No one is going to confuse the top of this year’s safety class with Caleb Downs anytime soon, but there is a very strong group that could ultimately vie for late first- or early second-round consideration.

This class isn’t short on size, either, with numerous prospects below who could pass for linebackers.

Even though the position has been devalued throughout the NFL, we could easily see this class producing a couple more first-rounders like we saw in 2026.

Positional Rankings:

• IOL • S • LB • DT • TE • OT • RB • CB • EDGE • WR • QB

Class Strength Rating:

8/10

Player Type:

Versatile Chess Piece

Early Grade:

Early Day 2

The Kyle Hamilton comparisons have been made since the day the lanky 6-foot-2 safety got to campus at Notre Dame. While Hamilton is obviously a one-of-one who sets an unfair bar, the similarities in their play styles are unmistakable.

Tae Johnson can play deep, slot or in the box without looking out of place. His ultra-long frame allows him to make plays on the ball from behind receivers in coverage while also making him a top-notch tackler in the open field. In his lone season as a starter, he picked off four passes and broke up three more. While Johnson’s play strength hasn’t come close to Hamilton’s yet, the redshirt sophomore still has time to fill out.

With a playmaker’s mentality, the biggest thing Johnson needs to clean up is the unnecessary chances he takes. He’ll jump routes and take himself out of position more often than he should. That’s not unheard of for a one-year starter, though. If he cleans that up, he could easily play his way into the late first round.

Player Type:

Do-it-all-safety

Jelani McDonald is the type of well-rounded athlete whose draft stock will always have a high floor. For a taller safety at just over 6-foot-2, his ability to change directions effortlessly is his biggest selling point.

He fits the body type and play style that’s becoming en vogue in the slot in the NFL: players with longer wingspans who can bring some weakside linebacker-esque ability in the run game while still mirroring underneath routes. It also helps that he’s a physical, sure-handed tackler.

Player Type:

Rangy Deep Safety

Early grade: Early Day 2

KJ Bolden fits perfectly into what’s become an early-round Georgia safety pipeline. Malaki Starks, Javon Bullard, and Lewis Cine have all gone in the top two rounds over the past five years, and Bolden looks destined to do the same. He was a true freshman starter for the Bulldogs in 2024 and has been nothing but reliable ever since. PFF credits him with allowing only 11 first downs on 744 career coverage snaps.

Player Type:

Box Enforcer

Early grade: Day 2

Ty Benefield spent three years at Boise State, where he broke into the starting lineup midway through his true freshman season before transferring to LSU this offseason.

Even though he’s only No. 4 on this list, Benefield is the clear-cut No. 1 from a pure traits perspective. At 6-foot-2 and 208 pounds, he’s absurdly twitchy and absurdly violent. Some of the high-end reps he put on tape last year were nothing short of jaw-dropping.

Player Type:

Slot

Early grade: Late Day 2

Zach Lutmer plays the slot for Iowa, which is always a difficult role to project wholesale to the NFL. With Lutmer’s smooth change-of-direction ability and feel for manipulating space, deep safety feels far more likely for him than outside corner at the next level. He’s at his best in coverage, where only 13 of his 63 targets last year resulted in a first down.

Player Type:

Future LB

Early grade: Early Day 3

Faletau Satuala isn’t your run-of-the-mill safety at 6-foot-4 ⅝ and 212 pounds. In fact, if Satuala sticks at safety, he’ll be the tallest defensive back drafted since 6-foot-4 ¾ Pat Watkins out of Florida State went to the Cowboys in the fifth round in 2006.

Were I advising Satuala, I’d tell him to take a look at Sonny Styles’ career arc as a massive safety who switched to linebacker and ended up a top-10 pick. Even now, Satuala’s best reps come almost exclusively around the line of scrimmage.

Any scheme with a defined box safety role or one that likes to bring a safety down into a dime linebacker role will heavily covet Hubbard’s skill set next spring.