Safety play in the NFL has dramatically decreased in talent and production in recent years. Thanks to the pass-happy direction the NFL has evolved into, mixed with the simple concept of football starting upfront. The term free safety and strong safety doesn’t mean what it used to labeling a player and position like they use to.

Now, safeties have to be able to check off numerous boxes of capabilities mixing both the free and strong duties together as a starting safety will be asked to play both positions in the end to some degree. This means sneaking into the box to lay the wood as a hard-hitting run stuffer won’t get you very far if at some point you can’t drop back into coverage and stick with a tight-end or slot receiver 12 to 20 yards downfield. The same goes with safeties that excel at dropping deep into coverage as a “center fielder”. If that guy can’t stick his nose in the run game and be a willing and sure tackler on the field than he won’t help you much when teams develop a game plan around how to attack you and your weaknesses.

In a league where coaches, coordinators, and game planers adjust quickly from week-to-week having a starter on the field that doesn’t show enough balance in his game to hold his own and limit consistent weaknesses will be singled out and picked apart by everyone in the league after they watch the tape.

While guys like Ed Reed and Troy Polomalu were one-man highlight reels numerous people involved with the game and NFL including Minnesota Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer has stated that the talent of the current safeties in the league have declined the past ten years as a whole. When asked about the 2015 draft class of safeties and what they had to offer Zimmer said it was another sub-par class from both a talent and depth point of view.

Here’s a sneak peek at a handful of guys that could hold their own in both areas of the run and pass game and could fill up the safety talent pool in the NFL from knee deep to chest high. 

Damarious Randall, Arizona State

Randall has quietly risen up draft boards as of late and may have snuck himself behind Landon Collins as the second best pure safety in the class. Posting 101 tackles for the Sun Devils Randall packs a big punch in the run game as he plays like he wants to deliberately hurt someone jolting into his opponent with everything he’s got. 

He had three interceptions and eight passes broken up in 2014, and looked smooth and comfortable when thrown in the mix at the Senior Bowl at the free safety position. A hard hitting defender who was a leader and playmaker for his team during his tenure, Randall may have shown enough in the coverage department down in Mobile and in the quickness department at the combine (4.46) to be drafted in the second round.

One of the biggest hitters in the class at just 5’10 and 195 pounds, if Randall was a couple inches taller, he would be a first-round pick.

Eric Rowe, Utah

Not many impressed at the Senior Bowl more than Rowe who showed scouts what they came to see from the new generation of defensive backs after he measured in at an impressive 6’1” 207 pounds, but more impressively displayed the long and lanky wingspan (78 1/8”) coaches desire.

While many want to try the Utah product out at cornerback in hopes his physical attributes can translate to a solid press-corner, in the end Rowe may end up where he started as safety where he would not need much time to adjust having played the position in college. Between 2012-2013 Rowe started 22 games at safety collecting 133 tackles and 13 defended passes.

His 4.45 40 time gave conformation to what we saw on tape as Rowe has the size and speed combination to line-up with any receiver at the next level. This gives teams the versatility to be able to put him on a slot-receiver or tight-end as a strong safety or let him drop back into centerfield where he shows the fluid hips and natural cover-skills to be a starter over time. 

Rowe’s weaknesses come mainly when lining up at the cornerback position where he displays improper hand and feet technique specifically in press situations where teams are likely to try him out at. Teams are enticed with his potential down the road with his long and lanky frame as a big press-corner, but is a big risk if coaches are unable to develop him. Plug and playing Rowe at the safety position from day one is far less risky and still offers close to the max upside, so don’t get cute with this top-50 talent.

Byron Jones, UConn

The pre-draft process can make you or break you as never in someone's life can a tenth of a second or an extra rep mean the difference between going undrafted and being cut a million dollar check. Judging by the fact Jones went from a day-three projection to nearly a first-round lock, you could argue no prospect had a better pre-draft process than UConn’s Byron Jones. With out of this world numbers Jones blew up the combine with positional bests in the vertical jump, broad jump, 3-cone drill, 20-yard shuttle, and 60-yard shuttle and jumped onto the national stage in the process.

More impressive than Jones’ workout numbers and physical stature (6’1” 199 pounds) was his solid tape he had to back it up. Jones 2014 campaign was cut short after a shoulder injury ended his season however, in 2013 his first year at cornerback he posted 60 tackles and three interceptions excelling in a zone coverage scheme.

Before that Jones was the starting safety for UConn as just a sophomore and had an impressive total of 88 tackles and the year prior Jones earned a starting spot as a freshman showing his worth and talent to his team and coaches very early on.  

From a talent perspective, Jones is physical specimen who is quick to catch your eye with his long frame and solid build. Jones is a smooth yet explosive athlete that tackles with authority like a safety and understands where he and his opponent are on the field at all times showing keen awareness on the field. Much like Rowe, teams will likely be too enticed at the idea of molding Jones into a physical press cornerback however, with his natural football instincts, fundamental tackling, and low number of mental errors Jones has the potential to be a pro-bowl safety as he continues to develop.

Jaquiski Tartt, Samford 

Another Senior Bowl product Tartt used the weeklong event to help showcase his impressive skill-set and create a lot of buzz heading into the draft. While Byron Jones displayed incredible athleticism during the pre-draft process Tartt showed to be one of the biggest safeties this class has to offer from a pure measurable standpoint at 6’1” 222 pounds and a 78 3/4” wingspan.

To go along with his punishing size Tartt gets up to top end speed quickly and covers a lot of ground in a short period of time. A smart savvy player in the back end of you defense Tartt prides himself on film study and being mentally prepared which is why he shows the quick reflexes and read and react skills to be the aggressor against his opponent.

Tartt uses his size well and often to his advantage getting physical at or near the line of scrimmage, and in the box during run support. Because of this Tartt would likely see majority of early action in the NFL as a strong-safety as he learns the nuances of coverage and then can double-dip into a free safety role. Having a physical yet versatile player, who can help in the run game, and be an efficient coverage defender in zone schemes or manned up against slot receivers would be a huge asset for any team to have, in a league that is starving for natural talented safeties.