The dream for any defensive coordinator is to come away from the NFL draft with a safety that can erase matchups and solve problems. The versatility of defensive backs, which in this draft could include Texas A&M’s Antonio Johnson, Alabama’s Brian Branch, Penn State’s Ji’Ayir Brown, Illinois’ Sydney Brown, LSU’s Jay Ward, and Georgia’s Christopher Smith.
2023 NFL Draft Safety Class Has Versatility
The goal is to find a safety like Derwin James or Minkah Fitzpatrick, one that could play any role on any down and confuse opposing offenses. That allows them to credibly threaten a blitz before covering a slot receiver in coverage or start as a high safety before covering a receiver deep downfield.
Previous Versatile Players Haven’t Always Worked Out
The NFL draft landscape is littered with “versatile” defenders who turned out to be jacks of all trades, mastering no particular skill before petering out. That includes players like Isaiah Simmons, Mark Barron, Taylor Mays, and Lamarcus Joyner.
Sometimes those players don’t work out at all, while we find that other versatile players turn out to be very good at one position. Foyesade Oluokun was touted as a potential slot/safety/linebacker type given his usage at Yale, but it turns out that he’s really just best fit as a pure linebacker. The same could be said about the Panthers’ Shaq Thompson, Steelers cornerback Cameron Sutton, or the Rams’ Jalen Ramsey.
The goal for any general manager is to maximize their roster. In order to do that, they’ll receive input from their coordinators and position coaches, but they have to be honest about what their coordinators can do and have a plan in place to use those players.
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This year’s class, seemingly more than any other, will test that temptation. On paper, this shouldn’t be an issue. As Branch said, “It’s a great selling point to the NFL teams. Wherever they need me I can play.”
Johnson spoke at great length about the opportunities that his varied profile has given him. “I feel like it prepared me very well because I don’t have a set title to my name,” he said. “It opens a lot of doors for me, places teams can put me at. I feel that’s one of my strengths. Teams look for players they can keep on the field in different packages without having to sub.”
Versatility Creates Its Own Challenges
It creates preparation issues for these players, and multiple prospects mentioned the challenges that come in the film room and in practices when it comes to playing linebacker, slot, outside corner, and safety positions. Johnson relished it, saying he enjoys “challenging myself week in and week out,” when preparing for the volume of matchups in the SEC.
Multiple players compared themselves to NFL stars Fitzpatrick and James, though Brown resisted all comparisons, arguing that “[At the] end of the day, I’m my own player.”
Even when prodded, he mentioned he didn’t like to take from other safeties games but added, “I think my game is pretty much my game. I like what I bring to the table, but if there’s one safety I can say that has some aspects of the game I like, it’s Derwin James. He’s versatile like me, he can do it all. So seeing the way he approaches the game, what he plays in coverage, the way he blitzes is something that I can take away.”
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Walking through the player availability area at the NFL Combine, where up to eight players are on microphones at a time, the word that cut through all the noise was “versatility.” Not because it was necessarily insightful, novel, or clarifying, but because every player in the defensive back group found reason to bring it up.
Some of these players will demonstrate the value of that versatility. They’ll play safety, cornerback, or slot defender from play to play. They might blitz off the edge or erase a tight end in man coverage. Even then, defensive coordinators sometimes find it’s not worth the effort.
Versatility Might Not Be a Safety’s Best Asset
As Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said of Antoine Winfield Jr., “His tackling is outstanding. His intensity is outstanding. What he does for the team is outstanding. I think he’s one of our top three defensive players. He can only get better with experience. [But] I don’t want to move him around as much this coming year [like] I have this year. I’ll try to leave him at one spot as best I can, and I think he’ll master that spot and get even better for us.”
Players will have to invest time and energy into each of the positions. Teams will look at Johnson and see the possibilities stretch out in front of them. But the question they need to ask might not need to be, “what are all the things this player can do for me?” and instead be, “what is the best way this player can help my team?”
Sometimes, those answers are different.