BEST ZONE COVERAGE SAFETIES 2027 NFL Draft

2027 BEST ZONE COVERAGE SAFETIES

Zone coverage is the safety’s core job: reading the quarterback from the deep half or the middle of the field, driving on the ball, and not giving up the throw over the top. The grade scores every zone snap. Earl Thomas (Texas) and Minkah Fitzpatrick (Alabama) were both exceptional here, and it is the trait that made them first-round picks.

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

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

Kingston
Lopa

S
California   Mascot
California Mascot
64 59 88 89
84.7
2

Tae
Johnson

S
Notre Dame   Mascot
Notre Dame Mascot
88 83 87 83
86.3
3

Peyton
Bowen

S
Oklahoma   Mascot
Oklahoma Mascot
73 86 85 85
84.6
4

Robert
Fitzgerald

S
Northwestern   Mascot
Northwestern Mascot
70 85 84 75
81.0
5

Bryce
Thornton

S
Florida   Mascot
Florida Mascot
80 72 83 72
81.1
6

Amare
Ferrell

S
Indiana   Mascot
Indiana Mascot
75 75 83 82
84.5
7

Jelani
McDonald

S
Texas   Mascot
Texas Mascot
79 81 83 83
85.1
8

Marcus
Neal Jr.

S
Penn State   Mascot
Penn State Mascot
83 92 82 79
83.4
9

Earl
Little Jr.

S
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
80 82 82 77
84.4
10

KJ
Bolden

S
Georgia   Mascot
Georgia Mascot
73 81 80 80
87.8
11

Tao
Johnson

S
UCLA   Mascot
UCLA Mascot
50 66 79 85
80.9
12

Terry
Moore

S
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
71 81 78 79
83.3
13

Kaleb
Beasley

S
Louisville   Mascot
Louisville Mascot
62 67 78 76
73.4
14

Dejuan
Lane

S
Tennessee   Mascot
Tennessee Mascot
58 65 78 77
79.9
15

Ricardo
Jones

S
Vanderbilt   Mascot
Vanderbilt Mascot
57 59 78 76
72.6
16

Aaron
Flowers

S
Oregon   Mascot
Oregon Mascot
78 78 78 78
75.0
17

Randon
Fontenette

S
Colorado   Mascot
Colorado Mascot
76 73 78 68
78.0
18

Faletau
Satuala

S
BYU   Mascot
BYU Mascot
60 72 78 74
84.3
19

Zach
Lutmer

S
Iowa   Mascot
Iowa Mascot
72 81 76 73
84.8
20

Mason
Curtis

S
Michigan   Mascot
Michigan Mascot
49 57 76 75
77.0