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Safety Profiles
By: John McMullen
A terrible year for top rung safeties was made even worse when the clear-cut number one prospect, Virginia's Anthony Poindexter went down with a very serious knee injury. To make matters worse, Poindexter seems to be struggling in his recovery leaving only Clemson's Antwan Edwards and Florida's Tony George as immediate contributors. To be blunt, if an NFL team is looking for help at safety, they are better off looking at free agency. Here's a look at the top prospects:
- Antwan Edwards Clemson 5-11 215
Edwards is an intelligentent four-year starter who is a very natural instinctive safety that can read and react with the best of them. He is a physical player with good body control and excellent feet for a safety enabling him to excel in man to man coverage versus tight ends and running backs. Antwan's a playmaker who can cover a lot of ground in the deep zone and support the run with a wallop. He is also very versatile and could project to both strong and free safety. Some teams think he could even handle cornerback.
- Anthony Poindexter Virginia 6-1 218
Poindexter is an absolute stud who would easily be the number one rated safety but his stock is quickly dropping because he is coming off a very serious knee injury and probably won't be ready for the combines. That said, any team that takes a chance on Poindexter might get the steal of the draft if he bounces back healthy. He is a Dennis Smith, Tim McDonald type who plays safety with a quarterback's smarts and a linebacker's mentality. When healthy, he has been a very productive player who loves to lay the wood in the open field. Poindexter can absolutely destroy a team's running attack by attacking the line of scrimmage. As a pass defender, he is above average in man to man coverage and should be more than adequate in any NFL team's plans for a strong safety.
- Tony George Florida 5-11 200
George is the cousin of Titans running back Eddie George. He is a prototypical free safety with the smarts to call the signals in the defensive backfield and the speed and natural instincts to cover the deep zones. He has some cornerback in his background and can cover the slot receiver or stick with a tight end or back coming out of the backfield. He is also a pretty good open field tackler versus the run. Just a really solid player who will be a future starter in the NFL.
- Gana Joseph Oklahoma 5-11 210
Joseph has spectacular athletic ability and speed for a safety. He can close on an amazing amount of ground in the deep zones and really bring a wallop while supporting the run. That said, there are questions about Joseph's instincts and preparation. He seems to play out of control more often than is acceptable. Right now, he is more of an athlete than a player but good coaching could turn Joseph into the best safety in the draft, three years from know.
- Damon Moore Ohio State 5-11 214
Moore is a heady, physical player but is not very instinctive. He could play either safety position and is above average versus the run and pass but he has been very inconsistent and has been susceptible to overrunning plays.
- Eric Thigpen Iowa 6-1 198
Thigpen is a very athletic player with average speed but good range thanks to superior instincts and football smarts. He looks like a prototypical centerfielder who covers well and can occasionally blitz from the edge. Run support is the big question with Thigpen.
- Marcus Ray Michigan 6-0 212
Ray was an excellent player at a big time college but he lacks the elite athletic skills to be a top selection. He plays smart and hard so he will get a shot but he lacks the man to man coverage skills to have a big impact
- Nikia Codie Baylor 6-3 210
Codie has the perfect build but not the athletic ability to be a big time player. He is very smart and should be coachable but he seems to shy from contact. In a weak safety year, he will get a look but not much more.
- Johndale Carty Utah State 6-2 198
Carty has great size and excellent speed for a free safety so he is an interesting prospect. He is a very heady player and is usually in the right spot whether in pass coverage or in run support. A shoulder separation in which he has been slow to recover from may hinder him.
- Mitchell Freedman Arizona State 6-0 210
Freeman loves to hit but is a project. He lacks instincts, coverage skills and probably plays a little heavy. He does however look like a potential standout special teams player.
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