Who are the NFL's best safeties? Our writing staff ranked the top 10 throughout the league and evaluated what makes them stand out.
It could be argued that no defensive position in the modern NFL has to deal with the range of responsibilities that safeties do.
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.
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.
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.