SAFETIES
Xavier Watts S/DB Notre Dame
Xavier is a multi-position defensive back. He has excellent speed and quickness and the high football IQ of a coach on the field. He has outstanding size and is a sure tackler. Xavier is one of the best pure cover safeties with the size, speed, and football fundamentals to make an impact in any game he plays in. Because of his excellent cover skills, he has more interceptions and passes defended in the last 2 years than most cover corners in this draft. Because of his high football IQ, he has more solo tackles as a pure safety, than a lot of linebackers in this draft. When you turn on the film, Xavier’s overall play and leadership jump's out and his cover skills to shut down Running backs out of the backfield, Tight Ends, and slot receivers, are very obvious. Some safeties are better closer to the line of scrimmage and some are better in two deep zone defenses. Some safeties need to keep the play in front of them and some safeties who can cover struggle to make the tackle in the open field. Xavier doesn’t struggle being used in any style of defense, or at any position in the defensive backfield. Xavier is around the ball all the time. That’s pretty obvious with 6 interceptions one year, and 7 interceptions the next. There are always good safeties in the draft but there are rarely safeties with the talent and high football IQ in one complete package like Xavier has. Talent Grade: 1.47
Nick Emmanwori S/LB South Carolina
Nick has the size and athletic talent to play multiple positions for your defense. He has the size, length, and burst to be used at Defensive End, Linebacker, and as a safety. Depending on the situation, he could also be used as a slot cover corner against those bigger receivers and pass-catching Tight Ends. Nick shows the ability to cover those pesky running backs out of the backfield too. Inside the red zone, Nick is a weapon with the radius to destroy any pass play or run play that an offensive coordinator can think of. Nevertheless, to use him as a weapon all over your defense, Nick will have to improve his Football Intelligence and instincts. Right now, Nick is making plays off his athletic talent alone and that will not do at the next level. He shows some leadership skills to become a franchise player for your defense, but he has to learn to see things quicker and communicate better, before the snap of the ball. Nick has the potential, to impact like the Charges Safety Darwin James. His athletic talent, size, speed, length, and ability to make plays, make him worthy of being considered as an early pick in this draft. That being said, his improvement mentally, and work ethic, will be the key to how much he does improve. Remember Drew’s rules, it takes more than Talent to play in the NFL.
Talent Grade: 1.69
Malaki Starks S/CB Georgia
Malaki might be the best cover safety in this draft. Don’t be fooled by the statement. Maliki also had in 2002- 45 solo tackles, 2023 – 31 solo tackles, and in 2004- 52 solo tackles. Maliki plays all over the Georgia defense. He plays Free safety, 2 deep zone safety, and as a slot cover safety against all sizes and types of receivers. In coverage at times, he does get caught peeking into the backfield instead of reading the receiver and that does get him beat but that’s a technique issue that he will correct for sure at the next level. When he is in the slot, up on the line of scrimmage he does struggle to get off blocks quickly to make tackles. Maliki has good speed but lacks the quickness to be a pure Cornerback but in zone coverage, you could use him on the outside as a corner if needed. He shows excellent leadership skills because of his high football IQ to play more than one position in the defensive backfield at a high level. It’s hard to find cover safeties and if Maliki can show better quickness at the combine his value becomes more than just the average safety. Nevertheless, Maliki can be an impact-defensive player because of his football IQ to lead and play more than one position and tackle in the open field, and those attributes alone, make him more valuable than the average safety in any draft.
Talent Grade: 1.86
Billy Bowman Jr. S/DB Oklahoma
Billy reminds me a lot of Buffalo Bills Slot cornerback/nickel cornerback Taron Johnson. They are about the same size, same athletic talent, and the same ability to make the big play against the run or the pass when it’s needed the most. They are impact players with the leadership skills and high football IQ equal to a point guard in basketball. Billy has the athletic talent to cover big-time yardage when he is used at the safety position. He can cover sideline to sideline if he lines up in 2 deep zones, and if he is rotated on the snap to single coverage, he is like a deadly viper coming out of nowhere to intercept the ball. When Billy plays deep, quarterbacks lose sight of him because of his size, and this makes him very dangerous when tackling or defending against the pass. If Billy plays in the slot, his impact to stop the run or cover is as good as any other cornerback in this draft. Three more inches and Billy would be talked about as a possible first-round player. Remember, when it comes to the draft, size matters. That’s why they take all those numbers. When it comes to the field, production is all that matters, and Billy has shown plenty of that in his college career. If Billy is selected by a team that doesn’t respect his talent because of his size, he will be lost in the shuffle. If he is selected by the right team with good coaching, Billy becomes a starting impact player, a core player, and a fan-favorite type of player. Just like Taron Johnson has been for the Buffalo Bills. Talent Grade: 2.19
Lathan Ransom Safety Ohio St
Lathan is a pure safety. He is consistent in everything he does on the field. He is so consistent that he is overlooked. He always seems to be in the right spot, making the right play whenever the right play is needed. During a game, Lathan does the “not noticed” plays that you “notice” big time the next day when you watch film of that game. He is a good open-field tackler and works well up near the line of scrimmage as well as in 2 deep zone coverages or as a single safety. He is the type of player that, because of his high football IQ, seems to play bigger than his size and faster than he will time. Because Lathan plays his position with consistency, he makes the players around him better because his teammates always know that Lathan has their backs. He doesn’t have the cover skills some teams may be looking for, but if you want cover skills at the safety position, I suggest you put a corner there who is not as smart. Lathan is almost the perfect safety because you don’t realize how good he plays until you see the film the next day. That’s the perfect safety. Lathan will be overlooked in this draft; bet on it. Talent Grade: 2.53
Kevin Winston S Penn St
Kevin has the size, length, and solid speed to make plays on the ball when others cannot. When he plays in the box, he does a good job tackling and can cover those big Tight Ends. Because of his long arms and length, he can trail a play and still make a play on the ball. When Kevin plays back, he shows an excellent burst to the ball and makes quick decisions to make a tackle. That being said, he does struggle when on the run, breaking down to make tackles in the open field. This is a big problem because it results in a lot of off-balance tackles and arm tackles that will be broken by stronger players at the next. Making sure tackles in the one field is a key skill that a safety must have, or he will not be a safety for long. Kevin has also been moved around, and that has not helped him to learn just one position to the max. Right now, he is better up close to the line of scrimmage than back off the ball playing deep. Nevertheless, Kevin does show the talent and ability to learn, and if he had stayed in for one more year, I believe he would be considered as one of the top defensive backs in the next draft. Talent Grade: 3.78