It could be argued that no defensive position in the modern NFL has to deal with the range of responsibilities that safeties do.
They’re tasked with cutting off deep passes and acting as a line of defense. They’re often asked to be interchangeable with cornerbacks, defending wide receivers man to man. They can play in the slot, they can cover tight ends. Some are interchangeable with linebackers as more nickel and dime formations are used, carrying more responsibility in stifling the opposing running game.
Safeties are challenging to evaluate, largely because so much of what they do is dependent on schemes and plays. From the outside, we don’t necessarily know what each player’s assignment was on any particular snap. But what we can do is follow the signs and the stats while trusting experts within the game.
Our writers listed their best 10 safeties based on their confidence in each player were he healthy and set to take the field for a game next week. A first-place vote merited 10 points in our methodology and descended from there, down to a single point for 10th place. We then combined the scores to determine our rankings.
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1. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Steelers
Ben Arthur: I don’t think Fitzpatrick has a weakness. The 26 year old is elite playing the run and pass. He tracks well. He covers well. He tackles well. He hits hard. He’s instinctual. He plays in the box and at free safety. He’s really just a big-time playmaker. He tied the league lead with six interceptions last season. He has 19 picks for his career, including four returned for touchdowns. In his sixth year out of Alabama, Fitzpatrick has already been named a first-team All-Pro selection three times.
2. Derwin James Jr., Los Angeles Chargers
Eric D. Williams: At 6-2 and 215 pounds, James is an elite athlete and punishing tackler who can cover tight ends and pressure quarterbacks as a blitzer. James is one of eight players – and the only defensive back – since 2000 to post 350 tackles, five interceptions and nine sacks in the first 50 games of his NFL career. Since the Chargers selected him No. 17 overall in the 2018 draft, James has earned three Pro Bowl invitations and was selected to the All-Pro team in his rookie season.
3. Jessie Bates III, Atlanta Falcons
Ralph Vacchiano: There’s a reason the Atlanta Falcons made him one of the highest-paid safeties in the NFL. There are few players with better instincts than this 26-year-old, who already has three interceptions in four games for the Falcons. He’s just a menace when allowed to roam as the deep safety, with a knack for knowing where the ball is — as shown by his 17 career interceptions. But he’s just as dangerous against the run when asked ot play up near the line of scrimmage. It’s remarkable he hasn’t been to a Pro Bowl yet. As evidenced by the four-year, $64 million contract he signed this Spring, the NFL knows how valuable he is.
4. Antoine Winfield Jr., Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Carmen Vitali: Winfield Jr. has been the total package from Day 1 and the Buccaneers knew it. He was not only a starter but a cornerstone for Todd Bowles’ defense from his rookie year. Winfield has played nearly every position in the secondary since then, taking reps at nickel in the Bucs’ three-safety package as well as playing strong safety and his most common position of free safety. He’s even been thrown in as a dime linebacker.
Winfield is a bowling ball of a defensive back who is physical enough to tally 11 sacks and 14 tackles for loss in his career while having the awareness and anticipation to four career interceptions and 19 pass breakups. He’s also forced two fumbles already this year and has recovered both of them. With how multiple and sophisticated defenses are these days, Winfield’s sheer versatility makes him the blueprint for today’s ideal safety.
5 (tie). Talanoa Hufanga, San Francisco 49ers
Williams: The USC product has developed into a ball hawk at safety for San Francisco. Hufanga has six career interceptions in just 24 games played, including 21 starts. He earned his first Pro Bowl invitation and was selected to the NFL’s All-Pro team in just his second season in the NFL in 2022. According to Next Gen Stats, opposing offenses have lost -8.5 EPA targeting Hufanga this season, which is sixth-lowest among safeties.
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5 (tie). Jevon Holland, Miami Dolphins
Henry McKenna: I had honestly thought Holland was still a fairly well-kept secret. He has never earned a Pro Bowl nod and his supporting cast at cornerback has underwhelmed in 2023 and 2022, largely due to injuries. I think that’ll change in the coming weeks as the Dolphins get healthier. But even with shortcomings in the secondary, Holland is the second-highest-graded safety on Pro Football Focus. He is the quarterback of defensive coordinator Vic Fangio’s defense. He has 39 tackles and four forced fumbles in four games. And while he has no interceptions, it’s only a matter of time before he gets a pick.
Vitali: Holland flew under the radar to everyone but Miami fans in his first year, but last season may have just been his coming-out party. He played all 17 games for the Dolphins in 2022 and was fourth on the team in tackles with 96. Usually, tackles from the defensive backfield aren’t good ones, but Holland plays in the box and at the line a fair amount. He also has incredible closing speed that allows him to get downfield quickly even when he’s covering a deep half. Holland has proved he can be a versatile defender with how Miami utilizes him and he’s been good for a couple interceptions each season so far.
He’s also tied with Winfield Jr. for the league lead in forced fumbles with two through four games in 2023. I have to think both of those stats will go up with Vic Fangio now as his defensive coordinator. I can’t wait to see all the ways Miami ends up using him under Fangio’s scheme and think this could be the year we see Holland get his first Pro Bowl nod.
7. Kevin Byard, Tennessee Titans
Arthur: I don’t think Byard gets the national praise he deserves. He’s been an elite safety since his second season (2017), when he was named a first-team All-Pro after leading the league with eight interceptions. He’s 30 years old now, but is still playing at a high level. He’s Mr. consistency. He hasn’t missed a game in seven-plus years, all the more impressive considering his position. In that time, he’s had five seasons where he’s posted at least four interceptions.
He’s the Titans’ longest-tenured captain (2019-present), too. He’s so integral to Tennessee’s secondary that coach Mike Vrabel has at times taken him off the field in practices to see if the defensive backs can adequately communicate without him.
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McKenna: He picked off Tua Tagovailoa in Week 4, which helped the Bills bury the Dolphins. Hyde has dealt with some injuries over the last few years, but even with a hamstring injury this year, he’s playing really good football, with 17 tackles and two interceptions in four games. Hyde is the leader of a no-nonsense defense in Buffalo that doesn’t do much in the way of disguise. They play a simple scheme that relies up on the talent of their best players, and that puts a lot of pressure on Hyde. You’d never know it, however, because of how well he’s played in recent years.
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9. Justin Simmons, Denver Broncos
Williams: Simmons is a long, rangy safety who plays in the middle of the field at 6-2 and 200 pounds. He finished with a career-high six interceptions in 2022, his third season with at least five picks. Simmons has totaled 27 career interceptions in eight NFL seasons, which is tied for eighth among active leaders in the league. He has been named second-team All-Pro three times, along with making a Pro Bowl in 2000. According to Next Gen Stats, Simmons finished with 11 pass breakups on 46 targets in 2022. Simmons joins Kevin Byard as one of two defensive backs with at least 400 tackles and 20 interceptions since 2016.
10. Budda Baker, Arizona Cardinals
Vacchiano: A more-than-worthy successor to the Honey Badger in Arizona, he’s already been named to five Pro Bowls, been a first-team All-Pro twice and a second-team All-Pro twice in just six NFL seasons. So why isn’t he higher up this list? Maybe he should be, but it’s probably because he’s played on some bad Cardinals defenses and because he’s so versatile, it’s hard to pinpoint what he does best. He has seven career interceptions and probably could’ve wound up with a few more. He’s a dangerous box safety, but only has 7 ½ career sacks and probably needs to finish better. But he’s close-to-elite wherever they play him — and they really have played him everywhere. He’s as versatile a defender as there is in the league.
Honorable mentions: CJ Gardner-Johnson, Detroit Lions; Quandre Diggs, Seattle Seahawks; Jordan Poyer, Buffalo Bills; Harrison Smith, Minnesota Vikings.
These rankings were compiled by:
AFC South reporter Ben Arthur (@benyarthur)
NFC South reporter Greg Auman (@gregauman)
Dallas Cowboys reporter David Helman (@davidhelman_)
AFC East reporter Henry McKenna (@McKennAnalysis)
NFC West reporter Eric D. Williams (@eric_d_williams)
NFC East reporter Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano)
NFC North reporter Carmen Vitali (@CarmieV)
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