2020 NFL Draft safety rankings and analysis: X marks the spot

The final safety prospects of the 2020 NFL Draft are still talented players and each bring something to the table. They need time to develop, lack a very high ceiling or are a bit one-dimensional to be considered earlier than the later rounds of the 2020 NFL Draft.

14. Myles Dorn, North Carolina

Myles Dorn is a great tackler from his safety spot, posting 83 tackles in 2019 and 240 in his four years at North Carolina. Dorn has good size and is a big hitter, both with passes over the middle and as a downhill pursuer in the run game.

Dorn lined up primarily as a split safety, but even when he was lined up deep he seemed to have a tendency to play downhill. Even on most passing plays, Dorn loves to take an angle to the ball and lay the wood. He loves to attack screens and underneath passes and is a sound, fundamental tackler if he isn’t there in time to make a big hit.

He does have solid ball skills, however, with two interceptions in each of his three main seasons of play. Dorn has an ideal frame and sufficient athleticism to man up receivers if need be, but he rarely ventured that far down from his safety spot.

That’s what really impresses me about Dorn. He was so proficient in run support and short passes, even having to read, react and make up a ton of ground coming from fairly deep in the secondary. Dorn should be able to play a similar role as a split safety at the next level, although maybe as a special teams and depth option to start until he can prove himself, but I like his potential coming out of the 2020 NFL Draft.

15. Tanner Muse, Clemson

Tanner Muse is a productive and versatile safety prospect who can play up around the line of scrimmage or back in zone coverage. On tape, Muse often looks like an effort-based, gritty type of player who just wills his way to success despite a lack of natural ability.

While that may be partially true as he doesn’t have elite athleticism, Muse is a smart and capable player who ran an impressive 4.41 40 at the combine. He isn’t very loose in the hips, but in a deep zone he has great ball skills and the awareness and explosiveness to recognize and then go make a play.

He doesn’t often line up as any sort of corner in man coverage, again, as he isn’t the most fluid and agile player. But Muse has the size and physicality to jam up tight ends at the line of scrimmage. Muse does seem to excel around the line of scrimmage, but I don’t think a full-time move to linebacker is necessary. Muse plays with great fire and power and is not afraid to take on blockers. He is great at shooting gaps and blitzing, and is also a very sound tackler.

Muse should be a great special teamer early in his career in the NFL, with the ability to contribute as a strong safety on defense as well. He is capable of dropping as a two-deep zone safety and excels making plays around the line of scrimmage. As a presumed late-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Muse should have a chance to show a team that he is a legitimately talented football player who can contribute play after player, first through fourth down.

16. J.R. Reed, Georgia

J.R. Reed has been very consistently productive throughout his Georgia Bulldog career. When you watch his tape, nothing really jumps out at you. He isn’t overly athletic or super powerful and big, but he always seems to put himself in the right place at the right time.

Reed does pretty much everything well. He has great instincts, with decent speed and quickness to go make a play once he reads it well. He has the ball skills to pick it off and plays physical enough to lay the hammer and break up a catch.

He shows the ability to shadow a receiver or tight end and is very effective at the point of the catch. He isn’t overly physical in the run game, but can shoot some gaps and read plays well to come up from his safety spot and make a solid tackle. He totaled 199 tackles in his three years at Georgia, also adding five interceptions and 14 pass break-ups.

Reed may not have the highest ceiling in the 2020 NFL Draft, but he is a very solid player who can be relied on to do his job and do it well. He should be a valuable depth option throughout his pro career with the ability to play significant time and hold his own.

17. Shyheim Carter, Alabama

Shyheim Carter primarily played slot corner as the “STAR” position in Nick Saban’s Alabama defense. Carter really broke onto the scene in 2018 as a junior, breaking up 10 passes and taking two interceptions to the house. In both his junior and senior seasons, Carter totaled 43 tackles, and in 2019 he followed up his impressive junior year with seven more pass break-ups.

At 5-foot-10 and under 200 lbs, Carter certainly isn’t the biggest guy out on the field. He does look small out there, but he battles hard and competes with some of the best receivers the nation has to offer in the SEC. He is a very smart player, understanding routes and tendencies, often directing his teammates pre-snap.

He is athletic enough to keep up with those shifty slot receivers and can play physical enough to battle the bigger bodies. He likely just won’t quite cut it manning up tight ends consistently at the next level, and will almost certainly be overpowered in the run game.

Carter is a willing tackler in run support, but it was pretty clear on his college tape that he struggled rather frequently to bring guys down on his own. That weakness will only get exploited more at the next level, so he may need to continue his transition away from corner and to deep safety.

He can use his football IQ and great instincts to read, react and make plays. Then he can come up and use his corner experience to shut down receivers in dime sets or as a smaller nickel on clear passing downs. With his intangibles, experience and production, Carter should find some sort of role in the NFL, regardless of his size, and I like him as a deep sleeper in the 2020 NFL Draft.

18. Antoine Brooks Jr., Maryland

Even with a background as a linebacker, it’s still very impressive that Antoine Brooks Jr. consistently led his team in tackles for loss from his safety spot. From his sophomore to his senior year, Brooks totaled 27.5 tackles for loss among 232 total stops. Adding just four interceptions and nine pass break-ups over that same span, it’s pretty clear what his strength is.

Brooks absolutely excels around the line of scrimmage. He seemed to line up a lot as a slot corner at Maryland once he made the move to defensive back, and was much more effective when he stayed up towards the line than when he dropped back in coverage. He does have the ability to hold his own in zone coverage with decent instincts and ball skills, not limiting himself to a box safety or linebacker-like role at the next level.

But he seems to make a much bigger impact shooting gaps and blitzing the edge than he does deep down the field. He has a very solid frame and is not afraid to take on blockers or lay the wood on ball carriers. He is a sound tackler who clearly knows how to get into the backfield.

Brooks should have a chance to contribute as a strong safety out of the 2020 NFL Draft, who plays mostly around the line of scrimmage but can rotate up into zone or hold his own in the slot in man coverage. He should contribute on special teams right away as an effort player with plus tackling ability and could make an impact on defense later down the road.

19. Jordan Fuller, Ohio State

Jordan Fuller is a great leader on and off the field and was voted a two-time captain at THE Ohio State University. Fuller was used a lot as a single-high safety in a very deep zone in 2019, but I think his future is just a bit closer to the line as a split safety, like he played in the years prior.

Fuller shows a lot of flashes in a lot of different areas. He also could stand to improve quite a bit in nearly all of those areas as well. He has solid ball skills and instincts but doesn’t have the desired speed and athleticism to play in a deep zone.

He can be a solid tackler at times, but also occasionally badly misses them and isn’t a powerful player around the line of scrimmage in the run game. He has shown the capability of locking down some solid receivers in man-to-man coverage, but has also gotten burned more than his fair share of times, likely leading to the move deeper in the secondary in 2019.

Fuller is a bit of a wildcard in the 2020 NFL Draft. He shows quite a bit of promise throughout his tape, but the consistency just isn’t there. There is a chance that he can work on some things and put it all together at some point, but I don’t see that happening very soon. He will likely get drafted, and should be a solid and versatile depth option while he continues to grow as a player and come into his own in a specific role in his team’s defense.

20. David Dowell, Michigan State

David Dowell came on strong as a redshirt sophomore for the Michigan State Spartans in 2017, picking off five passes and breaking up for more, also adding two fumble recoveries to his takeaway total. In the next two seasons, Dowell stayed above 50 tackles each season, but saw his ball production drop pretty significantly.

At MSU, Dowell was a split safety who primarily lined up in a two-deep zone, covering half the field. Not a whole lot stood out to me when watching his film. He has decent ball skills and instincts when the play is to his side of the field, and he is a sufficient tackler in run support. He has a good, long frame that should help him in the slot, manning up tight ends and larger targets.

I think a big nickel role like that best suits Dowell. He didn’t really show the speed and explosiveness to be overly effective in a deep zone, but I liked his instincts in shorter zones. If he can fill out his frame a bit more and play with more physicality around the line of scrimmage, Dowell could excel as a versatile nickel who can man up anyone across from him, drop in the occasional deep zone and bang around the line of scrimmage in the run game.

For now, I see Dowell as a special teams contributor who brings some versatile depth to a team’s secondary early in his career until he is able to carve out a more permanent role coming out of the 2020 NFL Draft.