Fabulous Five: Top Safeties
The Fabulous Five series aims to set the record on who the best are at every position as we look ahead to the 2023 NFL season. This past season (2022) plays a big part in determining these rankings, but a player’s entire body of work is fair consideration. Consistency and availability will count as much as a high total of stats just from one season.
Image credit to Pittsburgh Steelers
Ah, the safety position. The swiss army knife position of the defense which is often undervalued and underappreciated. However, they’re tasked with arguably the widest job description of all defensive positions. Man coverage, zone coverage, blitzing, filling run gaps, communication to the rest the defense, laying down the hardest hits, and acting as the last line of defense in removing “big plays” from opposing offenses. Jokes have come in that the defensive back spot is akin to the offense’s running back position: they’re just the least valuable spot to fill when building a roster. But the teams that employ this list of playmakers and ballhawks may disagree. They definitely feel very fortunate that these guys play for them. So here’s finally shining the spotlight on low-key my favorite football role: the safety. If you missed any other part of the Fabulous Five countdown of the league’s best players at each position, or just want to revisit any, you can do so right below here. Otherwise, read on for today’s countdown, starting as always with a few honorable mentions.
Honorable Mentions
Jessie Bates was a great player for the Cincinnati Bengals for years, spearheading the quick turnaround on their defense en route to a Super Bowl appearance in 2021. After playing on the franchise tag in 2022, Bates cashed in on a monster deal with the Atlanta Falcons. He’ll pair nicely with top corner AJ Terrell in Atlanta as they look to turn things around themselves. But Bates will be remembered for his overtime interception of Patrick Mahomes in the 2021 AFC Championship game, giving Joe Burrow the ball and the opportunity to go to that big game. That play also helped my case of defense mattering in overtime, as this was just one week following the confusingly controversial divisional game between Kansas City and Buffalo, where Josh Allen did not get to see the field in overtime. Defense matters, people! Bates is a great example of that.
Many moves in the 2020 offseason foretold the Tampa Bay Buccaneers becoming a force to be reckoned with. Brady and Gronk were the headliners, but the drafting of Antoine Winfield Jr. was the move I liked the most. Winfield has carried on his father’s legacy, becoming one of the great young playmakers in the league in just a few years. Tampa Bay would be wise to set some cap space aside now in preparation for Winfield’s contract. He’ll earn whatever he makes.
No, you weren’t seeing things, the second coming of Troy Polamalu has arrived, and his name is JOHN CENAAAA. (Sorry, I had to.) I’m of course talking about Talanoa Hufanga, whose meteoric rise in 2022 made us all collectively roll our eyes in saying “of course San Fran has another elite player on that defense.” Hufanga may not quite be elite yet, but with the continued mentorship of the aforementioned Polamalu, he can prove his 2022 All-Pro season wasn’t a fluke.
#1 - Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh Steelers
Fitzpatrick struggled to find his footing down in Miami, but after getting traded to the Steelers a few seasons ago I think it’s safe to say he’s figured things out now. I have him above Derwin James for a few reasons. Chief among them is simply availability, which I’ll touch on more in Derwin’s blurb. But Minkah is the true definition of a football magnet. When the vaunted Steelers defense needs a play, more often than not it’s number 39 coming up with the ball. A true do-it-all safety is as valuable as an elite pass rusher in my eyes. Fortunately for Pittsburgh, they happen to have both. TJ Watt and Minkah are the faces of this franchise in their current era post-Roethlisberger.
#2 - Derwin James, Los Angeles Chargers
Image credit to Getty Images
Considered by many as the top safety in the league, I have Derwin James in at the two spot. He gets knocked for the old adage, “a player’s best ability is availability”, and James has struggled to be fully available in his career thus far. He missed most of 2019 and all of 2020 due to injuries, with a handful of games in 2021 and 2022 as well. Derwin James is a very physical player, which has contributed both to those injuries as well as penalty/ejection trouble. He’s more of an enforcer than a ball magnet like Minkah, but he has made the Pro Bowl every year he’s played a majority of games, including a First Team All-Pro has a rookie.
#3 - Justin Simmons, Denver Broncos
Image credit to Dustin Bradford/Getty Images
Staying in the AFC West, let’s talk about Denver Broncos star Justin Simmons. He has been around for awhile, but has recently become the face of the Denver defense. Gone are the days of Von Miller leading the charge, and Bradley Chubb never quite reached the heights Denver was hoping he would. Instead, it’s been Simmons stepping his game up. He tied the league lead for interceptions in 2022 with Philadelphia’s CJ Gardner-Johnson, despite missing a handful of games. With Sean Payton now in charge, could Simmons become the dominant safety that the likes of Darren Sharper was for Payton in New Orleans? Or will the funk Denver found themselves in following the disastrous 2022 season be too much to overcome? Let’s hope Justin Simmons is immune to poor play around him, and he can knock the 2023 season out of the park.
#4 - C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Detroit Lions
Image credit to ProFootballNetwork
CJGJ was a home run hit after coming in to Philly from a trade via New Orleans. As mentioned above, he tied for the league lead in interceptions with six. He was one of many additions to an Eagles roster that propelled them to becoming the runaway NFC champions. He was also then one of many key free agents the Eagles had following the 2022 season. Finally, CJGJ was one of many of those key guys who signed outside of the City of Brotherly Love. Gardner-Johnson waited through the first major wave of the free agency frenzy, signing with the trendy Detroit Lions. The Lions’ defense, and secondary especially, was their biggest weakness from last year. Adding a player like Gardner-Johnson will help solidify things, much like how I think Bates will help in Atlanta. The difference here is, the Lions have an offense ready to hang with just about everyone in the NFC. By continuing to bolster their defense in this fashion, CJGJ may find himself once again deep in the NFC playoffs, this time in the Motor City.
#5 - Kevin Byard, Tennessee Titans
Image credit to Michael Ainsworth, AP
Is Kevin Byard the last man standing in Tennessee? The Titans are a far cry from the 2021 AFC 1-seed appearance. Gone is AJ Brown and many other difference makers. The Titans have cleaned shop, and one of the most underrated safeties of the past several years may be on the move as well. Byard hasn’t missed a game yet in his career, a true achievement in today’s NFL. His best season came in 2017 when he was elected to the Pro Bowl, First Team All-Pro, and led the league in interceptions with 8. Despite Byard’s impressive track record, Titans brass still approached him about a pay cut. Being one of the best at his position, I wouldn’t imagine Byard being overly receptive to that idea. This has fueled the trade rumors surrounding Byard and the Titans this offseason. I fully expect Tennessee and Byard to part ways, and whoever makes the deal for the elite safety will add a major boost to the backend of their defense.