While categorizing safeties and cornerbacks into one position might be cheating, there is no free agency list with a more substantial presence than defensive back free agency rankings. The safety class on its own keeps the entire free agency class afloat, and some very talented CBs are hitting the open market this season.
Safety play in the NFL is finally starting to get the respect it deserves. A strong coverage presence over the middle of the field is imperative to defensive success. As college defenses have morphed into quarters-heavy units, the emphasis on coverage ability has risen for the position.
We’re even to the point where some safeties that played on the back end in college, like Antoine Winfield Jr., played most of their season in the slot. In fact, free agent C.J. Gardner-Johnson played there quite a bit in New Orleans.
2023 DB Free Agency Rankings
All five players here rank in the top 25 of PFN’s top 100 free agents. All 20 players in these rankings have a write-up in the top 100.
In other words, if your favorite football team needs help in the secondary, it could be had in free agency.
1) Jessie Bates III
The top non-quarterback in the free agency class. The Cincinnati Bengals used first- and second-round picks on defensive backs last offseason, and they plan to replace Jessie Bates III with Dax Hill in the secondary. As a flag planter for both of their fan clubs, things really couldn’t work out better for me.
Bates will become the highest-paid safety in the league as the best free safety in all the land, and Hill gets to play on the back end in a Lou Anarumo defense as the football gods intended.
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Bates isn’t a physical figure at the third level, but nobody plays the game at his level mentally. He can wear all the hats asked of him on the runway, and he pulls each one off with exquisite execution.
But he could be most valuable for middle-of-field-closed teams that run the more modern zone-match version of Cover 3. Put him on Gregg Williams Island and let him see the entire field while working off what’s in front of him.
2) Jamel Dean
Jamel Dean is in a similar boat as Bates but as a cornerback. Dean best fits a specific scheme. However, few of his size can move the way he does. He’s one of the few who can genuinely come downhill and make a difference as a run-defender, and his length and strength can give opposing receivers fits in press coverages.
Nobody played more Cover 3 than Tampa Bay last season, which is the system that best fits Dean, given his skill set. But his vision and length make him such a weapon in zone-heavy schemes. He has a knack for finding the football in passing windows but can also contest above the rim because of his athleticism and frame.
So while his best fit would be a scheme similar to Tampa Bay’s, he has shown he can survive in a phone booth against shifty receivers in man coverage as well.
3) C.J. Gardner-Johnson
When it comes to safeties who can do it all, few are as versatile as C.J. Gardner-Johnson. When he returned to a more traditional safety role with Philadelphia after spending much of his time in the slot for New Orleans, his production on the ball exploded.
In a new scheme, he was well on his way toward leading the league in interceptions in 2022, but an injury cut his season short of 17 games.
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Every defense needs at least one fiery instigator, and few are better with mental warfare than Gardner-Johnson. And while he has been known to pick up a few extracurricular penalties in his day, he’s cut down on letting the flags fly his way.
Is your team looking for a slot defender? He can do it. Need a strong safety who can play down in the box? Gardner-Johnson is your guy. Want a free safety who can play in split-field coverages or as a deep-third player?
You get the point.
4) James Bradberry
Howie Roseman must be stopped. Nobody traded for James Bradberry when the New York Giants put him on the market. Everyone knew he’d be cut, so why give up draft capital when he can be had in the open market?
Well, because you are going to have to bid against 31 other teams, potentially. And while Bradberry didn’t have a great season in 2021, he’d been coming off a fantastic season in 2020, when he looked like a top-10 cornerback.
And then he went to Philadelphia, where he produced like a top-five player at the position this past season. The only reason he is somewhat lower on the list is that he’s about to turn 30, and reactionary athleticism can begin to wane for “older” cornerbacks.
5) Patrick Peterson
Speaking of elder gentlemen of the position, Patrick Peterson is a free agent. We thought Peterson was on his last legs when he went to Minnesota, but he ended up being the lone bright spot in a completely underwhelming third-level unit in Ed Donatell’s defense.
Peterson’s reactionary athleticism has dropped with age, but the wisdom he’s gained along the way is extending his career.
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We must also mention that Peterson’s athletic makeup was already special for the position, so he’s now simply dealing with more average athleticism.
At his age, he won’t break the bank, which makes him a low-risk, high-reward option at a position that is becoming increasingly more expensive as seasons pass.
Rest of DB Free Agency Rankings
6. Jordan Poyer
7. Jimmie Ward
8. Cam Sutton
9. Jonathan Jones
10. Donovan Wilson
11. Byron Murphy
12. Rock Ya-Sin
13. Marcus Peters
14. Devin McCourty
15. Julian Love
16. Vonn Bell
17. Kareem Jackson
18. Juan Thornhill
19. Tashaun Gipson
20. Duron Harmon