BEST RATED TACKLING SAFETIES 2027 NFL Draft

2027 BEST RATED TACKLING SAFETIES

A safety is the last line, so the tackling grade carries more weight here than anywhere else in the secondary. It scores tackles made against tackles missed, from depth and in the box, with penalties for the misses that turn into long touchdowns. Eric Berry (Tennessee) and Mark Barron (Alabama) both tackled at a linebacker’s standard.

The table ranks this year’s draft-eligible safeties by tackling grade, alongside run defense, zone coverage, man and press coverage, and overall rating.

2027 Safeties ranked by TACKLING

RANK Player Pos Team TACKLING RUN DEFENSE ZONE MAN/PRESS Rating
1

Jaylen
McClain

S
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
97 88 75 81
84.8
2

Koi
Perich

S
Oregon   Mascot
Oregon Mascot
91 83 71 75
84.7
3

Tae
Johnson

S
Notre Dame   Mascot
Notre Dame Mascot
88 83 87 83
86.3
4

Bryce
Thornton

S
Florida   Mascot
Florida Mascot
84 77 82 73
81.1
5

Zion
Branch

S
Georgia   Mascot
Georgia Mascot
84 76 76 68
74.0
6

Jamel
Johnson

S
TCU   Mascot
TCU Mascot
84 83 67 75
67.4
7

Jordan
Castell

S
Kentucky   Mascot
Kentucky Mascot
84 84 70 69
78.0
8

Jelani
McDonald

S
Texas   Mascot
Texas Mascot
83 79 82 84
85.1
9

Marcus
Neal Jr.

S
Penn State   Mascot
Penn State Mascot
83 92 82 79
83.4
10

Marquis
Gallegos

S
USC   Mascot
USC Mascot
82 60 62 63
64.5
11

Ty
Benefield

S
LSU   Mascot
LSU Mascot
82 82 74 66
84.9
12

Isaac
Smith

S
Mississippi State   Mascot
Mississippi State Mascot
80 80 71 78
77.0
13

Earl
Little Jr.

S
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
80 79 79 76
84.4
14

Matthew
Bailey

S
Illinois   Mascot
Illinois Mascot
78 79 67 73
77.0
15

Jacob
Oden

S
Michigan   Mascot
Michigan Mascot
78 62 55 54
67.9
16

Aaron
Flowers

S
Oregon   Mascot
Oregon Mascot
78 78 78 78
75.0
17

Keon
Sabb

S
Alabama   Mascot
Alabama Mascot
78 73 73 73
84.6
18

Peyton
Woodyard

S
Oregon   Mascot
Oregon Mascot
77 75 72 69
69.4
19

Amare
Ferrell

S
Indiana   Mascot
Indiana Mascot
75 74 83 82
84.5
20

Peyton
Bowen

S
Oklahoma   Mascot
Oklahoma Mascot
75 85 79 85
84.6