With the announcement that Tre Boston is going to be released at the start of the new league year, the Panthers’ need at safety moved from developmental depth behind Tre Boston and Juston Burris to go with Sam Franklin and Kenny Robinson to potentially looking to find a starter to replace Boston. Though the Panthers do have more options to replace Boston than they have at, say, defensive tackle or offensive guard, this is definitely an area the Panthers will be looking at entering the draft.
With that in mind, what does the 2021 safety class have to offer, and is this a position group where the Panthers will have to get their man early or one where they’re more likely to find value by waiting until later in the draft?
Photo Credit: David Foster/Charlotte Observer
What is needed to play safety can depend a lot on scheme and role, and there is no one mold for a successful safety in the NFL. With that said, athletic traits are generally desirable for all prospects, and the faster and quicker a player is, the more space they can cover in deep zone and the better they are able to run vertically with receivers in man coverage and accelerate out of their breaks. Players also should show fluidity in their movements to be able to mirror receivers in off coverage regardless of man or zone, though this is more important if a player is going to play a lot of man coverage.
In coverage, players who are going to spend a lot of time in the slot playing man-to-man will ideally show some ability to effectively press receivers at the line, showing good hand placement in their strikes and the ability to make meaningful contact while retaining balance and discipline in their footwork. In off coverage, players need to show the ability to transition vertically without significant momentum, and should look to keep their feet moving at the head of routes to make it easier for them to accelerate out of their breaks.
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Zone coverage responsibilities very significantly with usage, but in general players need to show an awareness of what is happening around them as well as the discipline to understand their responsibilities and leverages. Better players will also show a level of anticipation and a recognition for different passing concepts to allow them to make the most of their athleticism to impact the play at the catch point. Players with ball skills who are able to consistently contest at the catch point and come down with interceptions are going to add further value to their game.
As run defender, those who are going to be asked to play in and around the box need to show an ability to work of block using their hands (though this of course a good thing for other players to show as well), and need to show an understanding of gap responsibilities and how to deal with pulling blockers and the like. All prospects also need to show good pursuit angles and not get caught either under or over pursuing, while good tackling technique is desirable for all prospects.
Some teams make a clear delineation between ‘box’ and ‘deep’ safeties, while others look for players who are able to be good in both roles rather than excelling at one. While Phil Snow’s defense is still evolving, based on 2020 he looks for players who can play multiple roles ranging from playing as the nickel against multiple TE formations to playing as the second linebacker against four-wide formations – but crucially, his philosophy seems very much to be about putting as many good players on the field as possible and then adjusting around them.
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| Name | College | Height | Weight | Athletic Traits | Man Coverage | Zone Coverage | Run Defense | Biggest Questionmark | Grade | Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trevon Moehrig | TCU | 6'2 | 202 | Decent-to-good quickness and deep speed with really quite nice deep speed | Is largely inexperienced in press and while he transitions quite nicely, has a really smooth backpedal and contests well he is too flat-footed at the head of routes in off coverage | Really good ball skills and breaks on the ball well on underneath routes with a good reading of the game but unclear whether he has the range to play centerfield | Takes generally good angles to the ball and is an excellent technical tackler who shows good gap and leverage awareness though wasn't asked to consistently work off blocks | Does he have the athleticism to be excellent in any one regard rather than being a very well-rounded player without an elite trait? | High 2nd Round | 1 |
| Andre Cisco | Syracuse | 6'0 | 209 | Really pretty good deep speed with good quickness and movement skills | Didn't play a ton of man coverage but flashes really nice acceleration out of his breaks and contests well but needs to make sure he doesn't stop his feet as much and can get a little over-aggressive in press | Reads the game well with really good ball skills and the range to be a real impact player in deep zone but wasn't asked to play much underneath zone so impact there is harder to judge | Really aggressive in taking on blocks but he does need to engage his hands more, takes pretty good angles to the ball and is a pretty good technical tackler though can be a bit passive as a run defender at times | Does he have the range to play that centerfield role against NFL calibre speed and arm strength? | Mid 2nd Round | 2 |
| Kary Vincent Jr | LSU | 5'10 | 189 | Good straight-line speed and quickness but movement skills aren't amazing | Shows some effectiveness in trail coverage as he has the speed to cover vertical but didn't play a ton of press coverage and footwork is too tight to play off-coverage against more technical receivers | Shows a really nice reading of the game and has good ball skills with the speed to cover deep zone and the quickness to drive on the ball underneath | Shows good gap discipline and awareness and shows reasonable technique to work off blocks with pretty good angles to the ball but needs to stay on his feet more consistently as a tackler | Can he show the flashes of play-reading over a larger sample size as a deep-field safety as that is where his value is? | Mid 3rd Round | 3 |
| Paris Ford | Pittsburgh | 6'0 | 190 | Decent-to-good deep speed and quickness with pretty good movement skills | Didn't play a ton of man coverage and probably will struggle against faster receivers but showed good fluidity in his movements though he needs to make sure he doesn't stop his feet as much in off coverage | Shows a generally good reading of the game in zone with pretty good anticipation and ball skills though whether he has the range to play in centerfield is questionable | Aggressively pursues to the ball but needs to make sure he sets his feet better and can be guilty of over-pursuing at times, though he does work off blocks reasonably well | Can he be an effective man coverage player to give him the versatility to play both in the slot, in the box and in two-high zone? | Mid 3rd Round | 4 |
| Damar Hamlin | Pittsburgh | 6'1 | 195 | Pretty good straight-line speed with good quickness and pretty good movement skills | Does get a little flat-footed at the head of routes but closes really well out of breaks and contests well at the catch point but wasn't asked to play much press and could struggle if asked to trail consistently | Has good range to cover space and the quickness to break on the ball with at least decent ball skills but doesn't show a huge amount of anticipation | Takes good angles to the ball on the whole and gap discipline is generally pretty good though he can get a little narrow on outside runs but wasn't asked to work off blocks a lot and needs to stay on feet better as a tackler | Can he further refine his footwork in man coverage as he offers the potential to be a really useful match-up piece? | Late 3rd Round | 5 |
| Ar'Darius Washington | TCU | 5'8 | 178 | Decent straight line speed with pretty good quickness and decent movement skills | Keeps his feet moving well in off coverage and breaks on the ball well but can get victimised on double moves and lacks the movement skills to match-up with receivers consistently | Reads the game very well with good ball skills and breaks on the ball well with the main concern being whether he has the range to play centerfield | Takes pretty good angles to the ball and while he can struggle to work off blocks at times he is a technically good tackler | Does he have the range to be an effective deep-field player as his movement skills will get exposed playing closer to the line? | High 4th Round | 6 |
| Richie Grant | UCF | 6'0 | 194 | Pretty good straight line speed and shows decent-to-good quickness but movement skills are a little questionable | Didn't play a ton of man coverage and while he has some potential in trail technique his hips are really quite tight at the head of routes and he needs to keep his feet moving as he leaves himself flat-footed at times | Generally shows a good understanding of where he needs to be an what his responsibility is, though there are some mental errors, and backpedal is pretty good and has good ball skills | Takes generally pretty good angles to the ball though can struggle to recover if he mis-judges and tackling technique is decent though could stand to set his feet better and needs to improve working off blocks | Can he work on his footwork in man coverage as this is going to limit his usage otherwise? | High 4th Round | 7 |
| Divine Deablo | Virginia Tech | 6'3 | 226 | Pretty good deep speed with decent quickness and movement skills | Pressed reasonably effectively and transition and ability to run vertically is decent but hips are quite tight and will likely struggle to be effective in off coverage against better receivers as he is slow out of his breaks at times | Has pretty good range and shows good ball skills with decent anticipation while backpedal is pretty good but can be quite passive and ability to impact the games comes and goes somewhat | Tackling technique is really pretty poor and he needs to do a much better job of setting his feet, doesn't show much ability to work off blocks and while angles aren't awful he can be really very passive | Can he improve his run defense to allow him to play a hybrid role or is he going to have to make his money away form the line? | Late 4th Round | 8 |
| Elijah Molden | Washington | 5'10 | 190 | Decent-to-good deep speed with pretty good quickness but movement skills aren't amazing | Does get a bit handsy and footwork at the head of routes can be really very clunky but does contest well and does well to recover out of breaks but is going to be a liability as long as his footwork is so sloppy | Shows pretty good awareness in zone and breaks on the ball quite effectively but range is likely going to be too limited to play in centerfield but shows pretty good ball skills, though will need to tighten up his footwork at the head of routes | Can occasionally take some poor angles to the ball and needs to make sure he sets his feet to avoid late movement but does a nice job of consistently wrapping though he needs to show he can consistently work off blocks | Can he work on his footwork to allow him to play in the slot as if he can then he could become a useful slot safety with some ability to play deep? | High 5th Round | 9 |
| Hamsah Nasirildeen | Florida State | 6'4 | 220 | Decent-to-good deep speed and decent deep speed but movement skills aren't amazing | Reasonably effective in press with the size to jam bigger receivers and TEs and can be effective in trail coverage but there is quite a lot of wasted motion at the head of routes in off coverage | Shows good ball skills and has reasonable reading of the game but lacks the quickness to consistently break on routes and range in deeper coverage is a concern | Tackling technique is quite poor and needs to set his feet more consistently but takes good angles to the ball and shows good gap discipline though needs to show he can consistently work off blocks | Can he improve his tackling as if he doesn't it's going to be hard to put him around the ball which is where his best value should be? | High 5th Round | 10 |
| Richard LeCounte | Georgia | 5'11 | 190 | Pretty good straight-line speed with decent-to-good quickness but movement skills aren't amazing | Is quite tight-hipped and struggles to adjust to changes in leverage in trail coverage and in off coverage can be a little slow out of his breaks for the same reason. Didn't play much press. | Has pretty good range in zone (though not a middle field player) and shows a pretty good reading of the game with good ball skills | Takes slightly overly aggressive angles to the ball and could do a better job when working off blocks while tackling technique is a little flat-footed leading to missed tackles | Can he find a role that takes advantage of his reading and ball skills that doesn't expose his questionable movement skills and poor run defense? | Mid 5th Round | 11 |
| Jevon Holland | Oregon | 6'1 | 196 | Pretty good straight-line speed and quickness is good but movement skills don't seem amazing | Does get quite flat-footed at the head of routes and can get exploited by double moves and didn’t play a ton of press coverage. Movement skills might actually allow him to be reasonably effective but there are a lot of technical hinderances | Can get caught watching the QB and lose sight of receivers around him and gets far too flat-tooted at times but has pretty good ball skills | Does a nice job of working off blocks and is at least a decent tackler but needs to show more active gap awareness as he can be worked out of his gap at times | Can he improve his footwork in coverage as he is far too often flat-footed and is going to struggle unless this improves? | Late 5th Round | 12 |
| Dwayne Johnson | San Diego State | 6'2 | 215 | Decent straight line speed but quickness is nothing special and movement skills aren't great | Shows a nice backpedal and transitions well but can get a little flat-footed at the head of routes and is largely inexperienced in press coverage | Transitions reasonably well and doesn't make bad decisions reading the game but doesn't have great ball skills and doesn't show much anticipation on routes | Gap fits nicely and is a decent tackler though he tends to try and wrap quite high but needs to show that he can consistently work off blocks | Does he have the upside to be more than a solid player who can potentially start as a strong safety? | Late 5th Round | 13 |
| Caden Sterns | Texas | 6'1 | 207 | Quickness and straight line speed are both pretty good but movement skills are really quite limiting | Very clunky in backpedal and at the head of routes and struggles to adjust to receivers coming of their breaks other than diving on underneath routes, can also get very grabby to compensate though he does contest quite well at the catch point | Drives on the ball aggressively on underneath routes but gets locked-in on routes in front of him and doesn't show great anticipation beyond that, with footwork making him very vulnerable to double moves but ball skills are pretty good | Takes pretty good angles to the ball but doesn't consistently show the ability to use his hands to work off blocks and while his tackling technique is pretty solid at times, he can sometimes come in a little too hot and not get his arms up | Does he have the ability to continue to work on his instincts and refine his footwork to allow him to be effective as a deep zone defender? | Mid 6th Round | 14 |
| Tariq Thompson | San Diego State | 6'0 | 210 | Decent quickness and movement skills with decent-to-good deep speed | Played reasonably effectively in press at times and transitions quite well but footwork needs to improve in off coverage and likely will struggle to play against more athletic TEs down the field | Has good ball skills and shows as least reasonable anticipation in zone but lacks the range to play a ton of deep coverage and will need to tighten-up his footwork at the head of routes but backpedal is reasonably solid | Takes quite poor angles to the ball at times and doesn't excel at working off blocks, while tackling technique needs work as he doesn't engage his shoulder enough and can seem a little contact-shy at times | Does he have the athleticism to play deep as if he is going to play close to the line he is going to need to improve significantly as a run defender? | Late 6th Round | 15 |
| Christian Uphoff | Illinois State | 6'3 | 195 | Pretty good deep speed with reasonable quickness and decent movement skills | Didn't play much man coverage and probably isn't going to play much press at the line and while he has some potential in off-man he needs to work on his footwork as his feet stop too much | Has reasonable range in zone and has the quickness to react underneath but doesn't show notable awareness of ball skills in terms of upside | Wasn't asked to play around the box much but takes good angles to the ball and is a reasonable technical tackler but will need to show he can work off blocks consistently | Does he offer enough upside to make up for the fact that he is likely something of a project? | Late 6th Round | 16 |
| JaCoby Stevens | LSU | 6'2 | 230 | Straight line speed is pretty good but quickness is fairly unremarkable and movement skills are a real concern | Movement skills aren't going to make him a liability in man coverage in most match-ups and this is not going to be where his value comes from | Shows a decent reading of the game and has a reasonable range with decent ball skills but quickness can limit his impact at times | Shows good gap awareness, takes good angles to the ball and works off blocks quite well but lateral agility creates some problems when trying to tackle in space | Can he be an effective enough underneath zone defender to see the field as a more traditional box safety? | High 7th Round | 17 |
| James Wiggins | Cincinnati | 6'0 | 205 | Decent-to-good deep speed but quickness is merely decent and movement skills aren't anything special | Didn't play a ton of man coverage and when he did his feet were far too stationary in off coverage while he likely lacks the explosion to stick with more athletic receivers out of breaks | Shows pretty good awareness in zone and has pretty good ball skills as well but range is a concern in deep coverage and needs to be tight with his footwork overall as he often plays with quite stationary, wide feet | Technically decent tackler though he could do with setting his feet better at times, but does take some poor angles and needs to show more consistency using his hands to work off blocks | Does he have the ability to improve as a run defender to allow him to be an effective player closer to the line of scrimmage? | High 7th Round | 18 |
| Talanoa Hufanga | USC | 6'1 | 215 | Quickness is decent but deep speed limits him at times and while movement skills aren't awful they're not a huge plus either | Wasn't asked to play much man coverage and while he breaks on the ball reasonably well in off coverage he is not going to be able to stick with NFL receivers or better receiving tight ends in man coverage down the field | Shows flashes of pretty good ball skills but anticipation is nothing remarkable and likely lacks the range to play a huge amount of deep zone effectively | Takes quite poor angles to the ball at times and while he shows at least some ability to use his hands to work of blocks he struggles to set his feet effective as a tackler, either going off feet or setting too narrow | Can he improve his discipline and technique as a run defender for him to see the field as a safety around the box as he lacks the athleticism to play deeper or in the slot? | Late 7th Round | 19 |
| Brady Breeze | Oregon | 6'0 | 196 | Quickness is decent but not a plus trait while movement skills are maybe a slight plus but deep speed is limiting | Struggles with acceleration out of breaks, not helped by tendency to stop feet at the head of routes, and likely lacks the speed to run vertically with receivers | Shows reasonable awareness in zone coverage but athleticism really limits his potential in this regard but does have at least some ball skills | Is a technically pretty solid tackler though he could stand to stay on his feet a little longer at times, but uses hands well to work off blocks and takes generally good angles to the ball | Does he have the athleticism to stick in the NFL as a back-up zone DB who can play some cover 2 and underneath zone? | Undrafted | 20 |
| Chris Brown | Texas | 5'11 | 187 | Decent-to-good quickness with decent deep speed but movement skills aren't amazing | Didn't play much man coverage and his lack of top-end speed and questionable movement skills are likely going to make it hard for him to be consistently effective in this role in the NFL | Shows pretty good awareness of where he needs to be but struggles to make much of an impact due to lack of plus anticipation and limited athletic traits, though does have at least some ball skills | Takes reasonable if quite cautious angles but struggles to work off blocks with minimal hand usage and is quite a poor tackler who really needs to wrap far more consistently | Does he have any traits that will allow him to be a plus player in the NFL or is he going to be ST/depth only? | Undrafted | 21 |
There are two safety prospects who really separate themselves at the top of the 2021 class, and while they are quite different in some ways, both Trevon Moehrig and Andre Cisco can be major pieces for an NFL defense.
Moehrig is the most polished of the two, and while he doesn’t have one stand-out trait he is extremely well-rounded and should be able to fit in any scheme. Cisco is not as polished a run defender and need slightly more work in man coverage in terms of his footwork but shows great range and instincts in zone and probably has the highest ceiling in the class. Both would be good fits in Carolina, if likely to go quite early in the draft.
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA – OCTOBER 12: Kary Vincent Jr. #5 of the LSU Tigers reacts after his team scores against the Florida Gators at Tiger Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Marianna Massey/Getty Images)
There is then quite a large second tier of prospects, and here there is more of a stylistic range.
Kary Vincent Jr.’s ceiling as a centerfield safety in a cover 3 scheme with some ability to play around the box gives him the biggest upside of the rest, while Paris Ford is probably the best suited to filling the role that Boston occupied among the second-tier prospects with a great reading of the game in zone and solid run defense – even if he doesn’t have quite the explosive athleticism of some other prospects.
Damar Hamlin looks to be a more natural replacement for Burris than Boston, as while he doesn’t flash the same zone upside as the others he shows the traits to be an effective player in man coverage who can alternate between playing in the slot and playing deep. Ar’Darius Washington is probably not a great fit in Carolina but should be able to be a solid starter as a more conventional free safety. Richie Grant has attracted a lot of attention following the Senior Bowl, and does show a lot of nice things, but his movement skills give him a slightly lower ceiling than some others but could still be a quality starter from day one.
Photo Credit: Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat
There are some interesting developmental options further down the board as well. Divine Deablo is probably more of a pure boom-bust prospect but could fit for a team looking for that LB/S hybrid similar to the role that Jeremy Chinn plays in Carolina, though he does need a fair amount of technical development. Hamsah Nasirildeen is another who attracted some attention at the Senior Bowl and while he needs quite a lot of refinement technically has a combination of size and athleticism that teams will find intriguing.
Overall, this is a very good and deep safety class, and this could well be something that played into the Panthers’ decision to release Boston, and while they will likely enter the draft with plenty of needs to go around, this is certainly a good draft class to be looking to find a new starting safety in the middle rounds.
(Top Photo via Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)
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