BEST MAN/PRESS COVERAGE SAFETIES 2027 NFL Draft

2027 BEST MAN/PRESS COVERAGE SAFETIES

Man coverage for a safety usually means a tight end or a slot receiver, and the grade scores those snaps: staying in phase, playing the ball, and what was given up when targeted. A safety who can hold up in man frees the defense to do more with its corners. Eric Berry (Tennessee) and Earl Thomas (Texas) both graded well here in college.

Below, draft-eligible safeties are ranked by man and press coverage grade, with zone coverage, tackling, run defense and overall rating alongside.

2027 Safeties ranked by MAN/PRESS

RANK Player Pos Team TACKLING RUN DEFENSE ZONE MAN/PRESS Rating
1

Kingston
Lopa

S
California   Mascot
California Mascot
64 59 88 89
84.7
2

Peyton
Bowen

S
Oklahoma   Mascot
Oklahoma Mascot
73 86 85 85
84.6
3

Tao
Johnson

S
UCLA   Mascot
UCLA Mascot
50 66 79 85
80.9
4

Jelani
McDonald

S
Texas   Mascot
Texas Mascot
79 81 83 83
85.1
5

Tae
Johnson

S
Notre Dame   Mascot
Notre Dame Mascot
88 83 87 83
86.3
6

Matthew
Bailey

S
Illinois   Mascot
Illinois Mascot
80 75 68 82
77.0
7

Amare
Ferrell

S
Indiana   Mascot
Indiana Mascot
75 75 83 82
84.5
8

KJ
Bolden

S
Georgia   Mascot
Georgia Mascot
73 81 80 80
87.8
9

Rod
Moore

S
Michigan   Mascot
Michigan Mascot
59 68 71 80
79.0
10

Jaylen
McClain

S
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
97 90 72 80
84.8
11

Marcus
Neal Jr.

S
Penn State   Mascot
Penn State Mascot
83 92 82 79
83.4
12

Terry
Moore

S
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
71 81 78 79
83.3
13

Isaac
Smith

S
Mississippi State   Mascot
Mississippi State Mascot
80 80 71 78
77.0
14

Aaron
Flowers

S
Oregon   Mascot
Oregon Mascot
78 78 78 78
75.0
15

Dejuan
Lane

S
Tennessee   Mascot
Tennessee Mascot
58 65 78 77
79.9
16

Earl
Little Jr.

S
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
80 82 82 77
84.4
17

Ricardo
Jones

S
Vanderbilt   Mascot
Vanderbilt Mascot
57 59 78 76
72.6
18

Kaleb
Beasley

S
Louisville   Mascot
Louisville Mascot
62 67 78 76
73.4
19

Robert
Fitzgerald

S
Northwestern   Mascot
Northwestern Mascot
70 85 84 75
81.0
20

Mason
Curtis

S
Michigan   Mascot
Michigan Mascot
49 57 76 75
77.0