By John Sarianides

The 2017 safety class could be the best collective group of safeties we have seen in the last 15 years. As many as five safeties could potentially go in the first round. Here is my breakdown of the top five safeties as well as fifteen other safeties to watch for.

1. Malik Hooker, FS, 6-2 205, Ohio State, NFL Comparison: Ed Reed
Strengths
-Hooker has elite ball skills. He can high point the ball one on one in coverage and has strong hands.

-Hooker has the best center field range of any safety I have scouted since Ed Reed. He can close quickly from a single high alignment or off the hash in Cover 2.

– Hooker can play in the slot against the third receiver but he is also big enough and physical enough to match up against tight ends.

– Hooker has a tall frame, long arms and a huge catch radius.

-A willing participant in run support. Hooker is a strong, physical tackler who wraps up and finishes.

Weaknesses
-Hooker is more of a cover guy than a run supporter. He doesn’t consistently run the alley.

-He has a tendency to over run plays and gets out of position a lot. Especially when playing in a single high coverage.

-Injury prone. Hooker has had two surgeries since the end of the season and is out 4-6 months.

-Thin framed. He can stand to put on another ten pounds. Needs to find the weight room and stay there.

-Moves well in all four directions but he has a tendency to bite on double moves and gets caught out of position because he stays on his initial read too long.

Final Thoughts: Hooker is an elite talent who has the potential to anchor a secondary for years to come. He needs to bulk up and stay healthy if he wants to become the elite player he projects to be.

 

2. Jamal Adams, FS, 6-1 215, LSU, NFL Comparison: Eric Berry
Strengths
– Adams is a terrific athlete who can play in space and in closed quarters.

-Adams is a physical tackler who wraps up and finishes on contact. He rarely misses a tackle.

-He has exceptional range and does a good job of reading and diagnosing plays quickly.

– Fluid and smooth in coverage. Adams moves with a low pad level and he grazes grass with his feet. Flips his hips and transitions with ease.

-Can play in a single high look as well as a Cover 2. He closes quickly on vertical routes.

Weaknesses
-Adams is a bit short armed. He will struggle at times in one on one, jump ball situations.

-Tends to over run plays and take bad angles in run support. Gets out of position on screens and misdirection plays.

-Will struggle to body up and defend tight ends and bigger receivers in the red zone.

-Needs to do a better job of stacking and shedding blocks in run support.

-Adams is a good overall athlete but he is not elite. We saw that first hand at the combine.

Final Thoughts: Adams has NFL bloodlines. His father George played in the league for seven seasons as a running back. Adams is a terrific all around athlete and leader. He has the talent and the temperament to be the face of a defense.  

 

3.Jabrill Peppers, SS 6-0 205, Michigan, NFL Comparison: Patrick Chung
Strengths
–A jack of all trades. Peppers has played strong safety, free safety and linebacker in sub packages for the Wolverines.

-An effective blitzer, Peppers can come from depth or blitz off the edge effectively.

– Peppers is an explosive short area player who can plant and re-direct. He takes good pursuit angles and makes a lot plays from the backside.

-A good athlete. Peppers can cover slot receivers and tight ends in man coverage. He also be a factor in the return game.

-A smooth athlete who can plant and drive with ease and flip his hips cleanly.

Weaknesses
-Peppers is a better box safety than he is over the top right now in coverage. He is better playing in Cover 2 on early downs as a run support strong safety.

-Lacks and the range to consistently get over the top on plays out of a single high safety look.

-Peppers is a good tackler at times but other times he ankle bites. He makes way too many leg drag tackles because he over runs plays.

-Better in man coverage than zone coverage. Struggles with route combinations and diagnosing plays.

-Cannot play linebacker in base packages because he lacks the functional strength to take on second level lead blockers and offensive lineman.

Final Thoughts: Despite some physical short comings, Peppers is one of the twenty best players in this draft. He will be a factor bother as a defensive player and as a kick returner as a rookie.

 

4.Obi Melifonwu, SS, 6-4 220, UConn, NFL Comparison: George Iloka
Strengths
-A freak athlete with a great combination of size and speed. Melifonwu has tremendous upside.

-Smooth in his drop. Can plant, drive and get down hill quickly. Moves well in all four direction for a tall safety.

-Effective in man to man coverage. Can cover a slot in 10 or 11 personnel as well as a tight end.

-Effective in run support. Makes clean, clear reads and effectively runs the alley. A good tackler who finishes at the point of contact.

– Uses big frame to body-up seam-runners and constrict their windows.

Weaknesses
-Raw! BIG TIME!

-Over runs plays way too much. Needs to learn to breakdown and bend when engaging in a tackle. Makes way too many arm tackles.

-Took a lot of penalties early in career but he has improved in this area the past two seasons.

-Gangly. He runs high and isn’t a natural athlete when moving sideline to sideline.

-Slow reader on pass plays. Gets caught out of position at times because he locks onto his reads.

Final Thoughts: Melifonwu is a first round talent but he is raw and needs a lot of work in terms of his development. If a team is willing to give him time to develop, Melifonwu could be special.

 

5. Budda Baker, FS, 5-10 195, Washington, NFL Comparison: Bob Sanders
Strengths
-Ideal deep middle safety who moves well laterally can cover ground over the top.

-Explosive movement skills. Baker can plant, drive and close on the ball quickly.

-Changes direction with ease and has the ability to break down and re-direct in space.

-Reads quarterbacks eyes and does a good job of anticipating throws and breaking on receiver routes.

-Willing to fill the alley and finish in run support.

Weaknesses
–Small for his position. His lack of height is a real issue for Baker in man coverage.

– Baker can cover down on slot receivers and has the athleticism to stay with them but he will struggle against bigger receivers and tight ends in man coverage.

-Willing to support the run but he over runs plays and misses a lot of open field tackles.

-Baker is an average tackler. He struggles to bring down ball carriers one on one because he lacks the functional strength.

-Ball skills don’t match up with his ability.

Final Thoughts: Baker is a bit undersized for the position but he is a terrific athlete and leader. Despite his lack of size and limited ball skills, he could sneak into the bottom of the first round.

Next Five

6. Marcus Williams, FS, Utah, 6-1 195, NFL Comparison: Devin McCourty
Williams is a rangy, ball hawking safety who has good ball skills one on one and strong hands. He covers a lot of ground over the top in both a single high and two high safety look. Williams gets in and out of his cuts with ease and can plant and drive and break on the ball consistently. Williams needs to improve as a tackler and show more of a willingness to support the run. He misses a lot of tackles.

7. Justin Evans, FS, Texas A&M, 6-0 195, NFL Comparison: Karl Joseph
Evans is a fluid athlete who has plus ball skills. He gets in and out of breaks with ease and can cover a lot of ground over the top in both man free and Cover 2. Evans has terrific hands and can win most 50/50 situations in man coverage. Evans locks on his receiver keys too long at times and is late on his breaks. He is too aggressive and has a tendency of getting caught down hill in his first two steps. Opposing teams will run play-action passes to his side a lot.

8. Marcus Maye, SS, Florida, 6-0 210, NFL Comparison: Landon Collins
Maye is a big, physical safety who can play both the strong and free safety positions. Instinctive. Maye does a great job of being patient in his backpedal and reading a quarterback’s eyes. He shows good sideline to sideline speed and can close in a hurry. A physical tackler who breaks down and finishes his tackles. Maye allowed 10 touchdown passes during his career at Florida. Lacks the top end speed to cover vertically as a nickel safety. His lack of height hurts him in the red zone against tight ends.

9. John Johnson, FS, Boston College, 6-0 210, NFL Comparison: Justin Simmons
Johnson has played both cornerback and free safety in his career at Boston College. He is more suited to play safety in the NFL. Johnson plays  with smooth hips and above average mirror and match footwork for a safety. His experience at corner has helped him immensely in this area of his game. Johnson moves well laterally and can play over the top out of any alignment. He is a sound tackler who runs the alley and can finish on contact. Johnson needs to learn to take better angles, especially on fade routes. Despite being fundamentally sound as a tackler, he doesn’t run his feet through contact. Runs hot and cold at times.

10. Josh Jones, SS, North Carolina State, 6-1 220, NFL Comparison: Rodney Harrison
Jones is a physical, down hill safety who can play the run from depth or play as a box safety. Plays with a good pad level and can get in and out of his breaks with ease. Jones displays good closing speed over the top coming off the hash in Cover 2. Jones can be over aggressive. He misses a lot of tackles in space and he guess a lot on underneath routes in coverage. A little late on his zone coverage reads.

Next Ten

11. Jordan Sterns, FS 6-0 205, Oklahoma State

12. Josh Harvey-Clemons, SS, 6-4 230, Louisville

13. Lorenzo Jerome, SS, 5-11 195, St. Francis (PA)

14. Rayshawn Jenkins, FS, 6-0 210, Miami (Fla)

15. Tedric Thompson, FS, Colorado, 6-0 205

16. Eddie Jackson, FS, Alabama, 6-0 195

17. Xavier Woods, SS, 5-11 210, Louisiana Tech

18. Jonathan Ford, SS, 5-11 205, Auburn

19. Nate Gerry, SS, 6-2 230, Nebraska

20. Tony Connor, SS, Ole Miss 6-0 225