Safeties
The were nineteen SAFs selected in the 2022 draft, as follows:
Round 1 - 3
Round 2 - 3
Round 3 - 3
Round 4 - 2
Round 5 - 2
Round 6 - 2
Round 7 - 4
The 2022 SAF draft was strong overall, with a rush of talent taken within the first two days. Rounds 4 through 7 were somewhat meh, but a few bargains emerged.
The 2022 SAF draft should be very comparable if not better in terms of overall talent. The top fifteen SAF prospects alone match up favorably to the 2021 class.
1) Antonio Johnson | 6'2 | 225 | SAF/CB | Texas A&M
2021 - 79 tackles, 1 INT
9/10 - Appalachian State - Johnson had a great game. He held down the back end very well, also paced his squad with 13 tackles. He was quick to diagnose plays and come up in run support.
9/17 - Miami - Johnson had a very good night, showing a great balance of cover skills and tackling ability. He really stepped up when his teammate Richardson got ejected, filled in well as a striker. He finished with 8 tackles, let next to nothing by him.
10/8 - Alabama - With 'Bama opting to run the ball, Johnson was quiet, limited in opportunities to really flash. That said, no deep balls went by him.
2) Brandon Joseph | 6'1 | 192 | SAF | Notre Dame
2021 - 79 tackles, 3 INTs
9/3 - Ohio State - Joseph had a great game. He was a fireplug throughout this contest, showed well vs. the run and in coverage. His play speed and range was impressive. He finished with 4 tackles, kept the back half in check.
10/8 - BYU - Joseph was great, paced his team with 6 tackles, held the back half well.
3) Jordan Battle | 6'1 | 210 | SAF | Alabama
2021 - 85 tackles, 3 INTs
9/10 - Texas - Battle was solid today, holding down his coverage duties and posting 4 tackles in support.
10/1 - Arkansas - Battle had a good game. He was tight in coverage when assigned to be, was very active as a tackler with 8 stops.
10/8 - Texas A&M - Battle was decent today, chipped in with 3 tackles. He wasn't exposed in pass coverage, as his CBs were.
4) Christopher Smith | 5'10 | 185 | SAF | Georgia
2021 - 34 tackles, 3 INTs
9/3 - Oregon - Smith had an excellent, certainly looked like a potential 1st-rounder, one of the best safeties in a loaded draft class. He finished the game with 6 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 INT. He read plays very well, wasted no time closing in on the ball whether it was a pass or run. He played with very good functional speed, flashing the ability to cover a lot of ground in little time.
10/1 - Missouri - Smith had a decent game. While he missed badly on an assignment once, he was otherwise quite good in coverage over the back half.
5) Ji'Ayir Brown | 5'11 | 208 | SAF | Penn State
2021 - 73 tackles, 6 INTs
10/1 - Northwestern - Brown had a very good game. While his INT was an absolute softball, his coverage was still very tight. He also asserted himself as a reliable tackler, flashed range.
10/29 - Ohio State - Brown had a great game, showed off his range and tackling ability, was quick to close on the ball. He paced his team with 8 tackles, was reliable throughout.
6) Jaylon Carlies | 6'2 | 219 | SAF | Missouri
2021 - 67 tackles, 4 INTs
9/3 - LA Tech - Carlies had a great game, really jumped off the screen. He had 5 tackles, was great in coverage and showed great closing speed.
9/24 - Auburn - Carlies had another good game. He showed off very good play speed, coupled with ball awareness. He finished with 7 tackles, 1 sack.
10/1 - Georgia - Aside from one bad miss on a tackle, Carlies was very impressive. He played with incredible speed, covered a ton of ground. He wasted no time coming up in run support. He finished with 13 tackles, 2.5 TFLs.
10/8 - Florida - Carlies wasn't the prominent force that he usually is, but he still looked good with 5 tackles. he carried out his job well.
11/12 - Tennessee - Carlies had a down game. He whiffed badly on a TD run, and was slow coming up in run support a few times. He paced his team with 9 tackles, but gave up too much yardage in doing so.
7) JL Skinner | 6'4 | 220 | SAF | Boise State
2021 - 92 tackles, 2 INTs
8) Malachi Moore | 6'0 | 190 | SAF | Alabama
2021 - 16 tackles, 1 INT
9/10 - Texas - Limited snaps.
10/1 - Arkansas - Moore was solid overall, carried out his assignments pretty well. While there was some cushion due to a soft zone, he closed well.
10/8 - Texas A&M - Moore was decent, but not great. He chipped in one just 1 tackle, and trailed a couple times in pass coverage.
9) Demani Richardson | 6'1 | 215 | S | Texas A&M
2021 - 65 tackles, 1 INT
9/10 - Appalachian State - Richardson wasn't really tested in the pass game, held down his assignments well. He did chip in with 5 tackles, looked the part as and when needed.
9/17 - Miami - Richardson got ejected for targeting, but more than showed his abilities when in. Atop of him being a fierce striker, he played the filed with very good range.
10/8 - Alabama - Richardson had a very good game. He paced his squad with 12 tackles, showed very good open field speed, able to track the ball very well.
10) Trey Dean II | 6'2 | 194 | SAF | Florida
2021 - 88 tackles, 1 INT
9/3 - Utah - Dean was everywhere in this game, somewhat quietly paced his team with 12 tackles. He read plays well and was quick to react in pass coverage and run support. He played with great intensity.
9/10 - Kentucky - Dean was very effective again this week, pacing his team with 9 tackles, 1.5 TFLs. He read plays very well and was rangy in space, quick to close on the ball.
9/24 - Tennessee - Dean had a very solid game. While not tasked with doing much against the pass, he was quick to swarm at the LOS. He posted 6 tackles.
10/8 - Missouri - Dean had a good game, was always around the ball. He asserted himself very well with 7 tackles, was quick to get into the action.
11) Rashad Torrence | 6'0 | 197 | SAF | Florida
2021 - 87 tackles, 3 INTs
9/3 - Utah - Like his teammate Dean, Torrence was active as well. He posted 7 tackles, making his contributions felt as an open filed tackler. He also held his coverage assignments up.
9/10 - Kentucky - Torrence was solid in the back half, notched 7 tackles. There wasn't much that got by him at all.
9/24 - Tennessee - Torrence had a very good game. He was often tasked with playing in the box, which he shined at doing. He posted 13 tackles, was very active.
10/8 - Missouri - Torrence was solid, not challenged much in his assignments. He finished with 4 tackles.
12) Jalen Catalon | 5'10 | 200 | SAF | Arkansas (Out for Season)
2021 - 46 tackles, 2 INTs
9/3 - Cincinnati - Despite leaving the game early with a shoulder injury, Catalon was still able to get in on 8 tackles. While the stat line is very good, his play was a bit unbalanced. His pass coverage was a bit lacking at times, and his shoulder injury was actually due to him whiffing on a would-be tackle.
13) Tykee Smith | 5'10 | 200 | SAF | Georgia
2021 - 5 tackles, 0 INTs
9/3 - Oregon - Smith had just 2 tackles, wasn't challenged much at all relative to him carrying out his assignments.
10/1 - Missouri - Smith flashed a couple times, asserted himself with 3 tackles. He never wowed, but did nothing to drop his stock.
14) Xavier Henderson | 6'0 | 210 | SAF | Michigan State
2021 - 96 tackles, 1 INT
10/8 - Ohio State - DNP
15) Christian Izien | 5'10 | 200 | SAF | Rutgers
2021 - 69 tackles, 0 INTs
10/8 - Nebraska - Izien had an impressive game. He showed off great pass coverage skills, forced the QB to progress beyond him. As a tackler, he flew to the ball, showed off speed and intensity. He ended up with 6 tackles, 1 TFL.
16) Demarcco Hellams | 6'1 | 208 | SAF | Alabama
2021 - 87 tackles, 3 INTs
9/10 - Texas - Hellams was very active today, posted 10 tackles, 1 PBU, 1 TFL. While he did let Worthy get behind him on one play, he was otherwise very reliable, showed good range in space. He was constantly around the ball.
10/1 - Arkansas - Hellams showed average play today. While he was in on 6 tackles, he was late on a couple run reads from the back half.
10/8 - Texas A&M - Hellams was very up and down. He was very sound in tackling support, had 7 stops. However, he was suspect in pass coverage, especially on one play which could've meant the game for his team.
17) Lathon Ransom | 6'1 | 205 | SAF | Ohio State
2021 - 38 tackles, 0 INTs
9/3 - Notre Dame - Ransom had a good game, held down his in the box duties very well. He was good in coverage against the TE, posted 7 tackles on the night.
10/8 - Michigan State - Ransom had a nice game. He had a good INT early on, read the QB well and showed good over the top coverage skills. He also had 3 tackles, was very fast to the ball.
18) Latavious Brini | 6'2 | 211 | SAF | Arkansas
2021 - 38 tackles, 0 INTs
9/3 - Cincinnati - Brini had a decent game, held down his assignments for the most part. He was in on 5 tackles, was around the ball often. That said, his pass coverage could've been tighter in then middle of the field, as Cincy had a few easy ones due to subpar coverage.
9/10 - South Carolina - Brini's played didn't stand out, good or bad. He posted 4 tackles, and was decent in coverage.
10/1 - Alabama - Brini had just 1 tackle, was a non factor in this one.
19) Kenny Logan | 6'0 | 210 | SAF | Kansas
2021 - 110 tackles, 1 INT
20) Ronnie Hickman | 6'1 | 205 | SAF | Ohio State
2021 - 98 tackles, 2 INTs
9/3 - Notre Dame - Hickman played close to the LOS and did so well. He posted 4 tackles, didn't let much by him.
9/24 - Wisconsin - Hickman contributed with 3 tackles, simply wasn't challenged in coverage.
10/8 - Michigan State - Hickman was solid today, around the ball often. He had 5 tackles, covered his assignments well.
21) Kenderick Duncan | 6'3 | 206 | SAF | Louisville
2921 - 76 tackles, 1 INT
9/3 - Syracuse - Duncan had an up and down game. He chipped in with 4 tackles, and was active in run support at times. However, he was too slow to react to intermediate passes at times, was inconsistent with over the top support.
9/16 - Florida State - Duncan was solid in his back half support. He didn't allow anything over the top, and was active as a tackler with 7 stops.
22) Ja'von Hicks | 6'2 | 205 | SAF | Cincinnati
2021 - 56 tackles, 2 INTs
9/3 - Arkansas - Hicks had a very average game, posting 2 tackles on the contest. He didn't look good nor bad, just wasn't in on much action.
9/24 - Indiana - Hicks chipped in with 2 tackles, did little to stand out.
23) BeeJay Williamson | 6'1 | 185 | SAF | LA Tech
2021 - 52 tackles, 3 INTs
9/1 - Missouri - Williamson paced his team with 11 tackles, showing off good range and instincts as a whole. However, he was out of position a few times, gave up more yardage than he should've. While he did tackle as stated, his lack of girth was obvious, as he wasn't seen as a striker by any means.
24) Rashad Wisdom | 5'9 | 205 | SAF | UTSA
2021 - 87 tackles, 0 INTs
25) Josh Proctor | 6'2 | 205 | SAF | Ohio State
2021 - 10 tackles, 0 INTs
9/24 - Wisconsin - Proctor flashed a few times in this contest, showing off his read and react skills. He posted 6 tackles, was around the ball often. He was solid in both coverage and coming up against the run.
10/8 - Michigan State - Nothing flashy, but Proctor held down his role well.
26) Jalen Green | 6'0 | 195 | SAF | Mississippi State
2021 - 42 tackles, 2 INTs
9/3 - Memphis - Green had an up and down night. He was good in coverage a couple times, and stepped up with 5 tackles. However, he got beat badly on a long pass that should've been a TD. He also took a couple of iffy angles as a tackler.
9/10 - Arizona - Green had a solid night with 3 tackles, 1 PBU. He wasn't tested much, but still looked more like a run-stopper vs. a pure cover man.
9/17 - LSU - Green had a very good game, flashed in pass coverage and coming up in run support. He posted 4 tackles.
27) Akeem Dent | 6'1 | 196 | SAF | Florida State
2021 - 44 tackles, 1 INT
9/4 - LSU - Dent looked the part a number of times, came away with 4 tackles and 2 PBUs. He read plays well and was quick to close in on the ball with a vengeance.
9/16 - Florida State - Dent had a solid game, looked the part in pass coverage and coming up against the run. He tallied 10 stops on the night, was around the ball quite often.
9/24 - Boston College - Dent wasn't challenged. He had 3 tackles, kept all plays in front of him.
28) Cam'Ron Kelly | 6'1 | 212 | SAF | North Carolina
2621 - 68 tackles, 4 INTs
29) Avery Young | 6'0 | 195 | SAF | Rutgers
221 - 60 tackles, 1 INT
10/8 - Nebraska - Young had a solid outing, not being tested much at all due to sound coverage. He also asserted himself well as a tackler, coming in with 8 stops.
30) Tanner McCalister | 5'11 | 192 | SAF | Ohio State
2021 - 42 tackles, 1 INT
9/24 - Wisconsin - McCallister was a bit off on a few of his run reads, but did show the athletic ability to be good in time. He chipped in with 4 tackles.
10/8 - Michigan State - McCallister was in on 3 tackles, carried out his spot duties well.