Top 10 Safeties of 2019-2020

Top 10 Safeties of 2019-2020

The safety position is a very important and versatile position in the NFL. They can be the last line of defense when a corner gets beat or they can be put in the box to go after the quarterback. I have expanded my top 5 list to top 10 for this position because of the different things a strong safety and a free safety are asked to do. Instead of making two different lists I decided to compile them into one incorporating all aspects of the safety position. This is a long list so let's get into it. 

10.Devin McCourty (New England Patriots)

Coming in at number 10 we have another player from the best defense in the league this season. He had 5 interceptions this season and added 2 forced fumbles to that. He was also targeted at 33 times and allowed 20 of them to be completed for a 60.6% completion percentage. He was also able to defend 7 passes this season and allowed only 2 touchdowns. McCourty’s stats were middle of the road only being top 5 in any category 5 times only one of those being top 3. McCourty has been doing this for a long time and is showing no signs of slowing down. 

9.Kevin Byard (Tennessee Titans)

Kevin Byard had a great season for the Titans this year. He had 5 interceptions on the season being targeted 47 times only allowing 27 of them to be completed. The four year pro also defended 9 passes while only allowing 3 touchdowns on the season. He had a quarterback rating against him of 69.1. The thing that knocked Byard back on this list was the fact he gave up 422 yards which was the most on the list and he also gave up 9 yards per target. That with the combination of the rest of his stats being middle of the pack left him at the number 9 spot.

8.Eddie Jackson (Chicago Bears)

Eddie Jackson has not been celebrated as much as he should be especially with Khalil Mack coming to town, but is a pivotal part of the Bears defense. Jackson had two interceptions on the season with 1 forced fumble. He was targeted 43 times and 23 of them were completed for a 53.5% completion percentage which was the third best in the league. He only had 5 passes defended but also only allowed 1 touchdown on the season. Like McCourty, Jackson didn't do anything great but he did everything good enough to land him the eighth spot.

 

7.Justin Simmons (Denver Broncos)

Justin Simmons covered the ball very well this season. He had 4 interceptions this season and was able to defend 15 passes which was the most in the league. He also had the most tackles on this list with 93 of them and 65 of them were solo tackles. He was targeted 53 times and only 28 of them were completed for a 52.8% completion percentage. On top of all of that he only allowed 1 touchdown on the season and only allowed 288 yards. He was very strong in coverage and that's what landed him the number seven spot. 

6.Anthony Harris (Minnesota Vikings)

Anthony Harris came into his own this year. He tied Stephon Gilmore and Tre’Davious White for the most interceptions this year with 6. He was only targeted 23 times and 15 of them were completed. He also allowed the second least amount of yards with 151 of them. Harris also had 60 combined tackles and 35 of them were solo and he only missed 3 tackles. To add to that he allowed 0 touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 44.2. The fact that he didn't get a pro bowl nod is ridiculous. 

5.Minkah Fitzpatrick (Pittsburgh Steelers)

Fitzpatrick was shipped to the Steelers during the season but did not let that slow him down one bit. The second year pro had 5 interceptions and was able to force 2 fumbles also and recovered another 3. He was targeted 32 times and 20 of them were completed for a 62.5% completion percentage. He was also able to defend 9 passes and allowed 4 touchdowns. He also had a quarterback ranking of 93 when he was targeted which was the worst on the list. Fitzpatrick is very versatile being able to play corner and safety which is what puts him so high on this list. He is a turnover creator and can also defend in coverage. The only thing that hurts him is his completion percentage against him and the quarterback ranking against him. 

4.Harrison Smith (Minnesota Vikings)

Harrison Smith helped round out the best safety duo in the league this year. He had 3 interceptions on the year and was able to also force 3 fumbles . He was the better tackler out of the two by far with 85 of them 65 were solo also. He was sent on a blitz 30 times and was able to get a sack out of it. He defended 11 passes and had an opposing quarterback rating of 41.7. Along with Harris he did not allow a single touchdown on the season and only allowed 194 yards. Smith has been doing this for years and shows no signs of slowing down while teaching Harris the ropes to make a very dangerous duo. 

3.Earl Thomas (Baltimore Ravens)

Earl Thomas has been one of the best safeties in the league for a long time and this year did not change. He only pulled in 2 interceptions and 1 forced fumble on the year but that's not where he impressed this year. He was targeted only 25 times this season and only 11 of them were completed for the best competition percentage of 44%. He also allowed 0 touchdowns and had the best quarterback rating when targeted of 24.2 which is ridiculous. Thomas also only allowed 113 yards on the season and 4.5 yards per target. He also blitzed the quarterback 54 times and got 2 sacks out of it. He fell off this season tackling wise only getting 49 of them and 32 of them being solo which was the worst on the list. He also only defended 4 passes which hurt him also. Claims that Thomas has fallen off are ridiculous, the ball is just not thrown his way too often.

2.Tyrann Mathieu (Kansas City Chiefs)

The honey badger is another case of a new team, no problem. He had 4 interceptions on 80 targets and 45 completions with the targets and completions leading the list. Even with being the most targeted he only allowed a 56.3% completion percentage. While he allowed 409 yards on the season he only allowed 5.1 yards per target which was top 3 on the list. He also had the second most passes defended with 12 of them and only allowed 2 touchdowns. Mathieu also had a quarterback rating of 57.8 when he was targeted. Mathieu also blitzed the quarterback 43 times and got 2 sacks out of it. To round it all out he had 75 tackles with 63 of them being solo. Mathieu was all over the place and was disruptive in every aspect of the defensive end and that's why he has the number 2 spot. 

1.Jamal Adams (New York Jets)

A Lot of drama has surrounded Adams this off season but one thing has stayed consistent, he is an elite defender. People often look at him as a safety who just plates in the box but he is a very good pass defender. He was targeted 38 times and it was completed 21 times for a 55.3% completion percentage. He also only had 1 interception on the season but added 2 forced fumbles. He also only allowed 187 yards and 4.9 yards per target which was number 2 on the list. He defended 7 passes and only allowed 2 touchdowns and had a quarterback rating of 75.2 when targeted. In the box his numbers were also very good, blitzing the quarterback 90 times and getting 6.5 sacks, 10 tackles for losses and 16 pressures. He also had 75 tackles and 63 of them were solo. Adams is good wherever you put him and knows how to get to the quarterback efficiently.