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

Dashawn
Spears

S
LSU   Mascot
LSU Mascot
77 79 89 77
86.4
2

Tae
Johnson

S
Notre Dame   Mascot
Notre Dame Mascot
88 83 87 83
86.9
3

KJ
Bolden

S
Georgia   Mascot
Georgia Mascot
78 85 85 87
87.4
4

Faletau
Satuala

S
BYU   Mascot
BYU Mascot
75 77 81 74
84.9
5

Marcus
Neal Jr.

S
Penn State   Mascot
Penn State Mascot
80 90 81 77
84.2
6

Robert
Fitzgerald

S
Northwestern   Mascot
Northwestern Mascot
72 86 80 73
82.5
7

Peyton
Bowen

S
Oklahoma   Mascot
Oklahoma Mascot
78 85 80 86
85.8
8

Terry
Moore

S
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
72 81 79 80
85.7
9

Jaylen
McClain

S
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
97 89 79 84
84.9
10

Adon
Shuler

S
Notre Dame   Mascot
Notre Dame Mascot
63 80 79 72
83.5
11

Bryce
Thornton

S
Florida   Mascot
Florida Mascot
80 76 79 72
80.0
12

Kingston
Lopa

S
California   Mascot
California Mascot
63 59 78 82
84.3
13

Tao
Johnson

S
UCLA   Mascot
UCLA Mascot
50 66 78 84
81.0
14

Keon
Sabb

S
Alabama   Mascot
Alabama Mascot
81 73 77 76
86.2
15

Amare
Ferrell

S
Indiana   Mascot
Indiana Mascot
62 69 77 74
84.0
16

Jelani
McDonald

S
Texas   Mascot
Texas Mascot
90 86 76 75
86.5
17

King
Mack

S
NC State   Mascot
NC State Mascot
74 70 74 69
81.3
18

Earl
Little Jr.

S
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
78 76 74 76
83.8
19

Bray
Hubbard

S
Alabama   Mascot
Alabama Mascot
76 81 73 71
86.0
20

Corey
Myrick

S
Clemson   Mascot
Clemson Mascot
69 83 72 72
83.6