We haven’t seen a safety drafted in the first round in the last two drafts, but that is sure to change this year. Given the quality at the position this year, it could also be the first time we have seen four safeties drafted in the first round since 2014. Here are my top ten safeties in the 2022 NFL Draft.
1. Kyle Hamilton – Notre Dame (6-4, 220, Junior)
Pros: Genuinely rare combination of traits. Looks more like a linebacker but showcases outstanding short area quickness and fluid movement skills to fulfil any safety role. Helps to give him tremendous versatility. Comfortable working as a single high safety or from a split-field alignment. Was also effective in the box and had nice reps against tight ends from the slot. Incredible ball skills with a 26.8% forced incompletion rate. Great in run support, with the length to deconstruct blocks. Huge tackle radius and great form to wrap up in space.
Cons: Height and size makes it difficult for him to be consistently effective in single coverage against twitchier receivers. Will give up separation at the top of routes as a result. No real experience or success as a blitzer, which you might expect for a player of his size. Over-eagerness to make plays cost him on a number of occasions. Needs to show better patience to avoid putting himself in bad positions. Will sometimes get overly physical and had several targeting calls against him in college.
Projection: 1st round
2. Daxton Hill – Michigan (6-0, 191, Junior)
Pros: Offers great versatility. Spent much of his college career playing in the slot and has all of the traits to succeed there in the NFL. Is also comfortable playing as either a split-field or single high safety. His excellent long speed and fluid movement skills make him ideally suited to the latter. Good processor in coverage, with a nice feel for space in zone and a good understanding of route concepts. His smarts saw him log 17 forced incompletions on 114 career targets. Willing in run defense and reads the game well from deep.
Cons: Play strength and size aren’t ideal. Won’t really function in or around the box at his current size in the NFL and needs to add some more muscle mass to his frame. His limited functional strength impacted his ability to wrap up consistently as a tackler in the open field. Hit and miss in man coverage from the slot, with a little tightness in his hips that saw him concede separation too easily at the top of routes. Gives up inside leverage far too easily when playing in the slot.
Projection: 1st round
3. Jaquan Brisker – Penn State (6-1, 206, rs-Senior)
Pros: Super smart and showcases great play recognition skills. Good understand of route combinations and distribution in coverage and looked good against smarter route runners. Didn’t allow a single reception in 104 man coverage snaps in 2021. Good physicality at the catch point to make a tonne of plays on the ball, with a 28% forced incompletion rate through his career. Very accomplished run defender who takes good angles and is adept at deconstructing blocks. Reliable tackler in the open field.
Cons: Desire to be a playmaker can work against him on occasion. Several times in zone coverage where he got caught with eyes in the backfield and allowed big plays behind him. Timed speed is excellent but didn’t always show up on tape. Range isn’t elite and won’t be the kind of player to play a tonne of single high safety in the NFL. More of a box safety in the NFL. One of the older safeties in this year’s class at 23 years old.
Projection: 1st round
4. Lewis Cine – Georgia (6-2, 199, Junior)
Pros: Excellent processor, with great instincts and a near faultless first step. Shows a good understanding of space and route combinations in coverage and is fast to trigger against the run. Plenty of anticipatory plays on tape too. Great track record in coverage, allowing just 7.2 yards per reception and giving up a passer rating of 85.2. Really great run defender, with the speed to get downhill in a hurry. Pursuit angles are excellent and he rarely misses in the open field. Logged just 11 missed tackles on 159 career attempts.
Cons: Frame is lean and he could certainly benefit from adding more weight when he reaches the NFL. Tested very well but his timed speed didn’t always show up on tape, lacking ideal range to function consistently as a single high safety. Plays a little tall at times which can limit his transitional quickness. Lacks ideal ball skills for a safety. Had two picks in three years and an 11.3% career forced incompletion rate. No real experience as a blitzer.
Projection: 1st round
5. Jalen Pitre – Baylor (5-11, 198, rs-Senior)
Pros: Great athlete, with the short area quickness and fluid movement skills to thrive as an NFL safety. Tonnes of experience playing in the slot and showed himself to be adept at mirroring receivers downfield and sticking with them in single coverage. Very good run defender, with the twitchiness to slip off blocks and great pursuit angles. Plays far bigger than his size and packs a punch as a tackler. Really effective as a blitzer too, with 37 pressures, including seven sacks, on just 147 pass rushing snaps.
Cons: Lacks ideal size and this will limit his effectiveness to play in the box. Lack of length caused issues against the run and he struggles to disengage if opponents get into his frame. His small tackle radius also limited his ability to reliably wrap up in space, with a 15.3% career missed tackle rate. Took him time to earn a starting role, logging just 500 snaps in his first three seasons at Baylor. An older prospect, turning 23 before his rookie season.
Projection: 2nd round
6. Nick Cross – Maryland (6-0, 212, Junior)
Pros: Incredible range, running a 4.34 40-yard dash. More than enough juice to thrive in a single high role at the next level. Shows great quickness in short areas too, with plenty of burst out of his backpedal. Pairs all of this with great size, giving him the versatility to play over the top or in the box. Quick to trigger and get downhill against the run and showcases some real pop on contact. Ball skills are amongst the best at the position, with a 28.8% forced incompletion rate throughout his career.
Cons: Gets his eyes caught in the backfield far too often. Lacks the patience to let plays develop and will take a tonne of risks to try and make big plays. Can have big rewards but saw him burned a lot, allowing seven touchdowns on just 52 career targets. Has a habit of using his hands throughout the route in man coverage, something that will cause a tonne of flags at the NFL level.
Projection: 2nd round
7. Bryan Cook – Cincinnati (6-0, 206, rs-Senior)
Pros: Good run defender who is adept reading plays from the box and from deep. Showed the versatility to play as a deep safety and in the box in college, also spending time in the slot. Reads the game very well and shows good physicality to get off blocks and to the ball carrier. Has good stopping power on contact but also shows good tackling form to wrap up in space, with just seven misses on 100 attempts in 2021. Good ball tracking downfield resulting in catch point production, with nine forced incompletions on 37 targets last season.
Cons: Only has one year of starting experience and that came against Group of Five opponents. Wouldn’t say he is the most fluid or dynamic athlete and that limits his effectiveness in single coverage. Showed up as a limitation when asked to mirror slot receivers. Range is solid by NFL standards but he is likely best suited to playing in the box in the NFL. No real experience working as a blitzer, which isn’t ideal give his projected role.
Projection: 3rd round
8. Kerby Joseph – Illinois (6-1, 203, Senior)
Pros: Very smooth athlete, with loose hips to make easy transitions. Really smart in coverage and is an outstanding ball hawk. Does an excellent job of using his length at the catch point and his body control is fantastic. Had a ridiculous 10 forced incompletions on just 37 career targets and gave up a passer rating of 74.8 throughout his career. Very good open field tackler, with great pursuit angles and form on contact. Logged just 10 misses on 114 career attempts.
Cons: Pretty lean build and may benefit from adding some more muscle mass. Sub-par play strength showed up against the run and he will often go backwards on contact. Wouldn’t say he has great range and won’t be a great fit in defenses that employ lots of single-high looks. Didn’t earn a starting role until his senior season. This is all the more concerning given the lack of NFL talent ahead of him on Illinois’ roster.
Projection: 3rd round
9. Tycen Anderson – Toledo (6-2, 209, rs-Senior)
Pros: Ticks the boxes when it comes to size and athletic ability. Good speed for a bigger safeties and he is capable of covering a tonne of ground on the back end. Very smooth in and out of breaks too, with the quick and instinctive footwork you might not expect for a bigger safety. Muscular frame and long arms make him a reliable open field tackler, with just 20 misses on 221 career attempts. Plays with measured aggression and packs a punch on contact.
Cons: Still needs some work from a technical perspective. Was able to rely on his athleticism due to the level of competition in college but that won’t work in the NFL. Still developing as a processor and does at times look a little hesitant to make breaks. Can be a little slow to trigger and get downhill too. Ball production isn’t as good as you would like and has had issues tracking successfully downfield. Pursuit angles are hit and miss.
Projection: 4th round
10. J.T. Woods – Baylor (6-2, 195, Senior)
Pros: Excellent athletic profile, with a background as a track athlete. Hugely explosive in short areas and has the long speed to be a versatile safety at the next level. Speed helped him make a number of plays against the run, with the quickness to get downhill and cut off perimeter runs. Shows some real smarts in coverage, with the closing ability to cut off throwing windows and make plays at the catch point. Great ball skills, with 14 forced incompletions on just 79 career targets.
Cons: Lean frame and could do with adding some more mass to ease his transition to the pro game. Play strength isn’t great either and you won’t want him in and around the box in the NFL. Can get stuck on blocks when getting downhill against the run. Is a little tight hipped when making transitions. Not reliable as an open field tackler at all, with inconsistent pursuit angles. Missed an alarming 20.1% of career tackle attempts.
Projection: 4th round
