The NFL regular season is in the books and the college football postseason is almost over. All-Star game invites have gone out and we’re learning who’s going for the draft and returning to school (or entering the transfer portal). It’s time to do final tape evaluations and update my position rankings, though much can still change with the upcoming All-Star games and Combine.
Next up we have safeties. While not treated as a premium position by teams when drafting, a good safety can be transformative for a defense, and this group is particularly exciting. Although we’re unlikely to get more than one taken in the first round due to positional value considerations, this safety class has some of the best top-end talent in the entire draft. Four of these guys are in my top 50, with many more excellent depth names behind them.
If you want to see how these rankings compare to how I ranked this class over the summer, check out the link below. Additionally, my other updated rankings can be found below as well. As always, stay tuned for more 2025 draft content, as I’ll be looking to update all my position rankings before the Senior Bowl at the end of January.
Updated Position Rankings:
1: Andrew Mukuba, Texas
A 6-0, 190-pound senior from Zimbabwe, Mukuba began his college career at Clemson. A prized recruit for the Tigers, he started as a true freshman through his junior season, amassing 142 tackles and 15 passes defensed and winning ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year, first-team freshman All-America and third-team All-ACC during his time there. Transferring to the Longhorns for his senior year, Mukuba had his best season yet with 69 tackles, five interceptions, six pass breakups and third-team All-SEC recognition.
Although Mukuba is a little undersized for an NFL safety, he’s an insane athlete. He’ll have a chance to show off at the Combine next month, but the reported 40 times I’ve seen are in speedster wide receiver territory. That blazing speed shows up on the football field, and he pairs it with excellent agility and change-of-direction skills. He has true sideline-to-sideline range on the back end, able to thrive in man or zone coverages, and fits in a variety of schemes.
Mukuba does his best work in coverage, where he can put his fluidity and versatility on display. Fantastic ball skills let him snag interceptions and make routine plays on the ball, as he can track passes in space and has great timing. He’s a sure tackler, wrapping up and taking smart angles downfield. Though he primarily plays free safety, he can comfortably slide down into the box or flex out to cover the slot — when covering slot receivers one-on-one, his best traits are on display, staying sticky in coverage and locking down his assignment. In zone, he keeps his eyes on the quarterback and tracks the action around him, keeping plays in front of him and breaking on the ball at the right moment.
For all his experience in the box, it is Mukuba’s weakest position. He’s a good tackler in open space, but struggles more in traffic, often failing to play aggressively enough to avoid getting washed out by the blocking. His smaller frame may struggle defending bigger tight ends, who can simply box him out at the catch point, especially in the red zone.
I’m going to be a little bit higher on Mukuba than the consensus, in large part because I see the vision for him in the NFL so cleanly. Ravens S Kyle Hamilton and Lions S Brian Branch have both found a lot of success as athletic safety/nickel hybrids who can do a lot on the back end for their teams, and I see Mukuba very similarly. He’s not as big as Hamilton or Branch, and I wouldn’t quite put him in that tier of prospect. But I think he’s built for the modern NFL. It’s rare to describe a defensive player as having “game-changing speed,” but Mukuba legitimately does open up options for how a defense schemes. His coverage skills are so clean and versatile that it makes for an easy projection as a borderline first-round player and the top safety on my board.
2: Xavier Watts, Notre Dame
A wide receiver-turned-linebacker-turned-safety, Watts had a unique journey to becoming an NFL prospect. After getting spotty playing time early in his college career, mostly on special teams, he had a true breakout campaign in 2023, grabbing seven interceptions and winning the Nagurski trophy as the top defender in college football. Somehow his 2024 season was even better, totaling 75 tackles, eight pass breakups and six interceptions, earning consensus All-American honors for the second year in a row. With Notre Dame set to take on Ohio State in the College Football Playoff national championship game on Monday, Watts will have another opportunity to showcase his skills on a big stage.
At 6-0, 203, Watts is another prospect who lines up all over the formation. The majority of his time is spent at free safety, but he plays plenty of snaps in the box and in the slot. He’s a natural in coverage, with his wide receiver background clearly translating in how he reads quarterbacks and plays the ball. Watts is dangerous in deep zones, as he knows how receivers want to attack him and how to maximize his leverage, particularly when playing multiple routes. When asked to cover receivers man-to-man, he has the kind of quick-twitch athleticism and lateral agility necessary to flip his hips and stay with his man down the field. He routinely blows up shorter routes and quick passes, firing downhill to make plays and prevent easy yards and first downs.
Watts might be the smartest player in this safety class, with his years of experience in college football showing up in his game. He’s still new to the safety position, having only played it for three years, but he still displays advanced zone reading abilities, covering large areas of the field by himself and managing route priorities with ease. In run defense, Watts takes smart angles and is a sure tackler, rarely failing to make necessary plays in run support.
Although Watts has great fluidity for a safety, he’s not the fastest player on the back end. That won’t be a problem in most scenarios, but it does mean he’s not a great fit in single-high coverage schemes. He will occasionally miss tackles in the open field, though more time playing defense should help with this. Lastly, he’s still learning how to mirror receivers in man coverage. All the physical tools are there, but this is the area where his inexperience at safety shows up the most.
Profiling as a two-high free safety with the versatility to comfortably play in the box and slot, Watts is a playmaker on defense. His receiver background and soft hands make him an interception machine, and he carries significant upside given how raw he still is in some areas. The term “chess piece” is often thrown around too much when describing defensive players, but Watts truly is a chess piece on defense who can be deployed in a variety of ways. Most importantly, he has clear, translatable skills and can fit into defined roles in NFL defenses.
3: Malaki Starks, Georgia
A high school track star and five-star recruit, Starks started for all three of his seasons in Athens. He burst onto the scene as a true freshman, earning freshman All-American honors behind a 69-tackle, two-interception, seven-pass breakup season. That next year, in 2023, Starks was a consensus All-American, building upon his previous production to the tune of 53 tackles, three interceptions and seven pass breakups. Starks had another good year as a junior, and though his production took a hit, he still made second-team All-SEC and anchored one of the best defenses in the league.
At 6-1, 205, Starks is built like an NFL safety. He’s an elite run defender in the secondary, particularly when coming downhill. The best tackler in this class, Starks comes to contact with textbook form, wrapping up and securing tackles against runners and receivers much bigger than he is. That surehanded form doesn’t preclude him from laying the boom, either, as he’s one of the hardest hitters in this class. He can fight through blocks and takes smart angles when penetrating a blocking scheme or into the backfield, disrupting offensive rhythm and motion with his presence alone.
In coverage, Starks is a versatile defender who plays all over the formation. In 2024 alone, he had over 200 snaps as both a box safety, free safety, and as a slot corner. He can mirror receivers in man coverage, particularly out of the slot, and make plays on the ball as needed. He’s more natural in zone, however, when he can read and react to plays much like he does in run support. With the speed to cover large areas of the field and a veteran’s understanding of timing and positioning, Starks is an imposing figure over the middle of the field.
It was a struggle for Starks in coverage in 2024. He was asked to do a lot more, and his new responsibilities revealed some of his limitations in those roles. For all his speed, he can’t put it to use in deep field coverage. He’s consistently a step late coming over against vertical routes, often failing to read the play and identify his responsibility in time. When asked to cover receivers one-on-one, he has some hip stiffness that prevents him from cutting sharply enough to stay step-for-step with his man down the field, leading to some open targets.
Starks is the best box safety in this class, and pretty comfortably too. There isn’t a better player in this class coming downhill from his safety spot, sniffing out running backs and blowing up underneath zones. When flexed out into the slot or asked to be a deep-field defender, Starks’ limitations show up more, but that shouldn’t take away from just how dangerous he is at his best. If he improves his route recognition and reaction time, that can change, too. Starks is a top-50 player on my board and someone I’d love to draft in the early parts of the second round.
4: Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina
A massive 6-3, 227-pound true junior who stayed in his home state of South Carolina, Emmanwori has quietly put together a monster career in Columbia. After an injury thrust him into the starting lineup in the first game of his career, Emmanwori never looked back, starting every game since for the Gamecocks. Over his three seasons at South Carolina, he totaled 244 tackles, 11 passes defensed and six interceptions, earning first-team All-SEC and first-team All-American honors as a junior.
Emmanwori primarily played as a box safety for the Gamecocks, but he also spent plenty of time as a free safety and in the slot. His size/speed combo is unique for a safety and allows him to do some interesting things on the back end, particularly in coverage. He’s a big hitter, maybe the hardest in this class, routinely stepping into rushing lanes and lowering the boom on any unlucky ball carriers in his path. Emmanwori’s tackling form is sound and showcases his linebacker background — he’s not just looking to deliver big hits, he closes on his target and reliably wraps them up.
In coverage, Emmanwori has the size to run with tight ends and the speed to carry receivers and running backs down the field. His closing speed is impressive, able to recover quickly if he loses a step in man or clamp down on routes entering his zone. His proven on-ball production speaks to his ball skills and big-play mentality, where he’s not just looking to disrupt the receiver at the catch point. Plus route recognition, particularly for a player with his youth, lets him break on receivers a beat faster than they expect. What’s of particular note for Emmanwori, as well, is the control he plays with. For all his size, speed, and aggressiveness, he doesn’t get ahead of himself or lose focus on the back end. Low penalty and missed tackle numbers speak to his discipline.
That said, Emmanwori can be overly aggressive in run support, sometimes taking himself out of plays by reacting too quickly and overpursuing. Additional seasoning should help with that, but Emmanwori also shows some concerning limitations in specific coverage assignments. His size is usually a boon, especially the way he plays, but it does mean he’s not the most laterally agile athlete. He can struggle against shiftier receivers from the slot and breaking with the right angles in deep coverage as a result.
A breakout player in 2024, Emmanwori shot up draft boards this season thanks to his weekly impressive play. He projects as a box safety in the NFL, with some versatility to cover tight ends from the slot. You probably don’t want him as a deep field player, especially not a single-high safety, but you couldn’t ask for a more enticing underneath coverage man in this class. More experience will help him in his run fits, and his physicality will endear him to fans from day one. Emmanwori is another player I’d consider in the top 50, with serious upside long-term.
5: Kevin Winston Jr., Penn State
A bit of a surprise early entry into the NFL Draft after a partially torn ACL limited him to just one full game in 2024, Winston nonetheless had a fantastic sophomore season in 2023 that put him on the NFL’s radar. Originally a four-star recruit in the 2022 class, Winston was a rotation player as a freshman before earning a full-time starting role as a sophomore. He stuffed the stat sheet that year, with 60 tackles, five passes defensed, an interception and two fumble recoveries through 13 games.
Standing at 6-2, 205, Winston has ideal NFL size for the safety position. He’s one of the best tacklers in this class, wrapping up with good form and has the lowest career missed tackle rate of any of the players in my top 10. In 2023, he lined up all over the field, spending significant time as a linebacker, box safety and slot cornerback. The majority of his snaps came at free safety, however, where he could put his rangy playstyle to use.
Winston is best when he’s able to play from depth and fire down off the snap, filling rushing lanes or sliding back into deep zones. He does a good job of keeping the play in front of him and is reliable in his run fits, finding the right gaps and making plays. In coverage, he has the agility to cover tight ends and slot receivers down the field in man and the instincts to hold up in zone coverages, particularly in the half-field zones found in two-high looks.
Coming off a serious injury after only one game of tape in 2024 makes Winston a tougher evaluation. I like his profile as a versatile safety who can moonlight as a man-cover guy in the slot, although he has limited experience there. With just one year as a starter under his belt, Winston is a projection, and his inexperience shows up in coverage at times when he grabs receivers instead of playing with fundamentals.
Despite his injury, Winston is still likely a Day 2 guy at safety, probably coming off the board somewhere in the third round. I like his potential, though I think he would’ve benefitted from another year in college. Unfortunately, he won’t be able to test during the predraft process, and teams will have to go off his 2023 tape and interviews to decide where they’d want to take him. As a free safety in a Cover 2 system, Winston is both reliable and young, with a lot of untapped potential in his game.
6: Lathan Ransom, Ohio State
A fifth-year senior from Tucson, Arizona, Ransom is a three-year starter for the Buckeyes coming off his best season yet. After a Lisfranc injury ended his 2023 season prematurely, Ransom came back with a vengeance in 2024, earning first-team All-Big 10 honors with 72 tackles, three forced fumbles, a sack and an interception. With Ohio State set to take on Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff national championship game on Monday, Ransom still has a chance to add to those totals.
A 6-1, 210-pound man, Ransom primarily plays free safety for the Buckeyes, but he’ll play box safety in the NFL. He has some experience there and in the slot in college, but his skills are perfect for strong safety work at the next level. Elite run defense anticipation jumps off the tape with Ransom — he flies to the ball, navigating complex blocking schemes to beat his man and find the ball carrier. Ransom consistently plays with controlled aggression, using his bigger frame to deliver hits and impose his will without overcommitting to fakes or abandoning his lanes.
When a play is there to be made, Ransom displays excellent click-and-close ability in both coverage and run support. He has the natural speed to gain ground quickly and the read and recognition skills to diagnose plays on the fly. He’s a force in underneath coverages, using his length to disrupt routes and throwing lanes, particularly in zone coverages. Additionally, he’s an effective blitzer, making plays when crashing the pocket and not getting too caught up on contact.
Where Ransom’s struggles come in are in downfield coverage. He lacks the change-of-direction ability to be a quality man-coverage defender. While you can deploy him in a deep-field zone, he’s not at his best when playing the last line of defense, as he’s just not the short-area athlete to reliably make critical tackles by himself in open space. This is why he’s a box safety in the NFL, where his size and straight-line speed are maximized, while his limitations can be more effectively hidden.
Ransom has his limitations, but he excels at what he does best. He flies downhill, blowing up running backs and making plays in the backfield. His long wingspan and savvy zone abilities make him a nuisance for quarterbacks around the sticks, as he can interrupt throwing windows and stay with receivers underneath. Ransom projects as a late-Day 2 or early-Day 3 pick for a team with a need at strong safety, and he’s about as plug-and-play as you can get.
7: Jonas Sanker, Virginia
A two-time first-team All-ACC selection, Sanker has been a steady riser in this class over the past two seasons. After redshirting in 2021 and getting consistent snaps in 2022, he burst onto the scene as a redshirt sophomore with a truly dominant campaign. Between his two All-ACC seasons, Sanker totaled 205 tackles, 15 passes defended, two sacks, an interception and three forced fumbles. He has a knack for making the biggest plays in the biggest moments, coming up clutch for a Cavaliers team in desperate need of playmakers.
At 6-1, 210, Sanker has good size and has played all over the formation, with at least 140 snaps at free safety, strong safety and slot corner in 2024. He does most of his work from the box, where he can exploit mismatches in the blocking scheme to find his holes and make plays. There might not be a better player in this class at avoiding getting caught up in the wash of a play, as Sanker displays exceptional balance through contact, fighting through blocks and maintaining his path in traffic. He stays disciplined against play action, not biting on fakes and playing top-down on his assignments, keeping himself in his zones until he diagnoses the play.
Sanker was the on-field defensive play caller for Virginia this season, coordinating adjustments pre-snap and getting his unit lined up. That goes to show his advanced understanding of the Cavaliers’ defense and his ability to read offenses and react in real time. On and off the field, Sanker demonstrates great leadership qualities that NFL teams will love. His reaction time is top-tier, breaking on passes thrown into his zones and timing his contact with receivers in man coverage to avoid flags.
Because he’s a limited athlete, Sanker struggles when asked to cover downfield in man concepts. He’s best as a box safety, where his primary responsibilities are run support and middle-field zones, putting his physicality and anticipation to best use. He’s fine on tight ends and running backs one-on-one for the most part, but he’s not a guy you want trying to stay with slot receivers or cover larger deep-field zones.
Sanker’s fit as an early-down box safety isn’t the most valuable to NFL teams, but he’ll endear himself to coaches with his playstyle and personality. A veteran’s experience combined with his leadership qualities and elite downhill play will give him a spot on an NFL roster, I have few doubts about that. An early-Day 3 player with starting-level upside, Sanker isn’t the kind of sexy pick that will excite fans, but he’s exactly the kind of player teams rely on to be in the right spot and make the right plays.
8: Billy Bowman Jr., Oklahoma
A 5-10, 200-pound versatile defensive weapon, Bowman was a four-star recruit who started a handful of games as a freshman before taking over as a full-time starter in 2022. His breakout season came as a junior, earning consensus first-team All-Big 12 and a first-team All-American nod behind 63 tackles, four passes defensed and six interceptions. He entered 2024 as a hyped draft prospect, and although he had a lesser senior year, he’s still a good prospect with a lot to offer NFL teams.
The ball skills Bowman possesses create some of the best wow plays in this class. He can contort himself in the air to make wild receiver-like catches, using good timing to break on the ball and contest at the catch point without drawing flags. It points to his plus agility and lateral quickness, capable of not only breaking on the ball when thrown but also hanging with skilled receivers in man coverage from his safety spot or the slot.
Bowman has plenty of experience all over the secondary. His home is at free safety, but he routinely comes down into the box or splits out to cover a slot receiver one-on-one. His click-and-close speed is good, cutting off throwing lanes and connecting with ball-carries in open space. He has true sideline-to-sideline range in coverage and run support, making him an option for single-high teams, and his instincts in zone coverage let him make plays well outside his usual range.
Bowman got himself into some trouble this year with his tackling, as his lackluster form and overaggressive tendencies led to too many missed tackles. This carried over into coverage, as well, where his desire to create big plays led to him being out of position too often and biting on too many fakes and double moves. He’s also undersized for an NFL safety and might be best used in the slot — while he’s certainly a quality free safety prospect, he might profile even better at slot corner.
A ball-hawk and playmaker on the back end, Bowman has his fans in NFL circles. While the Day 2 talk he was generating early in the season might be out of reach at this point, he’s still someone I’d want to take early on Day 3. His fit as an NFL slot cornerback intrigues me, and his range as a free safety gives him a nice floor as a prospect. Bowman has a real chance to outperform his draft stock if he can cut down on the aggressiveness just enough to maintain his responsibilities a little more cleanly.
9: Hunter Wohler, Wisconsin
Wohler was a Wisconsin football star in high school, racking up a sensational reputation and choosing to stay in-state to play for the Badgers. After getting rotational playing time his first two seasons, he had a massive breakout in 2023 as a junior, racking up a record 120 tackles, six passes defensed, two interceptions and a sack, earning first-team All-Big 10 recognition for his stellar season. He backed it up as a senior with another 71 tackles and six passes defensed, cementing himself as one of the best safeties in the conference.
Standing tall at 6-2, 218, Wohler has ideal size for a back-line NFL safety. As evidenced by the 120 tackles he recorded in 2023, Wohler is an elite tackler, particularly in open space. There might not be a player in this class you’d be more comfortable with guarding the back end of your defense solo, as he plays with exceptional poise and control in the open field. He can play up and down the formation, with production from the slot, box, and at free safety, though his natural landing spot in the NFL will be as a two-high free safety.
In coverage, Wohler has excellent feel in his zones, sliding to the right places on the field and being disruptive at the catch point. He has the size to contest tight ends and bigger receivers and can carry routes down the seam in man. As a run defender, Wohler is good going downhill, not just cleaning up busted plays in the secondary. He applies clean run fits and powers through blockers to make tackles.
Wohler does possess some athletic limitations that hamper his ability to be deployed in certain areas at the NFL level. I have long speed questions with him, as I don’t think he can reliably cover the field as a single-high deep safety. Some hip stiffness and lack of short-area burst will limit him in man-coverage assignments, and he can struggle to fight through coordinated blocks when playing from the strong safety spot.
Oftentimes, evaluators can get overexcited about the super rangy, athletic safeties who still have to clean up their game. Wohler doesn’t have All-Pro upside, but he does his job in both run defense and coverage. He has starter potential as a two-high free safety on Day 3, and that has tremendous value in the middle rounds. You can put Wohler out there and trust he’ll do everything you ask him to, and coaches love those kinds of players.
10: Shilo Sanders, Colorado
Though not as big a name as his brother, there will always be a little extra attention on you when your dad is Deion Sanders. Shilo has bounced around a bit, starting his career at South Carolina before joining his dad at Jackson State and following him to Colorado. He’s broken out at his third stop, making 67 tackles in back-to-back seasons and totaling five passes defensed and five forced fumbles between them. Sanders was named honorable mention All-Pac-12 in 2023 and received a Shrine Bowl invite to showcase his talents for NFL scouts directly.
Checking in at just 6-0, 195, Sanders is certainly undersized for a safety. But he’s someone who consistently plays bigger than his frame. There might not be a harder hitter in this class, both from a physicality and mentality standpoint. Sanders wants to take your head off, but he also doesn’t sacrifice fundamentals to do so. He’s a reliable tackler who doesn’t always use textbook form but gets the job done.
Sanders’ speed is real and it’s what lets him make the big plays he routinely does. He can click and close on a dime, cutting off a throwing lane, making a play on the ball, or snuffing out a runner in the backfield. Positionally, Sanders can line up deep or in the box, in two-high looks or as a rangy single-high man. In zone coverage, Sanders is at his best, keeping his eyes in the backfield and flying around to make plays.
A lengthy injury history clouds Sanders’ resume, unfortunately. He suffered an ACL tear at Jackson State and recurring shoulder issues at Colorado. Interested teams will likely watch the Combine medical evaluation very closely to feel comfortable about their projections. Besides being undersized, Sanders struggles in man coverage. Although he has ideal athleticism for the role, he’s not refined in this area of his game, and his ability to stay sticky in one-on-one assignments is fairly hit-or-miss.
Sanders’ big-play ability is undeniable. He has an innate knack for making game-changing plays when the lights are brightest, following in his father’s footsteps in that sense. He’d be a little higher on this list if it weren’t for his injury history, which we should get more clarity on at the Combine. In the meantime, Sanders projects as primarily a versatile depth safety with special teams ability, but if he can improve his technique in man coverage, he could absolutely become a consistent starter at the next level.
Looking for the latest NFL Insider News & Rumors?
Be sure to follow NFL Trade Rumors on X.com and FACEBOOK for breaking NFL News and Rumors for all 32 teams!
