The 2025 NFL Draft Safety Check

Continuing my positional overviews for the 2025 Draft with the safety class. Safety is my favorite position to scout and I have a very different opinion of this class than what I have seen as consensus. When I am grading safeties, I am looking at how they perform in three specific areas: The post, the box, and the slot. Regardless of where they are aligning, I place a premium on tackling consistency, play recognition and awareness, and movement skills.

Tier 1 - Potential Pro Bowlers

My top tier of safeties this year consists of two players. While neither are elite prospects, they both possess the ability to impact the game in a variety of ways and have some elite traits that make them high-end playmakers that I would want in my secondary. Ideally, I would target these players in the second round, but I wouldn't be mad at my team grabbing them at the end of round one if there was a clear fit and need.

Andrew Mukuba - Texas 4

Scouting Report Executive Summary: Lacks elite traits but wins with ID, instincts, and physicality. Excellent tackler, playmaker, ball magnet. At least average at anything you'd want a safety to do and a reliable tackler with big time pop.

Best Role: Split safety versatile scheme.

Favorite Scouting Note: He wants to be physical at all times. Jacks up blockers when he doesn't need to. Feisty.

Favorite Game: vs Michigan 2024 - one of the best games of any prospect I watched all year.

Malaki Starks - Georgia 24

Scouting Report Executive Summary: Free Safety with versatility to play split field or in the slot. Great awareness, good tackler, great ball skills. Great center fielder, extremely smooth in and out of pedal. Tough cover in the slot, maintains position and phase against all body types and routes.

Best Role: Post/Slot coverage first safety.

Favorite Scouting Note: Actual slot coverage ability in man, super valuable.

Favorite Game: vs Texas 2024

Tier 2 - Quality Starters

This tier of safeties is probably where I vary from consensus the most. These are players I see as having a very high floor and becoming reliable back end defenders. The common thread among these players is that they are reliable trackers and tacklers. I would target these players in the late second or early third round and expect them to start early in their career.

Malachi Moore - Alabama 13

Scouting Report Executive Summary: Extremely smart in zone coverage, great range, eyes, IQ. Has twitch and speed to match up in man, very good on TEs. Physical taking on blocks and playing in the run game, sound tackler with some thump. Good ball awareness and ball skills, can do deep rotations and disguise coverage.

Best Role: SS with rotational versatility.

Favorite Scouting Note: Looking real good in the box. Physical, smart, quick trigger, killing TEs in run and pass game.

Favorite Game: vs Georgia 2024

Dan Jackson - Georgia 17

Scouting Report Executive Summary: Can run the alley excellently as a FS but range in pass game is a little limited and don't want him on an island in the slot, would rather have my FS type guy do that and he can play post in those situations. Has some actual pop on impact - knocks people back, pretty consistent tackler, some misses due to length but excellent technique and pursuit angles.

Best Role: Strong half of a split duo.

Favorite Scouting Note: Can alter his path from the alley to maintain leverage and proper pursuit angle on ball carriers, doesn't over or under pursue and give up big alleys.

Favorite Game: vs Alabama 2024

Jonas Sanker - Virginia 20

Scouting Report Executive Summary: Experience in post and slot, quality athlete and reliable alley runner and excellent wrap up tackler. Wild strength to wrap and slam ball carriers with full momentum. Plus some stopping power and matchup ability in the slot. Multiple PBUs on TEs. Reads, tracks, and triggers from the slot very well coming downhill. Range on the back end is fine.

Best Role: Versatile split scheme safety.

Favorite Scouting Note: Some heroic wrap up tackles, great strength to wrap and slam ball carriers with full momentum.

Favorite Game: vs Louisville 2024

Tier 3 - Early Starters

The next three safeties in my ranks have traits that project them as early starters, but they also have limitations that keep them from being versatile. They can still provide value in these roles, and if I identified them as a scheme fit I would be targeting these players in the third round. I would expect them to be able to start early in their role and be reliable.

Kevin Winston Jr. - Penn St. 2

Scouting Report Executive Summary: Really fun box safety. Aggressive as hell coming down into the box and very good sorting out traffic and finding ball carriers. Wants to get in on every tackle and arrives with physicality and intent. Real hitter. Super limited in the post, not a fit there and much better closer to the LOS, same goes for slot, doesn't have the lateral athleticism or burst to match up in coverage there. Can make some plays in split alignments and rotations but more of a run game player than a pass game player. Plays like an extra LB.

Best Role: Pure box safety.

Favorite Scouting Note: PHYSICAL on impact. Blows shit up.

Favorite Game: vs West Virginia 2024

Nick Emmanwori - South Carolina 7

Scouting Report Executive Summary: All-time combine athleticism doesn't show up on tape in all instances, but massive frame takes away throwing lanes in the intermediate area of the field. Much better coming downhill than working in space in coverage. Predominately box safety with some slot ability matched up on bigger bodies. Good form tackler, always goes low and wraps up.

Best Role: Box Safety, some quarters ability.

Favorite Scouting Note: More of a form tackler than hitter which is fine but a little sad.

Favorite Game: vs Missouri 2024

Xavier Watts - Notre Dame 0

Scouting Report Executive Summary: Coverage first free safety with range, instincts, and ball skills. Lacks some stopping power and pop. Also lacks elite traits, especially length, and can miss tackles because of it, some over-pursuit but can do a lot of valuable things well. Matchup potential in the slot but probably best in split and post.

Best Role: Post first free safety that can rotate to the slot at times.

Favorite Scouting Note: Very efficient out of his pedal in all directions.

Favorite Game: vs Texas A&M 2024

Tier 4 - Role Specific Contributor

The next safety is in a tier by himself, and has a unique role that makes his NFL projection a little difficult. However, he is an extremely active and reliable tackler and has a knack for making tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He popped off the tape in multiple games when I was not even watching him specifically.

Zion Childress - Kentucky 11

Scouting Report Executive Summary: Essentially plays LB with how much box and overhang he plays and he is awesome triggering tracking and tackling around the LOS and short past it. Some flashes of good IQ and range in zone and matchup ability in man, but not a lot of deep coverage reps. Some instances where I want him to range more out of his zone and recognize route patterns quicker. Not an elite athlete but functional and a high quality tackler. Can be a solid SS with a pure FS compliment.

Best Role: Pure SS/overhang.

Favorite Scouting Note: Big time one on one tackle in space on a screen to his side. They have the numbers but he eludes the blocker and tracks and drops the RB in space for a TFL. Big, big time play. Hero play. No one behind him. (vs Georgia 2024)

Favorite Game: vs Georgia 2024

Tier 5 - The Backups

The final three safeties in my ranks have one thing in common - a lack of tackling consistency and reliability. Regardless of the flashes you show in other areas, if you can't be trusted to get ball carriers on the ground as the last line of defense, you can't be trusted to start consistently.

Jaylen Reed - Penn St. 1

Scouting Report Executive Summary: Kind of a timid tackler for how quick he processes and triggers. Doesn't come with any momentum. A little stiff moving in space from the deep hole

Favorite Scouting Note: Oh no - ran through a tackle by TreVeyon. First forced missed tackle I've seen from Tre.

Lathan Ransom - Ohio St 8

Scouting Report Executive Summary: Best suited to a strong safety role that can handle TEs. Inconsistent one on one tackler in the alley even though he can land a barrel, and doesn't have special post range. Super aggressive and timely triggering into the backfield on running plays and great timing as a blitzer. Strong safety that has enough versatility to rotate coverages and play multiple assignments.

Favorite Scouting Note: Concerning amount of missed tackles in the alley, can get juked or cornered 1 on 1 in space

Billy Bowman - Oklahoma 2

Scouting Report Executive Summary: Exciting movement skills and range, and crazy aggression and instant trigger coming from the post, but liabilities as a tackler, too many poor angles and missed tackles. Coverage first deep safety that lacks reliability. Not my type of guy because of the tackling but the range and coverage upside is real.

Favorite Scouting Note: One of the first times seeing him actually run the alley from the post and he overpursues on the RB by a mile and slips and falls on his ass (vs Texas 2024)