Part nine of my summer scouting positional previews is here! Last week, I discussed my top-five cornerback prospects, and this week, we’re staying in the defensive backfield. Today, I’ll be diving into my top-five safety rankings for the 2026 NFL Draft!
The 2025 NFL Draft had some safeties that I really enjoyed, like Georgia’s Malaki Starks, South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori, Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts, and Penn State’s Kevin Winston Jr. I don’t think this safety class is as fun as last year’s, but it still has some very intriguing prospects. Now, let’s dive in!
Rankings
1. Caleb Downs - Ohio State
Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs comes in as my early S1. Downs is the early consensus top prospect at the safety position, and for some, he’s the top prospect in the entire class regardless of position. While I’m not quite “top player in the class” high on Downs, I still think he's an elite prospect.
Downs’ versatility and IQ stick out to me. He lines up all over the field, with 339 snaps in the box, 393 snaps at free safety, and 160 snaps in the slot in 2024, per PFF. I really enjoyed seeing his IQ come to the forefront in a variety of different alignments with the different responsibilities that each requires.
He’s a really good athlete with quick feet. He’s able to flip his hips quickly and accelerate to his assignment. The athleticism also shows up in his ability to track ball carriers and tackle well, as well as in his reps as a blitzer, although I do think he could be stronger and more physical overall.
Downs’ eyes in zone coverage are also very advanced. His eyes track the quarterback very well, and he understands how to pass off different route combinations. He’s also a plus in man coverage and does a good job fighting through traffic in those situations.
Downs flashed good ball skills in reps where he had a realistic shot to make a play. He highpoints the ball well at the catch point and shows good return skills.
Downs is a pretty easy first-round grade for me, and comes in as the 12th overall player on my big board. My stylistic comp for him is Jabrill Peppers, and you see some of the same skillset with Downs as a punt returner, although I do think Peppers was a better athlete.
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2. Bray Hubbard - Alabama
Alabama Crimson Tide safety Bray Hubbard comes in as my S2. Hubbard took over for Alabama’s other safety, Keon Sabb, after Sabb was injured against Tennessee. Once Hubbard took over, I thought he was Alabama’s best defensive back to close the season.
Hubbard is a tall, lengthy safety at 6’2” and 195 pounds. At this size, he’s a rangy athlete, able to cover sideline to sideline from single high and split safety alignments.
He triggers quickly against both the run and the pass, and his IQ shines in flashes in zone coverage. The consistency in zone still needs to come along, but for a safety that hadn’t played many snaps before taking over, his flashes were rather advanced.
Hubbard also displayed good ball skills, most apparent in his first start against Missouri. His length and range help him high-point the football and make game-changing plays.
I do think he needs to clean up the tackling. It’s not a physicality issue; he’s willing to lay the boom. However, he’s right around average in terms of missed tackle rate, per PFF, and the technique could use some work.
Hubbard flashed many times, and this is absolutely a bet on projection. I currently have a third-round grade on him as he needs to be more consistent, but I enjoyed his tape. His stylistic comp is an early career Justin Simmons.
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3. Xavion Alford - Arizona State
Arizona State Sun Devils safety Xavion Alford is my early S3. Alford spent time with Texas and USC before finding a home in Tempe, AZ, and he broke out in a major way as the Sun Devils made a surprise run to the College Football Playoff in 2024.
Alford is my kind of safety. Rangy player in the intermediate portion of the field and is a physical tackler. He flies around and simply makes plays.
He shows really good flashes as an intermediate defender in zone coverage. Also, for a safety with his playstyle, he has the ability to man up tight ends and running backs effectively.
I think Alford is an NFL-level athlete, but he does struggle at times with range deep. I think he’d thrive as a box safety in either a cover-three or cover-one based system.
Arizona State lined him up in the box for just 131 snaps in 2024, while aligning him deep on 710 snaps. Hopefully, he gets to play closer to the line of scrimmage in 2025.
This is another projection for me as Arizona State may still play him deep a majority of the time, but I am bought into his upside as a box safety. I currently have a third-round grade on him, and my stylistic comp for him is Kamren Curl.
4. Bud Clark - TCU
TCU Horned Frogs safety Bud Clark is my early S4. Clark was a late addition to my list after viewing his advanced metrics, and the film did not disappoint.
Clark is a very rangy athlete at 6’2” and 185 pounds. He has great length and can cover ground in the blink of an eye. His length helps him make plays on the ball as well.
He’s also a physical tackler. I would’ve liked to see more pop when he took on blockers, but he lays the boom as a tackler and shows rather good technique.
Clark’s athleticism helps him be a productive player in man coverage, but he is very raw in zone coverage. The flashes are very high-end, but the consistency isn’t there yet.
The run defense is also very raw. Again, the high-end flashes are great, but overall, his discipline and ability to diagnose in the run game are a crapshoot at times.
Like most of this list, I’m projecting forward with Clark. His athletic upside and physicality land him a third-round grade for me. My stylistic comp for him is an early career version of Jeremy Chinn.
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5. Dillon Thieneman - Oregon
Oregon Ducks safety Dillon Thieneman rounds out this list as my S5. Thieneman transferred to Oregon from Purdue in the winter portal window and has been regarded as S2 right behind Downs by most of the draft community. I am a good bit lower on him than most, unfortunately.
We’ll start with Thieneman’s positives. He’s a good vertical athlete with good range. He gets into his backpedal quickly and covers ground well.
He’s also a physical run defender who diagnoses the flow of the play well. He takes great angles as a tackler.
While Thieneman takes good angles and his tackling technique is solid, he does miss more tackles than you would like. It ranks slightly above average, but I’d like to see it higher for a top safety.
While he is a good vertical athlete, he isn’t a very good lateral athlete in my opinion. I think he struggles to throttle down and change directions in open space.
While I thought his pass coverage tape was above average for the most part, his reception percentage allowed and passer rating allowed were well below average. Advanced metrics aren’t everything, but they do give a glimpse of what a full season of tape might’ve looked like.
I like Thieneman’s floor, but I’m not sure his upside matches the rest of his class. I’d expect him to take a step forward in Oregon’s defense in 2025. I currently have a third/fourth-round grade on him, and my stylistic comp for him is Kenny Vaccaro.
Honorable Mentions
Now that we’ve discussed my top five safeties, here are a few more safety prospects to keep your eye on in 2025. I’ll also add whether they have STAR versatility. STAR is how I denote the nickel corner position.
Skyler Thomas - Oregon State
Zakee Wheatley (STAR) - Penn State
Michael Taaffe - Texas
Jalon Kilgore (STAR) - South Carolina
Tao Johnson - Utah
Kamari Ramsey (STAR) - USC
Randon Fontenette (STAR) - Vanderbilt
Final Thoughts
This 2026 group of safeties has a lot of intriguing prospects that can certainly develop into NFL starters down the road. With so much projection involved with this group, this list will certainly change by next April, but as of now, I’m confident in my top-five safety rankings for the 2026 NFL Draft during my summer scouting positional previews.