DRAFTTEK BIG BOARD - Ranked by Position
Top 2012 Free Safety Prospects
Most Recent Revision: 4/27/2012

Center

LOT

ROT

RBF

RBC

WRF

WRP

WRS

FREE SAFETY

The Free Safety plays against the weak side of the offensive formation. His responsibilities include:

1) A "center-fielder" is pass coverage, roaming as the last line of defense and reading the offensive play
2) A sure tackler in run support, ensuring that the plays stay in front of him
3) Rotating zone responsibilities, quarterbacking the defense and deciding on double coverage

This diagram shows the FS in a 4-3 alignment. One FS prospect may be selected over another based on the following factors:

A. Prevailing defensive philosophy: The Free Safety is interchangeable with the Strong Safety with many NFL teams as more opponents run a balanced offense, and pass to establish the run. It is no longer just the "two deep" zone teams that utilize interchangeable safeties for coverage. The recent trend to the 3-4 defenses means that an additional inside LB can reduce the responsibility of the SS for run support.

B. Opponent's offensive philosophy: As stated above, more teams run a balanced offense (same number of players on either side of the Center) - utilizing 2 TE's, 2 WR's and 1 RB to put more receivers in the pattern.

DE43

DE34

DT43

DT34

OLB43

OLB34

WILB

SILB

Big Ten

SEC

PAC 12

Big 12