In the modern NFL, the safety position is becoming the ultimate chess piece. The versatility and all-around utility required to play the position effectively is daunting. But at the same time, prospects with the necessary abilities can be greatly rewarded. What does the 2024 NFL Draft safety class have to offer NFL teams?
Ranking the Safeties in the 2024 NFL Draft
It’s too early to provide any referendums on the 2023 NFL Draft safety class. There’s a chance the group could exceed expectations. However, evaluators were generally on the same wavelength in calling it a weaker class than normal.
Even the best players available, like Alabama’s Brian Branch, fit better into specific roles and weren’t traditional prospects.
Versatility, like the kind that Branch offers, is valuable, but being able to play in two-high and single-high, or match up against big slot WRs and move TEs with size, is just as much an asset.
Luckily, there appears to be far more variety and multiplicity in the preliminary 2024 NFL Draft safety group, and that’s something teams can benefit from.
10) Xavier Watts, Notre Dame
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have several quality 2024 NFL Draft prospects in their secondary. Cam Hart is an explosive, size-speed athlete on the boundary, and Thomas Harper is an underrated nickel DB, but Xavier Watts, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner, has been the biggest riser this year.
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Watts was originally a wide receiver recruit from Nebraska but switched to safety and eventually grew to where he is now — a second-level ball-hawk who accrued seven picks in 2023. Watts’ vision and ability to undercut routes should land him a home at the next level.
9) Hudson Clark, Arkansas
Arkansas hasn’t been able to sustain success in the SEC over the past few years, but one of the team’s bright spots has been safety Hudson Clark. A starter for the better part of four years, Clark has displayed athleticism, versatility, and the playmaking ability to be an NFL prospect.
Clark has five interceptions and 19 pass breakups across his four-year career and broke out in 2022 with 11 PBUs and four TFLs. Clark has a CB background, but now playing safety full-time, he’s truly found his niche. He’s a lean, rangy playmaker at 6’2″ with superb ball skills who displays quantifiably elite explosiveness when triggering downhill.
8) Calen Bullock, USC
A former WR, Calen Bullock stands at 6’3″, 180 pounds, with elite ball skills. Beyond that, his build and athletic profile translate extremely well at safety. He’s an explosive, high-energy athlete with elite deep speed and range who dramatically erases space while tracking throws.
Run support is where Bullock stands to improve. He needs to add more mass to his frame, he struggles with angles at times, and he’s not a consistent tackler at this point. But Bullock’s playmaking upside in the coverage phase is sure to win over defensive coaches.
7) Javon Bullard, Georgia
Versatility is a common theme across this entire list. But it’s one thing to be able to play in the slot when needed. It’s another to be a truly stellar slot cornerback who adds field safety capabilities. Georgia’s Javon Bullard falls in the latter category.
Bullard is a ravenous competitor both in tight coverage and support. His biting physicality is a central part of his game, but his coverage chops on tape are just as strong. Though he’s a bit light, he’s fast, fleet-footed, fluid, and savvy with his technique.
6) Cole Bishop, Utah
Utah’s football program is consistently one of the most well-coached in the nation, and that naturally translates to year-by-year NFL Draft production. In the 2024 cycle, the Utes have one of their best defensive prospects in recent memory, ascending safety Cole Bishop.
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Bishop has been a stalwart defender ever since he stepped on campus. In 2022, he registered 83 tackles, six tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, an interception, and three pass deflections. In 2023, he added 6.5 more TFLs, two more picks, and four more PBUs.
At 6’2″, 205 pounds, Bishop’s profile is impressively complete. He’s a disciplined coverage defender over the top who can also cut off running angles and impose his will in support.
5) James Williams, Miami (FL)
If you see a player on Miami’s defensive film who towers over everyone in the secondary, chances are that it’s James Williams. At 6’5″, 224 pounds, Williams has an unnatural size for a safety. It can be easy to hype up those kinds of prospects prematurely in the NFL Draft realm, but Williams has done enough on tape to earn some excitement.
Williams can make plays on the ball, as evidenced by his four picks and 13 deflections over the past three seasons. Yet, the most actionable utility for his frame comes in support. Williams accelerates quickly for his size, and his sheer size advantage can help him violently slab runners with physicality when encroaching on the line.
4) Rod Moore, Michigan
Daxton Hill saw his name called in Round 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft. It remains to be seen if Rod Moore will declare — let alone go that early — but he has a case to be one of the top safeties in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Hill’s burst is hard to match, but Moore has already shown that he is not just talented but also a very good football player in his own right.
For almost the entirety of his career at Michigan, Moore’s explosive ability has been under the spotlight. He’s agile and fluid in space at 6’0″, 185 pounds, but his true superpower as a prospect is his intelligence and natural instincts — something that allowed him to hit the field immediately at Michigan.
Moore recognizes routes quickly, can read the quarterback’s eyes, and doesn’t hesitate to make plays.
3) Kamren Kinchens, Miami (FL)
As many ball hawks as there are on our top safeties list for the 2024 NFL Draft, none are more prolific than Miami’s Kamren Kinchens. In 2022, Kinchens put up six interceptions at the back end of the Hurricanes’ secondary. In 2023, he added five more while logging 59 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.
Kinchens is a high-level center-fielder — a rarity at the safety position. And he brings more to the table as well. At 5’11”, 202 pounds, his frame serves him well as a tackler when roaming into the box.
All this being said, there are lapses on Kinchens’ tape, both with zone awareness and angles in run support. But Kinchens’ highs are some of the highest in the 2024 NFL Draft safety class, and his range in deep coverage is unmatched.
2) Beau Brade, Maryland
The Maryland Terrapins produced a first-round DB in Deonte Banks last cycle and another draft pick in Jakorian Bennett. A cycle earlier, they sent Nick Cross to the Indianapolis Colts in Round 3. At this point, Maryland has been established as a producer of NFL talent in the secondary, and Beau Brade is the next early-round prospect to watch.
2022 was Brade’s first season as a full-time starter, and he passed the audition with flying colors. The 6’1″, 205-pound safety racked up 85 tackles, four tackles for loss, two interceptions, five pass breakups, and two forced fumbles.
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In 2023, Brade returned with 72 tackles, four more TFLs, a pick, six pass breakups, and another forced fumble. His performance down the stretch earned him an invite to the Senior Bowl, which he accepted.
Not only is Brade productive, physical, and versatile, but his brand of mobility — explosive, twitched-up, high-energy, free-flowing — is also extremely translatable. He has the tools to be a multifaceted NFL starter with all-encompassing role flexibility.
Who Is the Best Safety in the 2024 NFL Draft?
With Andrew Mukuba entering the transfer portal, there’s more room for competitors to tangle over the top safety spot in the 2024 NFL Draft. Right now, the top safety on our board at PFN is Minnesota’s Tyler Nubin.
1) Tyler Nubin, Minnesota
This year, Nubin broke Minnesota’s all-time school record for interceptions in a career. He logged five in a campaign that earned him first-team All-Big Ten honors. And generating turnovers is just one of the many NFL-quality things he does on tape.
At 6’2″, 205 pounds, Nubin has the size and length. He’s an explosive and physical competitor in both phases of the game, but the most impressive part of Nubin’s profile is his intelligence. His angle awareness and instincts are superlative, and he has the vision to be right at home in the fast-paced NFL.
The only major knock on Nubin’s profile is that he lacks elite long speed and range. But both physically and mentally, he has the traits to be a high-quality starter at the professional level.
Honorable Mentions
- Thomas Harper, Notre Dame
- Jaden Hicks, Washington State
- Lathan Ransom, Ohio State
- Billy Bowman, Oklahoma
- Kenny Logan Jr., Kansas
- Demani Richardson, Texas A&M
