The 2027 NFL Draft safety class looks very strong on preliminary viewings, and if the calling card of the 2026 class was its volume, the 2027 group appears to have plenty as well.
To be fair, the 2026 class did have another key characteristic: Blue-chip talent. Both Caleb Downs and Dillon Thieneman went in Round 1, and both prospects were ranked Top 10 on my personal board. The 2027 crop has more to prove before it can match that, but early on, there’s reason to be excited.
Tae Johnson and KJ Bolden are elite producers with top-end tools. Koi Perich and Jaylen McClain are up-and-coming young players with tantalizing upside, and veterans like Bray Hubbard, Peyton Bowen, and Amare Ferrell insulate the class’ depth.
The 2027 safety class looks like it could truly challenge the well-regarded 2026 class, and as it stands, here are my Top 10 safety rankings for the 2027 NFL Draft cycle.
10) Amare Ferrell, Indiana
Amare Ferrell is a mid-round safety prospect in the 2027 NFL Draft who has early-round upside with another year of sustained production.
Ferrell originally joined the Hoosiers as a three-star recruit in the 2023 cycle, and played primarily as a special teams contributor in his true freshman season.
The 2024 season brought head coach Curt Cignetti to the fold, and under Cignetti, Ferrell began to reach his potential. He started 13 games that year, putting up a strong PFSN Safety Impact score of 82.8 while snagging 4 interceptions and 4 tackles for loss.
In 2025, Ferrell returned as a full-time starter and ascended yet again. On a Championship defense, Ferrell logged 4 picks and 7 pass breakups, improving his PFSN Safety Impact grade to 88.1 while earning second-team All-Big Ten recognition.
Set to hit the 2027 NFL Draft circuit as a 21-year old senior and three-year starter, Ferrell boasts a very compelling blend of youth, experience, and playmaking ability.
At around 6’1″, 205 pounds, Ferrell has good size and length, to package with solid explosiveness, corrective agility and foot speed, and hip fluidity working overtop route concepts.
That physical foundation helps imbue him with two-high and single-high utility. While Ferrell’s route vision can be a touch more consistent in 2-on-1 situations, he generally has good eye discipline and reactive quickness, and his instincts can lead him to generate big plays.
He’s a natural pedal-and-weave defender with very good half-field range, and he plays with an urgency and tenacity that expands to all phases of the game, and magnifies his danger as a turnover-generating threat.
In run support, Ferrell is more volatile; he holds up exceedingly well at contact and flashes a quick trigger, but can take inconsistent angles, and struggles mightily with solo tackle conversion, as evidenced by a missed tackle rate over 20% in 2025.
Still, Ferrell possesses quality starter potential and immediate rotational appeal in an NFL defense, with Cover 2 and Cover 3 flexibility.
9) Peyton Bowen, Oklahoma
Peyton Bowen is a mid-round safety prospect who could crack the Top 100 picks with another year of sustained production.
Bowen was a highly-touted four-star recruit in the 2023 cycle, and was a prized signee of Brent Venables. As a true freshman, he played in 13 games with two starts, logging 5 pass breakups while also blocking four total kicks as a special teams standout.
After starting five more games in 2024, Bowen served as a full-time starter in 2025, earning second-team All-SEC honors while racking up 47 tackles, a tackle for loss, 2 interceptions, 7 pass breakups, and a strong PFN Safety Impact score of 82.1.
Bowen’s experience both as a starter and a special teams contributor will insulate his value at the NFL level, but there’s a likely outcome wherein he has a consistent defensive role.
At around 5’11”, 200 pounds, Bowen has decent size and length, and is a high-level processor with ideal coverage mobility.
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His long speed and explosiveness are both good-not-great, but his swivel fluidity is a more proficient strength, and it enables him to manage depth and hip alignment in zone coverage, as well as roll his base back to retract and close overtop route breaks.
Bowen has the ability to play single-high or two-high, and he can hold his own in off-man as a nickel defender with his elite vision, reaction speed, and comparable plant-and-drive efficiency.
At the catch, Bowen has the precise hand usage to dislodge tight throws, and with his route intelligence and solid long-strider range, he poses a turnover threat that must be respected.
In run support, Bowen is serviceable but lacks an overt physical edge, and can improve at controlling blocks upon engagement and wrapping up as a tackler. Additionally, his non-elite size-speed profile does place a minor cap on his ultimate physical upside.
Having said all this, Bowen is an instinctive, experienced, and versatile defender who offers immediate high-end depth and rotational appeal, and can be a high-floor, quality starter in multiple schemes.
8) Xavier Scott, Illinois
Xavier Scott is a potential early-round prospect in the 2027 NFL Draft, whose experience and role flexibility underpin his evaluation.
A defensive back, Scott possesses versatility between safety, boundary cornerback, and nickel DB, but projects best as a versatile slot defender at the next level.
Scott has been with the Illinois Fighting Illini his entire career. He first joined the squad as a three-star recruit in 2022 and played as a rotational DB and special teams contributor.
In 2023, he grew to become a full-time starter and amassed 11 pass breakups, while also scoring a multi-interception game. And in 2024, Scott reprised his role and earned first-team All-Big Ten recognition, while racking up 4 INTs, 6 PBUs, 2 tackles for loss, and a strong PFSN DB Impact score of 82.6.
Scott missed all but three games of the 2025 season due to an ankle injury that later required surgery, but he has a chance to rebound and resurrect his NFL Draft standing in 2026.
At around 5’11”, 195 pounds, Scott is around average size with below-average length, but his functional coverage mobility, football intelligence, physicality, and playmaking chops all enable him to contend above his size and weight class.
In coverage, he’s twitched-up, fleet-footed, and fluid, with great mirroring ability and corrective quickness in press-man and off-man. In zone, his smooth pedal, throttle control, and sharp eyes make him deadly.
His swift reactive instincts enable him to shadow WRs stride-for-stride in and out of breaks, and his proactive playmaking mentality ensures that he’s always a threat to deflect to create a turnover.
His alignment and technical versatility prove invaluable, and in support, the same principles apply. He’s quick to react, dutiful and physical coming downhill, and he’s a relatively reliable tackler.
Scott can get outmanned by larger WRs, and he’s not quite a burner on the vertical plane, which can leave him vulnerable to stacking, but Scott’s versatility, coverage mobility, and intelligence position him as a “glue guy” DB with quality starter NFL upside.
7) Jaylen McClain, Ohio State
Jaylen McClain is a key returner from Ohio State’s elite 2025 defense, who possesses early-round potential if he can allay production concerns.
McClain was underrated coming out of high school, fielding a mere three-star recruit designation. But immediately upon joining the Ohio State Buckeyes, McClain rose up the depth chart and played in 15 games as a true freshman, starting one.
In 2025, McClain entered the lineup alongside Caleb Downs, starting all 14 games while putting up 53 tackles, 3 pass breakups, and a solid PFN Safety Impact grade of 80.7.
While McClain had very little on-ball production in his first year as a full-time starter, he allowed just 0.2 yards per coverage snap, allowed a reception just once every 25 coverage snaps, and allowed a QB rating of 61.3.
What’s more, his game is incredibly sound and disciplined for his age; in 2025, he fielded no penalties, and missed less than 5% of his tackle attempts.
The advanced metrics paint a better picture than the raw stats, and the film corroborates that image. Standing around 5’11”, 202 pounds, McClain is a compact, twitched-up mover with near-elite hip fluidity, transition freedom, quickness, and closing explosiveness.
With his combined swivel, sink, and reactive athleticism, he can manage zones at all three levels of the field, hinge and retract overtop route stems, and he’s also displayed the ability to play man coverage against slot targets.
McClain’s exceptional vision, spatial IQ, depth discipline, and coverage mobility make him a tough target and an option reducer, and in run support, his game is similarly reliable. He plays with dutiful urgency and gap integrity, is wholly willing to crash into interior gaps and disrupt blocking schemes, and he’s a very reliable tackler in open field.
McClain’s flaws as a prospect are relatively limited, but nonetheless bear noting. He doesn’t quite have elite long speed or full-field range, and while he has little playmaking experience to draw from, his ball skills are a question mark until proven over a greater sample.
Production issues aside, however, McClain fits the “safety blanket” ideal more than most on the back end, in both coverage and support, and he has impact starter upside at the NFL level, with schematic and role versatility.
6) Bray Hubbard, Alabama
Bray Hubbard is an experienced safety prospect with early-round potential and a physical edge that sets him apart.
Hubbard joined the Alabama Crimson Tide as a three-star recruit in the 2023 cycle, and played in nine games as a true freshman, primarily as a special teamer.
In 2024, Hubbard entered the starting lineup halfway through the season, after previously taking on a greater rotational role, and put up near-elite numbers in a limited sample. His 2024 PFN Safety Impact score of 89.1 remains the highest of his career, and he also logged 3 interceptions.
In 2025, Hubbard started all 15 games and logged 79 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, 2 sacks, 4 picks, 6 pass breakups, and 3 forced fumbles, as well as another near-elite PFN Impact grade of 87.2. That production brought him fringe All-American recognition, as well as first-team All-SEC honors.
At around 6’1″, 217 pounds, with solid proportional length, Hubbard has an NFL safety’s build, and his functional athleticism is sufficient.
He’s not the most purely explosive athlete, and his long speed is capped on the vertical plane, but for his size, he’s impressively agile and fluid, with solid half-field range and lateral freedom working middle-field zones.
Hubbard has the usage versatility to play single-high, two-high, box support, and rover for Alabama, but he’s at his best in two-high and box roles.
In coverage, he has the eyes, movement freedom, and playmaking ability to hawk in front of crossers and seam routes, and in run support, he operates as a homing missile coming downhill, with sharp processing ability, angle IQ, and punishing physicality engaging blockers.
As a tackler, Hubbard is above-average but not elite; as a 16.7% missed tackle rate in 2025 indicates, he can take on runners too tall or fail to lead and wrap at times.
Additionally, Hubbard doesn’t quite have the level of coverage mobility to be depended on consistently as a hybrid slot or man defender, and should mostly be relegated to zone assignments.
Nevertheless, as a strong safety in split-field looks or as a box defender in Cover 1 and Cover 3 schemes, Hubbard can be a quality NFL starter.
5) Jelani McDonald, Texas
Jelani McDonald is a potential early-round safety prospect with role versatility.
He was a four-star and fringe Top 50 recruit in the 2023 class, who joined Steve Sarkisian’s Longhorns and made an immediate impact on special teams.
As a sophomore in 2024, McDonald started four games, before ascending to a full-time starting role in 2025. Starting all 13 games in 2025, McDonald amassed 80 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions, and 3 pass breakups, while compiling an elite PFSN Safety Impact grade of 90.5.
One of just 13 safeties in the nation to score over 90, McDonald allowed just 0.5 yards per coverage snap as well as a QB rating of 43.5, and also missed just 4.5% of his tackle attempts.
Across the 2027 NFL Draft class, few safeties have McDonald’s combination of size, athletic upside, and two-phase utility.
Standing around 6’2″, 200 pounds, McDonald is long and lean, with elite long-strider acceleration and swarming half-field range.
He plays with a tenacity and urgency that’s emboldened by his rapid processing speed and keen football intelligence, and that extends to all roles he plays, whether it’s single-high, two-high, in the box as a robber, or at the nickel slot as an off-man or press-man defender.
While McDonald can play across the secondary, he’s best in single-high and split-field roles, where his reactive coil, route recognition, recalibration quickness and stride retraction, closing range, playmaking ability, and point-of-contact physicality all loom large.
McDonald’s fluidity is good-not-great, and on top of being tied up on sharper transitions, his plant-and-drive footwork can be inefficient at times. Still, McDonald displays scheme-diverse quality starter upside.
4) Koi Perich, Oregon
Koi Perich is a potential early-round safety prospect who emerged as an elite raw talent at Minnesota and has a chance to resurrect that play with the Oregon Ducks.
Perich was a high school star in Esko, a town of just 2,000 people southwest of Duluth; he ran a 10.89 100-meter dash and dropped a 50-piece in a basketball game, and earned a four-star recruit billing as well. And as a true freshman with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, he was an instant sensation.
In 13 games, he racked up 5 interceptions, 3 pass breakups, and 2.5 tackles for loss, earning an 85.2 PFN Safety Impact score, as well as first-team All-Big Ten and second-team All-American recognition.
Perich’s 2025 season saw his production decline; his Impact grade dropped over 10 points, and most notably, his tackling form and efficiency sharply declined.
But as Perich arrives at Oregon, there’s hope he can follow in the footsteps of Dillon Thieneman, another intra-Big Ten transfer safety who resurrected his career with the Ducks and earned first-round capital.
Athletically, Perich has that kind of potential. At 6’1″, 200 pounds, Perich has a tantalizing move set, with an energized reactive coil, near-elite hip fluidity and malleability, instant propulsive explosiveness, and legitimate long-strider range.
He can play single-high, two-high, and execute late safety rotations to man coverage assignments against RBs, TEs, and slot WRs. He has the route instincts to stay overtop vertical concepts and stay square, but can also decouple from initial assignments and hawk underneath backside digs and crossers with his playmaking ability.
His explosiveness can be weaponized as a blitzer, and in run support, he can sear into gaps, cover ground laterally, and make plays at or near the line of scrimmage.
Perich missed over 15% of his tackles in 2025, and that number needs to improve; faulty wrap-up technique and inconsistent breakdown angles bear the brunt of the blame.
Additionally, Perich still has room to reach a higher echelon as a pre-snap processor and play identifier, which can come with more experience in Dan Lanning’s scheme.
Ultimately, if Perich can recapture the high-level play of his true freshman campaign, he’s a true early-round prospect with first-round and impact NFL starter upside.
3) Zach Lutmer, Iowa
Zach Lutmer is a potential early-round defensive back prospect, who should earn the allure of NFL teams seeking versatility and two-phase playmaking.
Lutmer first joined the Iowa Hawkeyes as a three-star recruit from small-town Rock Rapids in the 2023 cycle, and redshirted his first collegiate season. In 2024, Lutmer played in all 14 games, serving a key role on special teams, and in 2025, he was elevated into the starting lineup for all 13 games, with exciting results.
Over that stretch, Lutmer accrued 3 interceptions, 7 pass breakups, 5.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and a near-elite PFN Impact score of 88.0. He also allowed a mere 61.1 QB rating in coverage, missed less than 10% of his tackle attempts, and earned second-team All-Big Ten recognition.
At around 6’0″, 203 pounds, Lutmer is compact and well-built, and passes the requisite athletic threshold, with great explosiveness, fluidity, short-area agility, reactive mobility, and passable long speed and closing range.
Lutmer has the versatility to play boundary CB in zone and match looks, or field safety, but he excels in the nickel role, where he can manage depth and positioning against 2-on-1 route relationships in zone coverage, or press up on slot WRs and use targeted physicality to corral, gather, and smother at the catch.
Lutmer’s playmaking imprint is verifiable, in both coverage and support. In the latter phase, he’s an uber-physical downhill closer with a quick trigger, who can not only engage and stack against blockers, but also execute wrong-arms and rips to decouple blocks and free himself up in pursuit.
Having said all this, there are negatives to note in Lutmer’s profile. He has middling proportional length and can improve his consistency staying square to WRs in press-man and off-man, and his plant-and-drive efficiency can improve with fewer false steps overtop breaks.
Going further, while Lutmer’s speed is passable, he’s vulnerable to vertical stacking against elite speed threats.
Lutmer’s ideal role is as a hybrid nickel DB who offers man and zone versatility, and he has impact two-phase starter upside, with a penchant for impacting the football.
2) KJ Bolden, Georgia
KJ Bolden is a potential first-round safety prospect in the 2027 NFL Draft, who profiles as a versatile defensive leader at the next level.
He was a five-star recruit who immediately factored into the rotation for the Bulldogs as a true freshman, earning SEC All-Freshman honors in 2024 before becoming a full-time starter in 2025.
In 2025, Bolden racked up 76 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions, and 5 pass breakups, while earning a 91.6 PFSN Safety Impact score that was Top 10 in the FBS.
In coverage, he allowed just 0.5 yards per coverage snap and a measly opposing QB rating of 46.2, and he missed just 6.8% of his tackle attempts in support.
Bolden is close to average size at 6’0″, 195 pounds, but he compensates with high-level coverage athleticism and processing ability.
An intense, disciplined, and versatile competitor, Bolden has the flexibility to play single-high, two-high, robber roles, or even from nickel alignments on a situational basis.
As a mover, he operates with controlled pacing that sometimes hides his top-end athleticism, but in quick-reaction and chase scenarios, his short-area twitch, swivel fluidity, hip sink, springy explosion, and long-strider speed shine.
In support, he’s patient yet decisive, angle-disciplined, and a sure solo tackler in spite of his leaner frame. In coverage, he’s intelligent, incredibly natural managing spacing and hip alignment in zone, smooth and effortless on his pedal, and quick to close gaps off his plant-and-drive once passers commit.
Bolden still has room to add more mass to his frame, and his aggressive trigger can leave him vulnerable to double-moves. To that end, he can also cut down on instances of extraneous physicality when attempting to recover route leverage.
Nevertheless, Bolden projects as a defensive leader and “glue guy”, whose role and phase versatility, physicality, football IQ, and range yield impact starter upside.
1) Tae Johnson, Notre Dame
Brauntae “Tae” Johnson is a potential first-round safety prospect in the 2027 NFL Draft, who can be the first off the board at his position with another strong year. As of now, he’s my top safety prospect, and is the closest to blue-chip range.
Johnson redshirted in 2024 after joining the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as a four-star recruit, but wasted no time making an impact as a redshirt freshman in 2025.
On the year, Johnson amassed 48 tackles, 4 interceptions, a pick-six, and 3 pass breakups, culminating in a PFSN Safety Impact score of 95.8 that was first overall among all qualifying safeties, even over 2026 first-round picks Caleb Downs and Dillon Thieneman.
Among other metrics, Johnson allowed just 0.4 yards per coverage snap, a measly opposing QB rating of 51.7, missed just 6.5% of his tackles, and forced an incompletion on 17.6% of targets. The numbers are elite, and the film follows suit.
At 6’2″, 200 pounds, Johnson is long, well-built, and athletic, with a tantalizing blend of short-area quickness, foot speed on recalibration, swivel fluidity, and explosive long-strider range.
He has all-encompassing versatility across single-high, two-high, and box rover looks, but particularly in coverage, he excels. His center-fielder range makes him a deadly foe for any QB hunting for big plays, but against 2-on-1 route combos, he’s just as dangerous.
He’s fluid, malleable, and technically sound managing space, and is incredibly sharp, patient, and disciplined processing and sifting through route concepts, and he uses the QB’s eyes to guide him to conversion points with elite reaction-to-stimulus.
Despite a strong functional floor in run support, that’s where he most stands to improve; Johnson’s angles coming downhill can be too narrow, and he can engage second-level climbers with more consistent force.
Even so, Johnson’s upside is that of a potential All-Pro with a dynamic playmaking imprint, and more than any other 2027 safety prospect, he can say he checks all the boxes: Size, athleticism, versatility, coverage IQ, support, and playmaking ability.
Honorable Mentions
- Tao Johnson, UCLA
- Edrees Farooq, Tennessee
- Ty Benefield, LSU
- Keon Sabb, Alabama
- Bryce Thornton, Florida
- Terry Moore, Ohio State
- Earl Little Jr., Ohio State
- Marcus Neal, Penn State
- Davaughn Patterson, Wake Forest
- Faletau Satuala, BYU
