Renner’s NFL Draft summer position rankings: Best safeties for 2026, including the prodigious Caleb Downs

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It’s no secret that the safety position has been devalued across the NFL in recent years. When you really dive into the contract numbers, though, it’s striking. Twenty-two wide receivers currently make more per year than the highest-paid safety in the NFL. When that’s the case, it’s no wonder we’re lucky to get one drafted in Round 1 each year.

There’s a chance 2026 could buck that trend, however. Barring a calamitous injury, the the No. 1 safety on this list is going on Thursday night and there’s a good chance that at a bigger program with likely bigger stages, the No. 2 on this list could sneak into the first-round as well. That would mark the first time since 2022 that we’ve seen multiple safeties in Round 1. 

Here are my top 10 safety prospects (ordered from No. 1 to No. 10) ahead of the college football season.

Positional rankings: EDGE • DT • LB • CB • S • IOL • OT • TE • RB • WR • QB

Note: ⭐️ represents each player’s 247Sports star rating as a high school recruit

• Player Type: All-around ball player
• Room for Improvement: Separating off blocks
• Early Grade: First round

While certain physical attributes are important to certain positions in the back seven of a defense, there’s a common thread that ties all of them together. If you are fast, fluid, and physical, chances are you can succeed wherever you line up. That’s exactly who Caleb Downs is. The rising junior eliminates space so easily and doesn’t hesitate when it’s time to send a message. He looks as comfortable in the box as he does ranging deep. He’s every bit a first round safety.

• Player Type: True free safety
• Room for Improvement: Tackling
• Early Grade: Early Day 2

Thieneman was a two-year starter at Purdue — one of their only bright spots the last two years — before transferring this offseason to Oregon. He has some of the best range in the entire draft class as he’s fully capable of making plays around the line of scrimmage from a deep alignment. Of course, he can also make plays deep from that deep alignment. Thieneman racked up six picks as a true freshman in 2023, earning 247Sports Freshman of the Year honors, and six pass-breakups this past season. He not only is fast, but also plays fast.

If he can clean up the missed tackles (avert your eyes at the Notre Dame tape from last year, where he had five), Thieneman could up a first-rounder.

• Player Type: Man free safety
• Room for Improvement: Playing under control
• Early Grade: Day 2

Johnson was a high school quarterback in high school in Idaho and started his career off as a wide receiver when he got to Utah. He then flipped to defensive back where he played 547 snaps primarily in the slot in 2023. Johnson moved to true safety this past fall and his game took off. He picked off a pass and broke up five more in a breakout season. You see the kind of wheels on tape that won him Idaho’s 5A state championship in the 100m dash with a time of 10.82. 

Despite his relative newness to the defensive side of the ball and lack of size, Johnson plays a very physical brand of football.

While there’s a good deal of projection here because you still see his newness to the position often, Johnson has the skillset to be a top-75 pick. His ability to drop down and man up the slot or make plays from the deep middle will be coveted.

• Player Type: Box Enforcer
• Room for Improvement: Mirroring from off coverage
• Early Grade: Day 2

Toledo is slowly earning a DBU reputation in the MAC. They’ve had four defensive backs drafted in the past seven years and McNeil-Warren will make that five in short time. He’s a long- limbed box safety who relishes his opportunity to initiate contact. The rising senior is already one of the best tacklers in the draft class not only from a technique standpoint, but also from a stopping power standpoint. McNeil-Warren has a ridiculous eight(!) forced fumbles the past two seasons.

He’s one of the few college safeties in this class that can actually play off of blocks consistently. While he doesn’t have exceptional long-speed, his burst to close underneath is top notch. This is the box safety you want in the class.

• Player Type: Versatile cover safety
• Room for Improvement: Tackling
• Early Grade: Late Day 2

Ramsey’s tape was good enough a year ago that he likely would have snuck into the back end of Day 2, but he returned to shore up some glaring issues he had on tape. What he can do from a coverage perspective is going to be very attractive to a lot of NFL teams. Ramsey can play the slot and match routes from a deep half/quarters alignment like a cornerback would. Ramsey is stingy in that regard and has gotten his hands on 15.2% of his targets in his career. 

While he’s more than willing to fill the run, that’s where Ramsey struggled last season as he missed over ⅕ of his tackle attempts.

• Player Type: Box safety
• Room for Improvement: Experience
• Early Grade: Early Day 3

Seven weeks into the 2024 college football season, Hubbard had all of 42 career snaps to his name. That’s when starter Keon Sabb broke his foot. Over the next six games, Hubbard was impressive enough to secure a spot on this list. Over that span he allowed all of 22 yards on 14 targets. No, that’s not a typo. 

Hubbard’s ability to close to screens and other underneath targets is top notch. It’s exactly what you want in a box safety. Now, we just want to see more of it. 

• Player Type: Versatile safety
• Room for Improvement: Playmaking
• Early Grade: Early Day 3

Brown has the unique distinction of being the only safety in the entire country to make Bruce Feldman’s Freaks List this fall. His purported 4.4 40, 41″ vertical, 10-8 broad jump, and 21 bench reps definitely show up on tape. and it’s well deserved. His burst to close to ball carriers is outstanding and he rarely gives an inch on contact. 

Brown just needs his play speed to match his timed speed. That can be forgiven by his relative lack of experience — 2024 was his first as a starter — but it shows with how few plays he made on the football last season (only three pass breakups).

• Player Type: Slot
• Room for Improvement: Muscle mass
• Early Grade: Early Day 3

Cooley is the lone true slot corner on this list. In his lone year as a starter at NC State last fall, Cooley collected three picks and seven pass-breakups in that role. His short area quickness is perfect for the position as he closes windows right as they’re creeping open. To maintain that role in the NFL, though, Cooley is going to have to get a bit stronger. 

He’s not the kind of take-on player that can be the extra linebacker NFL teams love in the slot nowadays. That being said, he’s one of the youngest players on this list so there’s more than enough time for that to improve. The last thing to note is that he’s now been at three different schools in three seasons from Maryland, to NC State, to LSU. While that’s becoming more common across the college football landscape, it won’t do him any favors with NFL evaluators who will have concerns as to why that’s the case.

• Player Type: 2-high safety
• Room for Improvement: Physicality
• Early Grade: Early Day 3

As surprising as it may sound, Wisconsin has the most athletic safety duo in the country. Zachmann has loose hips and can accelerate in the blink of an eye. He has some freaky athletic plays littered on his tape. He’s one of the best at the class at matching receivers downfield from a quarters alignment. His struggles come with the physical aspects of the position where there’s an unmistakable timidity to his game at time.

Zachman may even be a candidate down the line to switch to corner thanks to his athletic prowess.

• Player Type: Deep/Slot versatile safety
• Room for Improvement: Play strength
• Early Grade: Early Day 3

Much like his teammate Chandler Rivers, Moore consistently overperforms his physical skillset. He’s not going to wow you with his traits, but won’t make a lot of costly mistakes on the back end either. His ability to play with his eyes through route concepts to the quarterback is tremendous. It’s why he picked off three passes and broke up five more in his first season as a starter. 

While Moore is more than willing to add on in the run game, he’s not the kind of safety you want consistently handling box responsibilities and could get dragged by NFL running backs 

This news was originally published on this post .

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