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
86.9
2

KJ
Bolden

S
Georgia   Mascot
Georgia Mascot
90 91 88 83
87.4
3

Tae
Johnson

S
Notre Dame   Mascot
Notre Dame Mascot
88 83 87 83
86.9
4

Faletau
Satuala

S
BYU   Mascot
BYU Mascot
84 75 87 78
84.9
5

Terry
Moore

S
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
70 82 81 83
85.7
6

Amare
Ferrell

S
Indiana   Mascot
Indiana Mascot
62 75 81 79
84.0
7

Corey
Myrick

S
Clemson   Mascot
Clemson Mascot
76 83 80 80
83.6
8

Marcus
Neal Jr.

S
Penn State   Mascot
Penn State Mascot
81 92 80 73
84.2
9

Peyton
Bowen

S
Oklahoma   Mascot
Oklahoma Mascot
78 85 79 87
85.8
10

Adon
Shuler

S
Notre Dame   Mascot
Notre Dame Mascot
61 75 79 75
83.5
11

King
Mack

S
NC State   Mascot
NC State Mascot
82 74 79 73
81.3
12

Keon
Sabb

S
Alabama   Mascot
Alabama Mascot
78 74 78 78
86.2
13

Bray
Hubbard

S
Alabama   Mascot
Alabama Mascot
77 88 78 74
85.9
14

Tao
Johnson

S
UCLA   Mascot
UCLA Mascot
56 68 78 83
81.0
15

Jelani
McDonald

S
Texas   Mascot
Texas Mascot
88 88 75 72
86.5
16

Jaylen
McClain

S
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
95 83 75 82
84.9
17

Jackson
Bennee

S
Utah   Mascot
Utah Mascot
58 68 74 78
83.8
18

Earl
Little Jr.

S
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
72 70 74 76
83.8
19

Ty
Benefield

S
LSU   Mascot
LSU Mascot
67 73 71 66
85.6
20

Mason
Curtis

S
Michigan   Mascot
Michigan Mascot
61 75 70 70
80.4