I'm biased, but I think the best uniform of all time is the 49ers' white 1994 throwbacks, since they're just so damn clean

Long story short, I’m working on crafting my own list of the Top 100 NFL Players of All Time for a project. I wanted to see if there was any consensus out there about current players that could be considered for that list based on what they have already accomplished.

I feel like Patrick Mahomes is a given, and Trent Williams makes a strong case.

What do you guys think?

I'm going to say Peyton Manning. Retired. Charming in commercials, beloved by most. Crosses racial boundaries of liability. Not the best of all time but easily a HOF level career.

If we suddenly saw Peyton escaping with the cops in a white Buick Verano with Eli driving.... THAT would be the level of shock and awe that we experienced in 1994

Give us your hot take(s). Could be about a prospect, could be about trades, whatever it is - feel free to shoot your shot here.

Who are some NFL players that are beloved by fans but not necessarily because they were studs on the field?

As a Jags fan a couple names that come to mind are Dawuane Smoot and Keelen Cole. Neither one are really lighting up a stat sheet but I bet you'd find very few Jags fans that would speak badly about them.

Who are some other players that generally beloved by fan bases regardless of stats?

Obviously they have the arm strength required to throw, but what do MLB pitchers typically don't have that they'd need to translate physically into an NFL QB?

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We’ve arrived at the final defensive edition of our positional draft breakdown series. Earlier this week, we discussed the tight-end class, so now it’s time to look at their counterpart – the safeties. With nickel being the most common personnel grouping these days, the body/player type you choose in the slot is crucial for how you can structure the rest of your defense, which I’ll reference the term “big nickel” for, meaning what on paper is a safety being put in that spot, whether that’s for matchup purposes or more importantly run defense on early downs in particular. The labels “strong” and “free safety” are inadequate for today’s game, since barely any teams use them in anymore. More common now is to split the field into boundary (short side) and field/wide side.

This safety group lacks big names at the top, where the two that were commonly found in way too early mock drafts have since slid down the board and it seems highly unlikely we’ll see one selected in the first round. I do still believe there is one that belongs in the early second range at least and this class is surprisingly deep I’d argue, where altogether I believe we see eight or nine taken on day two and then there’s a bunch of package/role players and designated special teamers with plenty of experience on defense, to some degree with pretty diverse roles.

Here’s how I have them stacked up:

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1. Tyler Nubin, Minnesota

6’1”, 205 pounds; RS SR

A four-star recruit in 2019, Nubin appeared sparingly in 12 games as a true freshman, recording six tackles and two pass break-ups. After playing more regularly in year two, recording 41 stops along with his first interception and fumble forced, he became a starter in 2021. Over the following two seasons, he combined for 105 tackles, seven INTs and five PBUs. As a redshirt senior, he picked off five passes and broke up another four, while putting up almost identical tackling numbers, which earned him first-team All-Big Ten and second-team All-American recognition.

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Run defense & blitzing:

+ Well-proportioned frame with broad jump and a physical play style to match

+ Urgently approaches the line of scrimmage from two-high alignments and creates plenty of stops for little yardage in the run game

+ Tracks the ball and adjusts his angles on the fly tremendously well from center-field alignments

+ Makes sure the ball-carrier needs to actively go around or through him as the last line of defense

+ When he’s lined up in the box and becomes responsible for a gap, he’s quick to fill and drop the shoulder on a tight-end/H-back wrapping around

+ Is aware of offenses creating a +1 in blocking count and when he needs to be more aggressive with involving himself in the fit

+ Aggressively squeezes down space when on the front in goal-line situations but can also chase plays down the line if unaccounted for

+ Was brought on some blitzes through the interior from depth, with the aggressively mindset to run through RBs in protection

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Zone coverage:

+ Jumped out to me quite a bit when I watched his running mate at safety in Jordan Howden for the 2023 draft, with the way his presence on the back-end was felt

+ Follows the quarterbacks eyes and trusts what he sees in order to take him to the football, aggressively breakung on the football and looking to disrupt the catch-point

+ The ability to close the gap to threats down the seams in cover-two or wipe out receivers at the sideline on vertical routes from those alignments to negate the potential for big plays through the air stood out on several occasions to save the Gophers

+ Drives upfield and creates a bunch of key stops in the open field without hesitation, yet he’ll slow his feet when guys are trying to put a move on him and you see so many tackles where he’s just able to get guys to the ground thanks to those long arms

+ Does not look uncomfortable when he has to flip and run with the backside X receiver on post routes in quarters

+ Showcases excellent hand-eye coordination when the ball goes past or over the intended target and he suddenly has a chance to come down with it himself

+ Came up with two excellent interceptions in the 2023 season-opener against Nebraska, where on the latter one he undercut a bang-eight route from a single-high alignment, to set up his team for the game-winning field goal

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Man coverage:

+ Spent a career-high 84 snaps in the slot last season and opposing quarterbacks actively avoided him, intercepting the only two targets in man-coverage

+ Put up several impressive isolated reps on tape against tight-ends flexed out or working from in-line, where he’s 8-10 yards off and has to stay patient

+ Ready to bring the fight as guys aim right at him, with enough force in his hands to dictate reps

+ Has the mental reactionary quickness and sudden burst to stick with tight-ends working across the formation on mesh concepts and not get hung up in traffic

+ His confidence will be key if used extensively as a matchup player, to not get down on himself for one lost rep

+ On 20 targets in 2022, Nubin allowed just seven completions for 158 yards and one touchdown, while intercepting and breaking up four passes each, for a passer rating of just 41.3

+ Earned the highest PFF coverage grade for any safety in the FBS last season (90.1), only allowing six of 20 targets with him as the closest defender to be completed for 90 yards and two TDs compared to his five picks

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Weaknesses:

– Lacks the make-up burst where if he’s out of phase in isolated situations, to re-enter the picture

– Doesn’t reduce his height in his back-pedal and there can be a slight delay coming out of it in the process, without top-tier click-and-close ability

– Very unproven in man-coverage, with just 163 such snaps and 12 total targets across his five years with the Gophers, according to PFF

– On late rotations caused by motion, his angles can be too steep rather than diagonal, which can allow speedy ball-carriers who get touches with a head-start to get to the sideline

– While he was an effective tackler in college, NFL athletes may be able to slip off more of his loose wraps, where he’s only just able to trip guys up with how aggressively he attacks upfield initially

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I came out of last summer with Nubin as my top-ranked safety and while Minnesota didn’t have a great year overall, that gap between him and the rest of the group has only widened. His instincts, the ability to attack the ball in the air, separate targets from it when closing in on routes and how he squares up runners are all tops of the class. Now, we don’t have that final piece of the puzzle, since we didn’t get any timed speed on him at the combine or his pro day and that’ll be the key question when considered how early he may come off the board. I don’t think he would’ve necessarily helped himself if he did run a 40 coming off the meniscus surgery he had after the season. However, because of the way he sees the game, that anticipation expands his range as one of the top play-makers at the position. It’s tough to speak on his man-coverage skills because he was asked to do it so infrequently and his redirections could’ve been more dynamic, but if you want him to match tight-ends from off-alignments, I didn’t see any issues with that on tape. To maximize his play however, I want him to play top-down and let his eyes carry him to the football. If someone took him in the late first round, I’d be totally fine with it, although I think top of the second seems more realistic.

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2. Javon Bullard, Georgia

5’11”, 195 pounds; JR

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One of the top-1000 overall recruits in 2021, Bullard saw action in all but one of 15 games as a true freshman (138 total snaps), but didn’t defend any passes and recorded just 12 tackles. He started 10 of 14 contests played the following season – all in the slot – recording 46 tackles, seven for loss, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions and three passes broken up. While Georgia couldn’t accomplish a three-peat of national titles, Bullard did help them get to a third straight SEC Championship game undefeated, with him setting career-highs in tackles (56) and PBUs (five), along with two more picks. Yet, weirdly only the SEC named him second-team All-SEC.

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Run defense & blitzing:

+ Has plenty of experience stacking and shedding slot receivers to support vs. the run when he was almost exclusively deployed in the slot in 2022

+ Yet when he was playing a more traditional safety spot last season, you saw him take excellent angles downhill from two-high alignments

+ Actively reduces the space towards the closest man at the line when he becomes the overhang or force defender by shuffling inside and will flatten down the line when he sees an opportunity to shut down plays hitting inside

+ Doesn’t shy away from attacking a pulling lineman low and funneling the ball back inside to the rest of the troop

+ Georgia blitzed him off the edge quite a bit and he was able to ride running backs into the quarterback regularly on those

+ Deceptive and times up the snap very well when he’s rushing off the slot

+ Missed just 9.2% of the attempted tackles in his career (12 of 130)

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Zone coverage:

+ Excelled in a versatile, pro-oriented coverage scheme, where he was asked to cover all areas of the field for stretches

+ After spending the majority of snaps in the slot in his first season as a starter, Bullard actually improved his level of play whilst having to operate further away from the ball with a lot of deep zone responsibilities

+ Identifies when offenses try to hit leverage throws or rubs and drives down in a hurry to stop those, lowering the pads on guys as soon as they secure the grab at times

+ Rapidly closes ground when motion leads to a rotation of the safeties, to not get out-leveraged into the flats and be able to shut easy completions down before they can really get going

+ When he’s covering the deep half and sees quarterbacks set up quickly for a backside slant route, there are times where Bullard arrives at the receiver just as his hands touch the ball, in order to jar it loose

+ Georgia asked him to bail out of the slot into invert cover-two occasionally, where he showed the appropriate feel for spacing and even got an interception on a badly thrown ball down the post in the 2022/23 Natty vs. TCU

+ After only surrendered 0.88 yards per coverage snap from the slot in 2022, Bullard was the highest-graded FBS safety in zone coverage by PFF in 2023 (88.8), while spending 47.1% of snaps in deep alignment

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Man coverage:

+ Uses his hands well and has the loose hips to take charge of reps when receivers release inside of his shade in press-alignment

+ Understands when he’s in control of the route as a man-defender and he can look back at the quarterback, in order to attack the ball himself

+ Showcases the twitch to stay square and widen guys on inside fades, before nailing down the near-arm to slow them down and not be able to reach out for the ball optimally

+ Not worried about tight-ends pushing up the field when he flexed out wide with them, almost in a side-bail position and ready for the break on hitches/square-ins, etc.

+ Has some perfect reps in off-man coverage against slot receivers on square breaks, staying patient, undercutting and wrapping around for PBUs

+ So comfortable with reaching around targets that split-second early, where because he plays he ball he doesn’t get flagged for it

+ Allowed just 14 of 26 targets against him to be completed last season for 119 yards and no touchdowns compared to his two picks (34.0 passer rating)

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Weaknesses:

– Tends to cover grass a lot as a deep middle safety, continuing to drift just to not have somebody run by him

– You also see it at times playing cover-two, where he doesn’t take advantage of opportunities to angle over towards sideline shots, to disrupt the catch-point

– Needs to do a better job of maintaining and using leverage to his advantage against crossing routes coming towards him or not overrunning plays out to the perimeter the other way

– In man-coverage, he lacks the make-up burst to recover from a mis-step or receivers getting him to freeze for a split-second on double-moves

– Wasn’t as consistent a tackler rallying from depth, too often diving for the ankles of ball-carriers, leading to seven missed attempts (still a solid 10.8% miss rate)

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Bullard doesn’t have the elite range of a center-fielder or the size you typically covet for guys playing extensively in the box, but if you’re looking for a combo-safety who can fit in a split-safety structured defense and then drop down into the slot on longer downs, this is your guy. There are still some intricacies at the position that he’ll need to learn – which is understandable since he only transitioned from nickel a year ago – but you’re drafting a player who has performed as well as pretty anybody in two different roles for college football’s top defense over the last couple of years. Bullard lacks that extra gear to recover when caught in bad positions for man-assignments and maybe I wouldn’t want to stick him on a 4.3 guy with a lot of space consistently, but it’s rare that he actually gets himself out of position in the first place. You saw that throughout Senior Bowl week, where he made receivers go through his chest and forced them to round off routes flatter back towards the quarterback, so even when they did catch the ball it was for minimal yardage. His competitiveness and assignment-oriented style really shined as he was working with a new coaching staff and I think he’ll acclimate himself to his future team in a hurry. This is a second-round pick all day long.

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3. Kamren Kinchens, Miami

5’11”, 200 pounds; JR

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A four-star recruit in 2021, Kitchens immediately got major playing time as a true freshman with the Hurricanes (44 tackles and four PBUs), before ascending to a first-team All-American in year two, when he tacked up 59 tackles, six interceptions (one returned for a TD) and pass break-ups each, along with a fumble forced and recovered each. This past season he put basically identical numbers, if you take off one pick, PBU and forced fumble each, which still made him a first-team all-conference selection.

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Run defense & blitzing:

+ Races up the alley with reckless abandon from split-safety looks to create quick stops in the run game

+ From single-high alignments, he works under more control, but tracks the ball well and places himself into cutback lanes to limit those plays

+ Rapidly erases the space to the slot receiver on bubble alerts off RPOs and breaking down for the tackle

+ Happily drops down into the box and shoots or blitzes through gaps to disrupt the offensive backfield

+ Capable of creating TFLs when blitzing off the edge and dipping underneath pullers to his side with good flexibility

+ Has some true maniac tendencies, where he’ll launch himself into an offensive lineman in the open field and send those guys airborne if they don’t really see him

+ Provides impressive stopping power against guys who have 20-30 pounds on him and doesn’t mind sticking his face in the fan if he’s taking the worst of the collision

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Zone coverage:

+ Led all safeties in the country with a 90.0 overall PFF grade and a 90.7 coverage grade in 2022

+ The step frequency and ground he cover in a straight back-pedal after showing down low initially is impressive

+ His closing burst and ability to put his helmet at the ball against seam routes and benders as a single-high safety really pops a few times

+ You see receivers break towards the middle of the field or curl up in front of him and Kinchens’ awareness for the defense being vulnerable there from two-high looks, to barrel down and deliver shots onto their backside that challenge them holding onto the ball

+ Displays high-end ball-skills to make sideline picks, haul in deflected passes and rarely allowing the ball to hit his chest – only failed to haul in two of 13 potential interceptions over the past two years

+ Takes excellent angles against completions in front of him and adjusting them accordingly as the recipient makes his moves on the run

+ When pursuing guys turning up the sideline, Kinchens does a good job of using the sideline as a 12th defender and not allowing himself to get crossed up

+ Had an awesome game-sealing tackle against N.C. State in 2022, when he brought down the slot receiver on a quick out route on fourth down, where it looked like that guy would be able to get to the sticks, but was immediately brought to the turf

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Man coverage:

+ Balanced in his back-pedal and is locked in on the hips of the receiver when covering the one-on-one

+ Does well to ID route stems and anticipate breaks in off-man assignments

+ Has some impressive plays where he’s responsible for a tight-ends, who leaks underneath the formation (off play-action) and he chases them down for minimal yardage at the opposite side of the field

+ Manages the catch-point exceptionally well when playing off, where he times it just right to initiate contact when the ball arrives at the target and swipes through the hands in order to force incompletions without drawing flags – only penalized twice on 1064 career coverage snaps

+ Takes optimal paths behind the hip of fellow receivers blocking when he triggers on his man running screen passes

+ In 2022, he held opposing quarterbacks to 12-of-21 for 221 yards and two TDs, compared to his six INTs, and while the numbers were a little bit worse, he still picked off five, broke up two passes and created stops on eight that were completed of the 34 targets his way (44.1% of those leading to positive plays for the defense)

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Weaknesses:

– For somebody who ends up as the last line of defense quite regularly, Kinchens doesn’t square up the ball-carrier and make sure he’s not vulnerable to getting turned around well enough

– Looked a bit more reserved involving himself in the run fit this past season, with an average depth of tackle at 8.89 yards

– Leaves his feet a lot trying to bring down the ball-carrier – missed 14 of 71 attempted tackles in 2022 (19.7%) and still 13.7% last year

– Gambles on some plays, where the offense has a double-move built in or the quarterback is locked in on one of his targets and Kinchens flies over there blindly, voiding his landmarks

– His overall PFF grade plummeted last season, down from 90.0 in 2022 to 67.8, allowing a 82.4% completion percentage and double the touchdowns (four, compared to still five INTs)

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Since the end of the 2022 college football season, it felt like a two-man race for the title of first safety selected in this draft between Kinchens and Minnesota’s Tyler Nubin. Some people certainly fell out of love with him, at the very least once he tested at the combine, where he was tied with Miami teammate James Williams for the worst time in the 40-yard dash among safeties (4.65) and the 10-yard split (1.59), along with finishing bottom-five in both the jumps. That doesn’t pair well with already being slightly undersized. With that being said, the apparent fall is a little exaggerated. I do believe he’ll need to work on his eye-balance between the quarterback and receivers, along with staying on his feet as a tackler. However, he moves a lot better than the timed speed would indicate, he has rare ball-hawking skills and quickly eliminates weaknesses within his defense, whether he actually gets his hands on the ball or separates the intended target from it. Because of that, I prefer him in a split-safety based defensive structure – at least early on – which also enables him to be more ferocious in run support. I still think he belongs in the second round, even if closer towards the back-end.

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4. Kitan Oladapo, Oregon State

6’2”, 215 pounds; RS SR

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Not being ranked by the recruiting services back in 2018, Oladapo only saw action in one game across his first two years with the Beavers and utilizing a redshirt. In 2020, he did start one of six games and showed his value, with 26 tackles, 2.5 of those for loss, two sacks, one forced fumble and passes broken up each. That earned him a starting gig in all but one game overall of the 13 each these last three years. Over that time, he combined for 223 tackles, 12.5 TFLs, 4.5 sacks, three picks and 22 PBUs, being named honorable mention All-Pac-12 twice and then second-team in 2023.

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Run defense & blitzing:

+ Does a great job of involving himself in the run fit, as his man is motioned in tight or the C-gap opens up playing on the edge of the box

+ Shows some sudden hands to evade slot receivers trying to occupy him in the run game and has a real knack for shooting the lane between bodies working out to the perimeter

+ Races up against screen passes and perimeter runs with conviction once the picture clears up and he knows that’s definitely where the ball is going

+ Takes excellent angles from depth and delivers some pop on quite a few hits at the end of those – Lays the wood on running backs hitting cutbacks towards him

+ Highly effective open-field tackler, who clutches the legs of ball-carriers and rarely allows them to get away from him anymore, missing a solid 10.3% of attempted stops since 2022

+ Earned the highest run-defense grade of any safety with 100+ snaps last season (91.3)

+ Forced a massive fumble in the 2023 Washington, when RB Dillon Johnson was about to finish off a long run in the end-zone and Oladapo swiped it out from behind

+ Turns a tight corner when blitzing off the edge, often times after they dropped him down onto the edge of the box

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Zone coverage:

+ Has quality experience in a split-safety structured defense, where he was asked to cone, bracket, cloud or match receivers down the field

+ Displays plus awareness for route patterns and where his eyes should be/progress towards in accordance to his responsibility

+ Positions himself well in-between routes when offenses try to put him in conflict as a deep half or post defender

+ Leverages the ball exceptionally well to hold completions to limited yardage

+ Absolutely smacks down some receivers when he has a runway to build after seeing the pass get completed

+ Times the arrival of the ball extremely well and is able to swipe it down just as the intended target gets his fingertips on it

+ Also showcases impressive ball-skills to high-point passes and win at the catch-point

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Man coverage:

+ Looks comfortable sitting back patiently in off-man coverage against tight-ends particularly

+ Yet if he recognizes altered stems on routes across the field, he’ll shuffle inside and engage, in order to not provide a step on him

+ Sturdy frame to deal with guys trying to push off or swipe by him, not losing phase typically because of that

+ Does a nice job of trailing motion and not get lost in traffic caught out of position as he’s forced to recover

+ Comfortable flexing out wide for stretches of games when offenses spread them out

+ Showcases tremendous hand-eye coordination when he’s a step behind his man but somehow is still able to locate and get a finger on the ball, rather than trying to play the hands

+ Had several highly impressive one-on-one reps against tight-ends throughout Senior Bowl, in particular blanketing them on corner routes

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Weaknesses:

– Lacks the high-end range to make plays on the ball outside the numbers starting from the deep post

– Can be had as a deep half defender towards the field and he has somebody breaking in front of him, whilst another receiver goes vertical

– Far lass comfortable covering guys one-on-one when he actually has to move backwards as a more traditional slot defender

– Lacks the twitchiness when he’s isolated with a receiver down the field and opens up the wrong way, to recover and close that gap before the ball arrives there

– While he’s a fundamentally sound tackler, dynamic ball-carrier can make him miss in the open field at times, because he lacks that type of quick-twitch that matches up

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I’m not going to talk around this here – this is my favorite safety in the draft. I just broke down Oladapo as one of “my guys” last week and after going through the names from this class once more, I actually moved him up a little bit further. Seeing him listed as a fifth-round pick on consensus boards is unfathomable to me. Sure, his ability to turn and run with speedy receivers could be a little better, but the 4.58 he ran at the combine isn’t representative of what you actually see on the field. However, reading and attacking plays from depth – which is exactly how modern NFL defenses want their safeties to operate – I’m not sure there’s anybody better in both facets of the game combined than this dude, plus then he can come down and be your dime linebacker in certain packages. This kind of feels like evaluators wanting to go away from these bigger-bodied types, who would’ve been defined as “strong safeties”, without realizing he excelled in a scheme that uses a lot more pro principles. Oladapo is who people wanted Miami’s James Williams to become and I’d happily select him in the middle of day two.

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5. Cole Bishop, Utah

6’2”, 205 pounds; JR

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One of the top-1000 overall recruits in 2021, Bishop filled the stat sheet in a major way in his debut campaign with the Utes despite only starting the final six of ten games played, racking up 54 tackles, six for loss, three pass break-ups, an interception and fumble forced each. He started all but one of 14 contests in year two, upping his tackle total to 83 (six for loss), three PBUs and again one INT and FF each. He was named honorable mention All-Pac-12 in both. This past season, he improved to second-team all-conference, thanks to career-highs in sacks (three), picks (two), PBUs (four), fumbles forced (one) and recovered (two).

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Run defense:

+ Charges up the alley with a purpose and is able to shut down toss or speed-option plays before they can really get going if he’s unaccounted for

+ Was put down into the box quite a bit and looked comfortable locking out against tight-ends in order to set the edge in the run game

+ Also, his lateral mobility on lead plays the opposite way and then being able to open up, allows him to push ball-carriers out of bounds that could otherwise be turned up the sideline for massive gains

+ Works downhill under control against screen passes and plays where he’s the one responsible to make the tackle, keeping an open chest and staying balanced

+ Tracks and angles towards the ball on the opposite side of the field very well, to not get beat across the grain and be in position to limit explosives

+ Confident, effective open-field stopper, who arrives low and wraps tightly as a tackler, but will also lower the boom from the side on guys when he sees an opportunity

+ The sophomore’s 35 run-defense stops and 14 tackles for loss/no-gain over the last two years were also top-five marks among that same group

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Zone coverage:

+ Has experience covering tight-ends in man, playing split-field and single-high safety coverages, while being an active communicator and directing traffic for a strong Utes defense

+ Consistently stays over the top of vertical routes in deep zone assignments

+ Is alert of where the defense in vulnerable squeezes towards routes trying to split two-high looks for example, to spook quarterbacks out of attempting those throws

+ Shuts down glances and other stuff over the middle where the second level is drawn up in a hurry, when by their single-high alignment the defense could be vulnerable to big YAC plays

+ Quick to close and undercut throws to the tight-end or receivers sitting down in the holes of zone coverage when working the shallow areas

+ Displays excellent peripheral vision and may just decapitate crossing receivers when he has a runway up to them

+ You see him blow through the up-field shoulder and put his helmet right on the ball to dislodge receivers from the ball late breaking towards the middle of the field

+ He’s a real YAC eliminator for the Utes, clutching and putting guys on the ground as soon as they bring the ball in a lot of times

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Man coverage & blitzing:

+ Understands when he’s in control of the route and he can peak back at the quarterback in man-/match-coverage

+ Showcases tremendous awareness for the “play-clock” and when to close down or attach to routes that are still on the table for the quarterback

+ Does an excellent job of efficiently maneuvering around bodies as he’s trying to stick to his guy on screen passes, even on RBs/TEs coming across the formation

+ Officially was only targeted four times in man-coverage last season (according to PFF) but was only charged with one completion for three yards, across 111 such snaps

+ Has some wiggle to him in order to get around the back in protection when blitzed, yet he can also press those guys off, force quarterbacks to move and chase after them

+ Gets those arms up and forces the QB to float passes way over his head when trying to throw hot to the back

+ In 2022, he led all Power Five safeties with 21 pressures on just 63(!) pass-rush snaps, and he actually had the exact same rate on fewer opportunities last season (12 pressures on 36 PR snaps)

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Weaknesses:

– Has room to improve his take-on technique and ability to play through blocks with extension, to be able to track the ball simultaneously

– There’s no special burst or long-speed to be hang with speedy slot receivers in man-coverage

– More so just floats deep and is looking to not get run by instead of managing that space when asked to cover the deep middle

– Occasionally gets tunnel-vision for the quarterback and can be at fault for vacating his area for the purpose of “making plays”

– When forced to actually turn and run with vertical threats playing more flat-footed, there’s stiffness that can show up and delay the process slightly

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When you study this safety class, Bishop’s tape is about as clean as anybody’s. The question was how athletic he truly is, in part due to being a white DB playing in Mormon country – if we’re being honest. Yet, showing up at 206 pounds for the combine, he ran a 4.45 and tested above the 90th percentile in both the jumps, along with showing loose hips, efficiently changing directions and at one point making a beautiful over-the-shoulder grab during the positional workout. Now, do I believe he quite plays up to those numbers when you watch him turn and run with people? I’d be lying if I said I did. However, he’s going to give you that top speed at all times, pursuing the ball with unwavering hustle on every single snap. I love the way he angles down against the run, his awareness as a zone defender, his secure tackling skills and what he adds on top as a blitzer. I’m not sure if I want him to match legit vertical threats from 10-15 yards off, where he’ll probably allow guys to gain a step or two on him if he doesn’t want to commit prematurely, but playing shell coverage, defending the deep post, dropping down into the slot with tight-ends and involving him in your pressure packages, I think he can take care of all those tasks. I’d take him in the third round.

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6. Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, Texas Tech

5’10”, 195 pounds; RS SR

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A three-star running back recruit in 2019, “Rabbit” Taylor-Demerson appeared in 11 games as a regular on special teams and to some degree on defense (16 tackles). As a sophomore, he started the final three of ten contests and then broke out in 2021, when he took over one of the starting safetiey spots mid-way through the year. Over his final three seasons, he combined for 208 total stops, 8.5 for loss, two sacks, ten interceptions, 23(!) pass break-ups, two fumbles forced and three recovered. He was recognized as a second-team All-Big 12 performer in 2023.

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The rest of the analysis can be found !

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7. Jaden Hicks, Washington State

6’2”, 215 pounds; RS SO

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8. Malik Mustapha, Wake Forest

5’10”, 210 pounds; RS JR

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9. Calen Bullock, USC

6’2”, 185 pounds; JR

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10. Tykee Smith, Georgia

5’10”, 200 pounds; RS SR

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Just missed the cut:

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Evan Williams, Oregon

6’0”, 200 pounds; RS SR

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Sione Vaki, Utah

5’11”, 210 pounds; RS SR

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The next names up:

Jaylon Carlies (Missouri), Trey Taylor (Air Force), Dominique Hampton (Washington), Josh Proctor (Ohio State), Beau Brade (Maryland), Tyler Owens (Texas Tech), James Williams (Miami), Jaylin Simpson (Auburn) & Millard “Nook” Bradford (TCU)

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I have a few questions about the NFL Game Pass in the UK that I saw mentioned on YouTube. Is this the same Game Pass that we're familiar with, featuring full American ads and complete TV coverage, or is it the DAZN feed? Also, does it allow use on multiple devices like YouTube does? I read a post where someone mentioned it includes American adverts, but I'd like to confirm. With the playoffs coming up in a few weeks, I want to make sure before I pay for it ahead of the Super Bowl.