Kamari Ramsey S USC |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
| Jersey: #7 ROLE: Man-Zone Slot/Nickel Safety | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated: 03/04/2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draft Year: 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FORTY time: 4.47 seconds (82%*) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Age: 21.11 DOB: 08/24/2004 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl Invite: Senior Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jersey: #7 | |
| ROLE: Man-Zone Slot/Nickel Safety | |
| Last Updated: 03/04/2026 | |
| Draft Year: 2026 | |
| Forty time: 4.47 seconds (82%*) | |
| Age: 21.11 DOB: 08/24/2004 | |
| Bowl Invite: Senior Bowl | |
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| Overall Rating: | 84.8 / 100 | |
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| Average rating of opposition Offense player has faced | ||
| Offense Rating: |
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76% |
| Click the links below to view how player ranks vs other prospects. | ||
| QB Rating When targeted: | 94.4 | |
| Tackling: |
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83% |
| Run Defense: |
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66% |
| Coverage: |
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88% |
| Zone: |
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85% |
| Man/Press: |
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82% |
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DRAFT PROJECTION:
3rd
Overall Rank:
#72
Position rank:
#16 (DB)
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| College Games: 33 College Snaps: 1745 | ||
ESPN RATING: 83/100
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247 RATING: 93/100
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RIVALS RATING: 5.8 (95%)
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| Player Comparison* (Similarity level) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Renardo Green - Florida State |
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91% |
| Kerby Joseph - Illinois |
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83% |
| R.J. Mickens - Clemson |
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82% |
Drafted: ROUND: 5 - Pick Number: 141 (HOU)
Draft Profile: Bio
Kamari Ramsey came out of Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth, California as a consensus four-star defensive back in the 2022 class. His senior year produced 58 tackles, two interceptions, and seven passes defensed as Sierra Canyon won the Gold Coast League title. Originally committed to Stanford, Ramsey flipped to UCLA and redshirted as a true freshman before starting all 11 games in 2023, posting 40 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and his first college interception against Cal.USC defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn brought Ramsey across town through the transfer portal ahead of 2024. He responded with 60 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, and five pass breakups in 11 starts. A nine-tackle showing against LSU earned LOTT Impact Player of the Week honors, and he added 10 tackles against Penn State on his way to All-Big Ten Honorable Mention.
Ramsey returned for 2025 but a knee injury against Iowa in mid-November ended his season at nine games and 27 tackles. He finishes his college career with 100 tackles, eight tackles for loss, nine pass breakups, and three interceptions across 33 games.
Scouting Report: Strengths
- Reads quarterback eyes and triggers on short routes before the ball is out.
- Covers tight ends with physicality and fluid hips through the stem of routes.
- Diagnoses screens and flats quickly, firing downhill to blow up plays behind the line.
- Smooth backpedal-to-drive transition keeps him balanced against underneath and vertical concepts.
- Processes route combinations at a high level, closing windows in traffic.
- Lines up at deep safety, in the box, or over the slot without losing effectiveness.
- Arrives at the catch point with force and rakes through the receiver's hands consistently.
- Brings special teams experience across multiple units, adding immediate roster depth.
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
- Only three career interceptions despite good positioning and coverage awareness.
- Run defense is a clear weak spot with hesitation filling alleys and shedding blocks.
- Tackling in space breaks down, defaulting to arm tackles and grab attempts.
- Aggressive pursuit angles leave him exposed to cutbacks by shifty runners.
- Lacks the straight-line speed and range to play center-field safety consistently.
- Has missed time in three straight seasons, including the knee injury that ended 2025 early.
Scouting Report: Summary
Ramsey's 2025 tape requires careful context. Injuries across USC's secondary pushed him into the nickel for about half his starts, moving him away from the deep safety role where his instincts play up best. Production dropped accordingly, and man coverage reps at nickel showed receivers winning separation in ways they rarely did when he played two-high looks in 2024. But even out of position, his processing speed stood out. He was still reading the quarterback's intentions early, still jumping routes before the ball arrived. Evaluators need to account for the alignment change before drawing conclusions from a nine-game sample.The real question is whether his run defense and tackling can develop alongside his coverage ability. Those run defense grades remained a weakness regardless of alignment, and while missed tackles improved in 2025, the smaller sample makes that hard to read definitively. The knee injury adds another layer of uncertainty. When healthy and deployed correctly, though, there's a starting safety in this package. His coverage instincts, versatility, and ability to match tight ends give a coordinator real flexibility in sub-package design.
The best fit is a split-safety scheme that keeps Ramsey in a two-high shell on early downs and lets him roll into coverage responsibilities on passing situations. He can handle nickel snaps in a pinch, but his strength is reading from depth and using his eyes to attack the football. A coordinator who trusts his coverage processing and schemes around the run defense limitations will get a reliable starter who contributes early. The ceiling hinges on the knee recovery and whether the run-game issues are correctable habits or something more permanent.
Kamari Ramsey percentiles vs other Safetys (NFL Combine historically - higher value represents better perfomance)
How other scouting services rate Kamari Ramsey (Overall Rank)
All Scouts AverageOverall Rank
71.3
All Scouts AveragePosition Rank
17.0
*Percentile Ranking in Player's Position Group (NFL Combine Historical Data): This percentile reflects how a player's specific statistics rank
in comparison to historical performances at the NFL Combine, specifically within their position group. A higher percentile indicates a better performance.
For instance, being in the 90th percentile for a particular stat means the player outperformed 90% of their peers in that category.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.