated 10 picks and an overall PFF grade of 90.6 over the previous two seasons combined. He carries one of the highest floors in the class. Last season saw him earn a career-high PFF coverage grade (68.9). As part of our ranking of the position groups in the 2023 NFL Draft class, we have the safeties ranked No. 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). 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! Jordan Battle, Alabama, Sr, 6-2, 210 2. While lacking splash plays, he is consistently in the right place at the right time and grades very well in all facets of the game. Keeanu Benton is a proven run stopper who showed a bit more pass-rush potential at the Senior Bowl. His biggest issue was with missed tackles, with 16 total on the year. Gipson missed just seven tackles from 80 attempts in 2020. 2023 NFL Draft Strong Safety Rankings John Vogel October 27, 2022 in 2023 Rankings - 9 Minutes 1. Bryan Bresee is a player who has the coveted athletic qualities, but plays a bit stiff and lacking urgency. At almost 34 years old, McCourty is coming off his lowest-graded season since 2011, when he was still playing cornerback for the Patriots. And then his relatively long wingspan for a safety affords him leeway as a tackler. 2022 NFL Draft Safety Rankings Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak. His range is average at best, and his change-of-direction ability doesn't come close to that of others on this list. Kyzir White, S, West Virginia: Round 2, 6. 2021 NFL draft rankings: Safety. The 2023 NFL Draft safety class should provide a deep talent pool throughout Day 2 of the draft. 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