Top 10 Best Safeties in the 2022 NFL Draft
Notre Dame's Hamilton Elite Prospect
When it comes to the NFL Draft, it is not easy to be a safety. Cornerbacks are always in high demand, as are edge rushers and run-stuffing defensive tackles. Safeties, however, tend to get taken lower than their pre-draft rankings more often than not.
Former Notre Dame star Kyle Hamilton is about to change all of that as he could very well be the first safety in five years to go in the top 10 picks. There are other talented safeties who may sneak into the first round or hear their names called in Round Two. The NFL Draft betting odds moneyline is set at 1½ safeties going in the first round, with -270 odds for two safeties to go in the opening round and +180 for Hamilton to be the lone safety selected on the first day of the draft.
Here’s a look at the top 10 safety prospects for the NFL Draft that will run from April 28-30.
10. Cam Taylor-Britt | Nebraska Cornhuskers
Cam Taylor-Britt of Nebraska helped himself at the Senior Bowl and also had a strong showing at the NFL Scouting Combine. Is he a cornerback or a safety? It will be interesting to see how he is utilized by the team that selects him.
Three of his 11 pass breakups in 2021 came in Nebraska’s near upset of Michigan.
9. Nick Cross | Maryland Terrapins
If Maryland’s Nick Cross wasn’t already on the radar of NFL teams, he is now after running a 4.34 in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine. It was the fastest among his position group.
With 67 tackles, three interceptions, and three sacks in his final season at Maryland, he was more than just a workout warrior.
8. Kerby Joseph | Illinois Fighting Illini
Illinois’ Kerby Joseph didn’t intercept a pass in 27 games over his first three seasons, but he made up for it with five interceptions in 2021, including ones against Purdue, Iowa, and Wisconsin.
The rangy Orlando, Fla, native has made some of the lists of the top five available safeties.
Joseph had the second-best vertical jump (38.5 inches) among the safeties at the combine.
7. Bryan Cook | Cincinnati Bearcats
Seven of the last 10 players from Cincinnati selected in the NFL Draft came on offense and no Bearcats defensive back has been taken among the top 100 picks since Artrell Hawkins in 1998. That could definitely change later this month.
Bryan Cook had 96 tackles for the American Athletic Conference champions in 2021. He had two interceptions, nine pass breakups, and five tackles for loss, so he was making plays all over the field for the Bearcats. He figures to hear his name called at some point on the second day of the draft.
6. Jalen Pitre | Baylor Bears
Baylor’s rise to national prominence was one of the biggest stories in college football in 2021. Jalen Pitre played a huge role in the Bears going from a 2-7 team in 2020 to a 12-2 squad last season.
Pitre played in 53 games at Baylor, including 13 against ranked opponents. He has shown enough playmaking ability that he is one of the four safeties to make former NFL scout Daniel Jeremiah’s list of the top 50 players in the 2022 draft.
5. Verone McKinley | Oregon Ducks
While former college teammate Kayvon Thibodeaux has generated most of the pre-draft buzz, Verone McKinley was one of the nation’s most productive safeties last season.
Whether it was his six interceptions or 77 tackles, he always seemed to be in the middle of things for the Oregon Ducks.
McKinley has 11 interceptions over the last three seasons and cracked the list of the top five safeties in the 2022 draft according to the NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks.
4. Jaquan Brisker | Penn State Nittany Lions
At 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, Penn State’s Jaquan Brisker has the perfect frame to play safety in the NFL.
Brisker had three games with at least eight tackles for Penn State in 2021 and two of them came against ranked teams. He played in 12 games against ranked opponents in his three seasons at Penn State, so there is plenty of film of him against elite competition.
Brisker had a solid showing at the combine and those who bet online can look for him to go somewhere in the second round.
3. Lewis Cine | Georgia Bulldogs
Surprise, surprise, surprise, a Georgia product is one of the top prospects at his position on the defensive side of the ball.
Lewis Cine led the national champions with 73 tackles during the 2021 season. He also broke up nine passes and had an interception.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Cine had 12 of his 19 tackles in the final two games of the season as a freshman, setting the stage for him to be a key piece of the Bulldogs’ defense in 2020 and 2021.
Cine ran the 40 in 4.37 seconds and tested better than Hamilton at the combine. It won’t be a shock if he sneaks into the first round. If not, he shouldn’t need to wait too long when the draft resumes with the start of the second round on day two.
2. Daxton Hill | Michigan Wolverines
Positional versatility is so important, especially on the defensive side of the ball, so it is no wonder that Michigan defensive back Daxton Hill is being touted as a late first or early second-round selection according to the NFL predictions.
Hill could play either safety or cornerback at the next level and could cover slot receivers for whichever team picks him.
Another safety prospect to break 4.4 in the 40-yard dash, Hill was second on Michigan in tackles. He broke up nine passes and intercepted two more to go with 4.5 tackles for loss and four quarterback pressures.
Hill is the 19th-ranked player in the NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah’s list of the top 50 players in this year’s draft, which puts him second only behind Hamilton at his position.
1. Kyle Hamilton | Notre Dame Fighting Irish
One of the biggest questions in the top half of the first half is where Kyle Hamilton will be selected.
Safeties typically tend not to go as high as players at other defensive positions. The best rookie safety a season ago (Jevon Holland of the Miami Dolphins) fell to the second round.
No safety has been taken in the top 10 since the New York Jets selected Jamal Adams with the sixth pick in 2017. There’s a chance that Hamilton could go around that spot as well or perhaps even drop out of the top 10.
If he does fall, it will have little to do with his talent and more about the position he plays.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Hamilton is an elite talent. He hits well enough for some to suggest that he might line up at linebacker in some packages at the next level. He also had eight interceptions in 31 games at Notre Dame. Hamilton was limited to seven games during the 2021 season as a result of a knee injury.
He ran the 40 in 4.59 seconds at the NFL Scouting Combine to go with a 38-inch vertical leap and a mark of 10-11 in the broad jump, so obviously he is healthy again.
There is some talk that his 40 times could negatively impact where he is drafted.
Trey @wingoz and @TonyPauline discussed Kyle Hamilton’s potential fall down draft boards on the latest Draft Insiders.
Full show here: https://t.co/mRFtkIw1HI pic.twitter.com/bRokBhOshz
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) April 13, 2022
The Las Vegas odds placed a prop bet of 8½ for the position where Hamilton would be drafted.