NFL Draft Musings: Safeties
By Peter Smith
Dec 21, 2013; Albuquerque, NM, USA; Washington State Cougars safety Deone Bucannon (20) returns an interception in the second quarter against the Colorado State Rams during the Gildan New Mexico Bowl at University Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
After Ha’Sean Clinton-Dix, it is an interesting discussion as to who is the next best safety in this year’s group. Jimmy Ward is a name that popped up as he is a genuine free safety who has some corner attributes. Deone Bucannon of Washington State effectively let the secret out that was hiding in Pullman. I have not watched Calvin Pryor yet but there is a lot of buzz there.
After Dix, the class goes down a hill quickly and while there is some separation with certain groups of prospects, it could be interesting to see where some of these players go. There could be a situation where a well known player slips and a virtual unknown goes ahead of him like what happened with T.J. Ward going ahead of Taylor Mays, much to the delight of the Cleveland Browns.
There are some impressive athletes that are relatively hidden such as Terrence Brooks or Avery Patterson that have intriguing upside that could go earlier than some might expect. Brooks always seems to be pleasantly surprising to me when I watch him even though he is still raw.