The right safety can be a game-changer for a defensive unit in the modern NFL. Looking at the 2024 NFL Draft safety class off preliminary tape viewings, can the top prospects provide that kind of value for NFL teams? Here’s a look at the top safeties in the 2024 NFL Draft as it stands.
Ranking the Safeties in the 2024 NFL Draft
It’s too early to provide any referendums on the 2023 NFL Draft safety class. There’s a chance the group could exceed expectations. But evaluators generally agreed that, off the game film, it was a weaker class than normal. And even the best players available, like Alabama’s Brian Branch, fit better into specific roles and weren’t traditional prospects.
Versatility, like the kind that Branch offers, is valuable, but being able to play in two-high and single-high, or match up against big slot WRs and move TEs with size, is just as much an asset. Luckily, there appears to be more variety in the preliminary 2024 NFL Draft safety group, and that’s something teams can capitalize on.
10) Jaylon Carlies, Missouri
The Missouri secondary should be a very strong unit in 2023. They return both cornerback Kris Abrams-Draine and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. and will bring in safety Tre’Vez Johnson from Florida. But Jaylon Carlies might be the team’s most exciting DB prospect. He has 148 tackles, seven TFLs, a sack, seven picks, and four pass deflections through 2021 and 2022.
At 6’3″, 219 pounds, Carlies has rare size and length for a safety and can fulfill a multitude of roles within that frame. He’s shown he can manage zones with a smooth backpedal and hawk in front of passes, but he also has the searing explosiveness and physicality to be an enforcer coming downhill, tackling like an apex predator as a support defender. Carlies needs more overarching consistency, but he has unteachable traits.
9) Bud Clark, TCU
The 2024 NFL Draft safety group isn’t short on ball hawks. Many of these prospects have proven track records when it comes to producing at the catch point, but few have been more prolific than TCU’s Bud Clark. Clark snatched five interceptions to go along with five deflections in 2022, and he returns as a dynamic playmaker for the Horned Frogs.
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Clark is lean at 6’2″, 190 pounds, and that can be a hindrance in support at times. But his most marketable trait is his athleticism and his WR-like tracking ability when passes come his way. He has the mobility to match pass catchers out of stems, and when the ball is in the air, he instantly gravitates to it with his eyes and his hands.
8) Hudson Clark, Arkansas
The Arkansas secondary quietly has a chance to be one of the best units in college football next year. The Razorbacks have both Lorando Johnson and Al Walcott Jr. coming over from Baylor, and they have cornerback Dwight McGlothern returning for another year. Among all this talent, however, the team’s best prospect might be safety Hudson Clark.
Clark has four picks and 15 pass deflections across a three-year career and broke out in 2022 with 11 PBUs and four TFLs. Clark has experience at cornerback, but now playing safety full-time, he’s found an even better niche. He’s a lean, rangy playmaker at 6’2″ with superb ball skills, who also shows off quantifiably elite explosiveness when triggering on plays.
7) Jaden Hicks, Washington State
The Washington State Cougars quietly had a very imposing defense in 2022 that produced a 2023 NFL Draft pick in linebacker Daiyan Henley. There’s more talent on the way in 2023. Edge rusher Brennan Jackson has a definite chance to be drafted next April, as does safety Jaden Hicks — a high-upside defensive back who’s just now coming into his prime.
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Hicks, who stands at 6’3″, 202 pounds, put up 76 tackles, two TFLs, a sack, a pick, and six pass deflections in 2022. At his size, he’s an explosive athlete and a physical competitor coming downhill. That’s what stands out most on Hicks’ tape, but he also has the coordination and contortion ability to extend beyond his frame and make plays on the ball.
6) Tyler Nubin, Minnesota
The Minnesota Golden Gophers had both Terell Smith and Jordan Howden selected in the 2023 NFL Draft. And yet, the team’s best NFL Draft prospect in the secondary is still on the roster. Allow us to introduce you to Tyler Nubin, the versatile veteran who has 107 tackles, three TFLs, seven picks, and five pass deflections over the past two seasons.
Nubin brings a baseline level of speed and explosiveness at 6’2″, 205 pounds, to start. But NFL evaluators will be especially taken by Nubin’s blend of zone awareness, football IQ, corrective mobility, and playmaking both in coverage and run support. Versatile safeties are worth their weight in gold in the modern NFL, and Nubin brings a lot of utility within that mold.
5) Kamren Kinchens, Miami (FL)
As many ball hawks as there are on our preliminary top safeties list for the 2024 NFL Draft, none had more interceptions than Miami’s Kamren Kinchens in 2022. Kinchens put up six picks at the back end of the Hurricanes’ secondary, along with six deflections, and he also added 59 total tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss on the year.
At 5’11”, 202 pounds, Kinchens is the stockier, more compact of the two Miami safeties, and his frame serves him well as a tackler when roaming into the box. Kinchens can improve his zone awareness at times when passing off and carrying routes, but in deep coverage, he has the range and ball-tracking ability to swoop under lofted throws.
4) Calen Bullock, USC
It would not be surprising if, after the 2023 campaign, Calen Bullock not only rises up this list but competes for a top spot. For two seasons, Bullock has been a premier coverage defender for the USC Trojans. And now, in his first season of eligibility, he has the potential to emerge as a first-round prospect if he can sustain his high level of play.
A former WR, Bullock stands at 6’3″, 180 pounds, and has elite ball skills. Beyond that, his build and athletic profile translate extremely well at safety. He’s an explosive, high-energy athlete with elite deep speed and range, and while he can add more mass to his frame, he’s not at all afraid to come downhill and impose his will against runners.
3) Rod Moore, Michigan
Daxton Hill saw his name called in Round 1 of the 2022 NFL Draft. It remains to be seen if Rod Moore will go that early, but he has a case to be one of the top safeties in the 2024 NFL Draft. He’s not as explosive as Hill, but one thing Moore has made clear in his two years in Ann Arbor: He’s just a good football player, period.
To be fair, Moore has more than enough functional athleticism to work with. He’s agile and fluid in space at 6’0″, 185 pounds, but his true superpower as a prospect is his intelligence and natural instincts — something that allowed him to hit the field immediately at Michigan. He recognizes routes quickly, can read the QB’s eyes, and doesn’t hesitate to make plays.
2) James Williams, Miami (FL)
If you see a player on Miami’s defensive film who towers over everyone in the secondary, chances are high that it’s James Williams. At 6’5″, 224 pounds, Williams has unnatural size for a safety. It can be easy to hype up those kinds of prospects prematurely in the NFL Draft realm, but Williams has provided scouts with good moments on tape.
Williams can make plays on the ball, as evidenced by his three picks and eight deflections over the past two seasons. However, the most actionable utility for his frame comes in support. Williams accelerates well for his size, and his sheer size advantage can help him slab runners with physicality when encroaching on the line. His upside is immense.
Who is the Best Safety in the 2024 NFL Draft?
Early on, the safety position is one of the toughest groups to get a read on ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft cycle. There’s hope that this year’s class will, at the very least, have more clarity than the 2023 group. It remains to be seen if that will be the case, but we know one player who’ll very much be a factor for the top spot: Clemson’s Andrew Mukuba.
1) Andrew Mukuba, Clemson
The top safety spot in the 2024 NFL Draft is up for grabs. No one is locked in yet, but as we stand, the prospect with the most translatable skill set and ceiling might be Andrew Mukuba. Mukuba splits his time between free safety, the nickel spot, and the box, and through two seasons, he’s put up 101 tackles, an interception, and 10 pass breakups.
Mukuba isn’t the size threat that other safeties on this list are. He’s 6’0″, at most, and just 185 pounds. But within that frame, Mukuba packs an effortless kind of short-area athleticism and the range to drape receivers in space while tracking the ball with keen eyes. His overarching, high-quality versatility is what may win over scouts next April.
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What stands out most on Mukuba’s film is his elastic brand of athleticism. Simply moving is easy for him — not just vertically, but laterally as well. We mentioned range, but he’s also a very capable slot defender in off-man who can match WRs with fast feet and flip his hips effortlessly to carry opponents upfield.
You can do so many things with Mukuba. Not only can he perform multiple roles and functions at a high level, but he also serves as an all-encompassing glue piece you can build a secondary around. There are still areas in which he can grow further, but he’s a surefire fit for the modern NFL on the defensive side.
Honorable Mentions
- Jeffrey Bassa, Oregon
- Beau Brade, Maryland
- Lathan Ransom, Ohio State
- Lorando Johnson, Arkansas
- Billy Bowman, Oklahoma
- Cole Bishop, Utah
- Jalen Catalon, Texas
- Kenny Logan Jr., Kansas
- Xavion Alford, Arizona State
- Demani Richardson, Texas A&M
