Standout safeties hard to find in NFL draft
Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2015 9:40 am
http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 96971.html
Why aren’t there many standout safeties to choose from? To find the answer to that question, you might want to look back at the recruiting classes from 2011 and 2012.
“You’ll get a kid that’s a five-star [recruit] and he can play receiver and he can play safety, and just about every time colleges are putting them at receiver,” said NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah, a former scout who has worked for three NFL teams.
Former Cleveland Browns General Manager Phil Savage noted the same trend, saying that only powerhouse NCAA programs such as Alabama, LSU, USC and Florida State have the depth and talent to allow them to stick top recruits on defense.
“It’s all about scoring points. Your biggest, fastest players are typically staying on the offensive side of the ball,” said Savage, now an analyst for SiriusXM NFL Radio. “I think there’s a real disparity in terms of the volume of offensive skill players vs. defensive skill players. So that being said, [NFL teams] really have to search far and wide to find top-flight corners and top-flight safeties.”