2010 Safety Rankings

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Rankings of 99 safeties eligible for April’s draft. It’s a solid class overall, though only one true standout and complete player at the position. Mostly zone-type prospects on this list though we project as many as seven starters from this group plus another dozen potentially lethal special teams players. (updated: 2/21/2010)

Rank	Rnd	Name	Analysis
1	1st	Eric Berry Tennessee	Complete defensive back who physically stops the run while showing terrific ball skills in coverage. Can play over the slot receiver or man centerfield. Lacks classic size for a safety yet plays big.
2	1st	Earl Thomas Texas	Terrific young safety with a high upside. Shows great closing/recovery speed, flashes on the scene and possesses outstanding ball skills in coverage. Must brush up his instincts but a prospect to get excited about.
3	1st	Taylor Mays USC	Aggressive safety best up the field in a straight line. Hard hitting, stays with the action and effective in coverage. Lacks great sideline-to-sideline range and not a true centerfielder who can play over the slot receiver.
4	2-3	Nate Allen South Florida	Solid athlete who can go sideline to sideline. Strong, fast and explosive. Highly thought of in the scouting community.
5	3rd	Chad Jones LSU	Dominant defender flying up draft boards. Has linebacker type size yet plays fast and fluid.
6	3rd	Kurt Coleman Ohio State	Complete defensive back who displays toughness in run defense as well as a lot of skill in coverage. Covers a lot of area on the field, fast to the flanks and possesses terrific ball skills. A lot to like about his game.
7	3rd	Reshad Jones Georgia	Explosive, run defending safety with nice size. Aggressive and stops ball carriers dead in their tracks. Hesitant in pass coverage and must improve his ball skills. Offers a great deal of upside and a dynamite player if he meets his potential. Will enter the 2010 draft.
8	3rd	Major Wright Florida	Terrific safety with a complete game. Effectively diagnoses plays, displays terrific awareness and constantly around the action. Physical against the run and possesses good ball skills in coverage. Had an up and down season.
9	3-4	Robert Johnson Utah	Terrific all-around safety hitting his stride. Physical against the run but also displays excellent ball skills. Great range in centerfield and fluid making plays sideline-to-sideline. Swiftly moving up draft boards.
10	3-4	Morgan Burnett Georgia Tech	Tough, run defending safety developing a complete game. Quick up the field to defend the run or screen passes, wraps up tackling and brings ball carriers down on contact. Fast in every direction.
11	4th	T.J. Ward Oregon	Aggressive safety with good range in centerfield. Better in run defense but has a special teams mentality.
12	4th	Darrell Stuckey Kansas	Hard hitting defensive back slightly overrated by NFL scouts. Effective against the run but one-dimensional and struggles in coverage and possesses marginal ball skills.
13	4th	Kam Chancellor Virginia Tech	King-sized safety best in a straight line. Overrated by many. More of a loping runner who lacks quickness. Inefficient, takes poor angles to the action and lacks speed to the flanks. Singularly a strong safety or possibly an outside linebacker.
14	4-5	Kyle McCarthey Notre Dame	Hard working, hard hitting run defender best playing downhill and between the numbers. Has limitations in coverage but should be a warrior on special teams.
15	5th	Lucien Antoine Oklahoma State	Up and coming senior developing a complete game. Very tough against the run but also displays skill in coverage.
16	5th	Harry Coleman LSU	Works hard to make plays up the field against the run or screen passes/ Disciplined with centerfield assignments yet lacks top safety speed.
17	5-6	Larry Asante Nebraska	Big, hard hitting centerfielder with solid fundamentals but a lot of hesitation in his game. Better up the field in the box.
18	6th	Cody Grimm Virginia Tech	High revving defender best in the box or up the field.
19	6th	Darian Stewart South Carolina	Forceful, run defending safety best up the field defending the run, in a straight line.
20	6th	Kendrick Lewis Mississippi	Hard hitting safety who gets a lick on ball handlers. Fast up the field in run defense yet also displays good range to the flanks. Disciplined and offers potential.
21	6-7	Barry Church Toledo	Hybrid outside linebacker/strong safety whose been very productive on the college level. Plays big and looks imposing on the field. Ball skills leave a lot to be desired.
22	6-7	Myron Rolle Florida State	Athletic safety with great brains off the field yet limited instincts on it.
23	7-FA	Aaron Webster Cincinnati	Solid senior prospect really shooting up draft boards. Best up the field and flashes ball skills. Moving up draft boards.
24	FA	Terrell Skinner Maryland	Hard hitting defensive back that makes plays sideline-to-sideline. Marginal ball skills and projects as a conventional strong safety.
25	FA	Nick Polk Indiana
26	FA	Will Harris USC	Solid centerfield with good sideline-to-sideline range. Possesses solid ball skills and offers a nice upside.
27	FA	Justin Woodall Alabama	Nice sized safety best in the box or up the field.
28	FA	Stevie Brown Michigan	Heady defensive back who always puts himself in a position to make positive plays. Plays smart football, fights hard to get off blocks and makes plays on the ball. Marginal size/speed numbers will push him into the later round but a definite prospect for the next level.
29	FA	Jonathan Amaya Nevada	Fluid centerfielder with some potential as a dime back. Very athletic and has a degree of upside.
30	5-6	Josh Pinkard USC	Tough defensive back best facing the action. Aggressive against the run. College cornerback likely to move to safety.
31	FA	Anderson Russell Ohio State	String safety type best up the field in a straight line. Struggles in man coverage and shows marginal ball skills.
32	FA	Dorian Porch Virginia Tech	Aggressive safety who plays the position like a linebacker.
33	FA	Torri Williams Purdue	Underrated prospect effective against the run and pass.
34	FA	Matt O'Hanlon Nebraska	Hard working safety with marginal physical skills and upside potential.
35	FA	Bo McNally Stanford	Physical safety always looking to get involved. Late arriving on the scene in pass coverage yet a possible zone safety.
36	FA	Andre Sexton Oklahoma State	High flying safety always working to make positive plays. Occasionally lines up at outside linebacker. Effectively reads and diagnoses the action. Good upside at strong safety.
37	FA	Danny McCray LSU	Instinctive safety with marginal speed. Shows a good head for the ball and adequate instincts yet possesses a marginal closing burst.
38	FA	Van Eskridge East Carolina	Imposing looking safety with marginal skills in coverage. Best in a straight line and playing downhill.
39	FA	Bryan Evans Georgia	Heads up defensive back with solid instincts. Makes plays sideline to sideline and effective in the open field. Inefficient and need to polish his game yet an underrated player to this point.
40	FA	Ryan Hamilton Vanderbilt	Overrated defensive back. Does not always take proper angles and not very aggressive.
41	FA	Kendi Davis-Clark Michigan State	Aggressive, forceful defender best making plays up the field. Display skill in zone coverage and good route recognition.
42	FA	Jamie Robinson Florida State
43	FA	Jordan Lake Baylor	Instinctive safety best up the field in run defense. Always puts himself in a position to make plays on the ball and a solid, open-field, wrap up tackler. Mid-round pick who could start at the next level.
44	FA	Quinton Andrews North Alabama	Former Mountaineer who is now enrolled at North Alabama. Big, strong safety who plays large and moves well about the field. Lacks a feel in coverage and makes few plays against the ball.
45	FA	Braxton Amy UTEP	Well rounded safety who displayed a lot of potential as a sophomore before being sidelined in '09 with a knee injury.
46	FA	James Lockett Tulsa	Aggressive college defender who plays lights out. Always around the action and makes a lot of plays up the field or behind the line of scrimmage. Must improve his ball skills. Special teams prospect.
47	FA	Brett Johnson California	Potential zone safety who plays the run tough.
48	FA	Sergio Brown Notre Dame
49	FA	Shann Schillinger Montana
50	FA	Antonio Baker Louisiana Tech	Run defending safety best in the box.
51	FA	Courtney Herndon Kansas State	Physical safety who displays solid sideline-to-sideline range. A nice combination of awareness and speed.
52	FA	Dominique Harris Temple	Hard hitting safety who aggressively lays his shoulders into ball carriers. Displays solid overall awareness. Terrific size and an imposing looking prospect yet a has never consistently played in a high level.
53	FA	Eddie Hicks Southern Mississippi	Athletic defensive back with solid ball skills. Opportunistic and makes a lot of plays in pass coverage. Lacks classic safety size yet offers potential as a dime back.
54	FA	Randy Phillips Miami-Fl	Nice sized defensive back that's shown flashes yet never took his game to another level.
55	FA	Christop Maragos Wisconsin
56	FA	Austin Thomas Indiana	Solid between the numbers safety. Effective facing the action, quick up the field defending running plays and works very hard to make plays on the ball.
57	FA	Jeromy Miles Massachusetts	King sized safety who flashes skill. Not the same prospect as former Umass player â�¦.
58	FA	Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith UTEP
59	FA	Quentin Scott Northern Iowa
60	FA	Robert Vaughn Connecticut	Tough, run defending safety with marginal size/speed numbers.
61	FA	Mike Newton Buffalo	Aggressive safety who displays an excellent head for the ball. Always looking to mix it up a very good up the field.
62	6-7	Justin Thornton Kansas	Physical, aggressive safety who lays it on the line. Sized well, willingly defends the run and has a burst. Lacks the deep speed yet an underrated strong safety prospect.
63	FA	Cam Nelson Arizona	Physical safety that likes to mix it up and chases around the field trying to get involved in the action. Effective playing downhill.
64	FA	Marcel Bowman Boston College	Nice sized safety that effectively reads and diagnoses the action. More of a loping defender and his game lacks true quickness and speed.
65	FA	Marcus Ezeff California	Hard working strong safety prospect with good size.
66	FA	Rickey Thenarse Nebraska	Aggressive safety who lays it on the line and sacrifices his body to make the play. Marginal ball skills and limited to a strong safety position or a zone system.
67	FA	Xavier Hicks Washington State	Tough, run defending safety with limited coverage skills.
68	FA	David Bryant Northern Illinois	Nice sized safety who makes a lot of plays on the field. Constantly around the action in run defense. Must improve his ball skills.
69	FA	Clement Johnson North Carolina State	Run defending safety with poor size/speed numbers. Special teams prospect.
70	FA	Myles Burnsides Northwest Missouri State	Smart, hard working safety with poor size/speed numbers. Has a special teams mentality which gives him a chance.
71	FA	Lattarius Thomas Eastern Michigan
72	FA	Martin Corniffe Howard
73	FA	Jeremiah Weatherspoon Florida International	King sized safety best making plays in the box against the run. Has enough size to be considered at outside linebacker in a one-gap system.
74	FA	Terrell Whitehead Norfolk State
75	FA	Marvin Haynes Fresno State
76	FA	Chris Carney Kansas State	Solid centerfielder who does a good job with coverage assignments.
77	FA	Jahmal Brown Bowling Green	Adequately sized safety that's been a durable defender for BGSU.
78	FA	Markee Hamlin South Carolina State
79	FA	Steven Jackson Ohio	Adequately sized safety that's shown consistent improvement the past two seasons.
80	FA	Moses Harris Fresno State
81	FA	Greg James La-Monroe	One time highly thought of safety who never elevated his game.
82	FA	Shane Carter Wisconsin	Nice sized safety that does a solid job recognizing assignments. Needs to make more plays.
83	FA	Virdell Larkins Idaho
84	FA	Raeshon McNeil Notre Dame
85	FA	Don McClesky Indiana State
86	FA	Carl Harris Alcorn State
87	FA	Klint Kubiak Colorado State
88	FA	Jason Wells Washington
89	FA	Ryan Hill Miami-Fl
90	FA	Ali Sharriff Alabama	Box safety with limited range.
91	FA	Aairon Savage Auburn
92	FA	Aaron Ware UCLA
93	FA	Richard Raglin Louisville	Marginally athletic free safety who must make it on special teams.
94	FA	Brad Phillips Northwestern
95	FA	Brendan Smith Northwestern
96	FA	Luke Bonus Hofstra
97	FA	Alex Knipp Ball State	Aggressive, hard working safety with limited size and upside. Potential ninth defensive back/special teams prospect.
98	FA	Shiloh Keo Idaho
99	FA	Dorian Munroe Florida

Updated 2/21

Rank	Rnd	Name	Pos	Year
1	1st	Ndamukong Suh Nebraska	DT	5Sr
2	1st	Eric Berry Tennessee	S	3Jr
3	1st	Gerald McCoy Oklahoma	DT	4Jr
4	1st	Russell Okung Oklahoma State	T	4Sr
5	1st	Joe Haden Florida	CB	3Jr
6	1st	Dez Bryant Oklahoma State	WR	3Jr
7	1st	Anthony Davis Rutgers	T	3Jr
8	1st	Jason Pierre-Paul South Florida	DE	3Jr
9	1st	Bruce Campbell Maryland	T	3Jr
10	1st	Derrick Morgan Georgia Tech	DE	3Jr
11	1st	Brian Price UCLA	DT	3Jr
12	1st	Damian Williams USC	WR	4Jr
13	1st	Rolando McClain Alabama	ILB	3Jr
14	1st	Earl Thomas Texas	S	3So
15	1st	Dan Williams Tennessee	DT	5Sr
16	1st	Sam Bradford Oklahoma	QB	4Jr
17	1st	Sergio Kindle Texas	OLB	4Sr
18	1-2	Mike Iupati Idaho	G	4Sr
19	1st	Taylor Mays USC	S	4Sr
20	1st	Bryan Bulaga Iowa	T	3Jr
21	1-2	Demaryius Thomas Georgia Tech	WR	4Jr
22	1-2	Brandon Graham Michigan	DE	4Sr
23	1st	Jimmy Clausen Notre Dame	QB	4Jr
24	1st	Jared Odrick Penn State	DT	4Sr
25	1-2	Arrelious Benn Illinois	WR	3Jr

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