BEST RATED TACKLING SAFETIES 2027 NFL Draft

2027 BEST RATED TACKLING SAFETIES

A safety is the last line, so the tackling grade carries more weight here than anywhere else in the secondary. It scores tackles made against tackles missed, from depth and in the box, with penalties for the misses that turn into long touchdowns. Eric Berry (Tennessee) and Mark Barron (Alabama) both tackled at a linebacker’s standard.

The table ranks this year’s draft-eligible safeties by tackling grade, alongside run defense, zone coverage, man and press coverage, and overall rating.

2027 Safeties ranked by TACKLING

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

Jaylen
McClain

S
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
97 90 72 80
84.8
2

Koi
Perich

S
Oregon   Mascot
Oregon Mascot
93 79 69 72
84.7
3

Tae
Johnson

S
Notre Dame   Mascot
Notre Dame Mascot
88 83 87 83
86.3
4

Zion
Branch

S
Georgia   Mascot
Georgia Mascot
85 76 72 68
74.0
5

Ty
Benefield

S
LSU   Mascot
LSU Mascot
84 82 75 65
84.9
6

Marcus
Neal Jr.

S
Penn State   Mascot
Penn State Mascot
83 92 82 79
83.4
7

Jordan
Castell

S
Kentucky   Mascot
Kentucky Mascot
82 80 71 70
78.0
8

Marquis
Gallegos

S
USC   Mascot
USC Mascot
82 60 62 63
64.5
9

Isaac
Smith

S
Mississippi State   Mascot
Mississippi State Mascot
80 80 71 78
77.0
10

Bryce
Thornton

S
Florida   Mascot
Florida Mascot
80 72 83 72
81.1
11

Matthew
Bailey

S
Illinois   Mascot
Illinois Mascot
80 75 68 82
77.0
12

Earl
Little Jr.

S
Ohio State   Mascot
Ohio State Mascot
80 82 82 77
84.4
13

Jamel
Johnson

S
TCU   Mascot
TCU Mascot
79 80 69 74
67.4
14

Bray
Hubbard

S
Alabama   Mascot
Alabama Mascot
79 82 74 71
84.8
15

Jelani
McDonald

S
Texas   Mascot
Texas Mascot
79 81 83 83
85.1
16

Jacob
Oden

S
Michigan   Mascot
Michigan Mascot
78 62 55 54
67.9
17

Aaron
Flowers

S
Oregon   Mascot
Oregon Mascot
78 78 78 78
75.0
18

Corey
Myrick

S
Clemson   Mascot
Clemson Mascot
77 86 67 69
84.6
19

Randon
Fontenette

S
Colorado   Mascot
Colorado Mascot
76 73 78 68
78.0
20

Keon
Sabb

S
Alabama   Mascot
Alabama Mascot
75 73 75 74
84.6