Finding Broncos: NFL Combine Winners and Losers | Safeties

Finding Broncos scouts the 2023 NFL Draft by breaking down the NFL Scouting Combine the safety position.

The 2023 NFL Scouting Combine is underway, and the defensive backs took the field on the second day. Safties ended the day, and that is a position the Denver Broncos need help at. Caden Sterns needs competition for the starting job next to Justin Simmons. 

Measurements:

While wingspan is important for defensive backs, they don't measure it at the combine. Part of the equation is arm length for that ability to attack the catch point. The mark is 31 inches, but anything below 30 inches is extremely concerning. 

Winner: Ronnie Hickman | Ohio State 

Hickman measured with 33-inch arms, a great length for a safety. 

Winner: Tyreque Jones | Boise State

Jones came in with good length standing at 6-foot-2 with 33-3/4 inch arms. 

Winner: JL Skinner | Boise State

Skinner got hurt, which obviously isn't ideal. However, he measured in at 209 pounds standing 6-foot-4 with 32-inch arms. Those are good marks to stand out when you can't do the drills. 

Winner: Jordan Howden | Minnesota 

Safeties need the good length, and Howden measured up well at 31-1/4 inch arms. 

Winner: Antonio Johnson | Texas A&M

There are no questions about Johnson's length at 6-foot-2 and 32-1/8 inch arms. 

Loser: Jammie Robinson | Florida State

Robinson came in undersized and lacking length. He stood at 5-foot-11 and had 29-5/8 inch arms. 

Loser: Brandon Hill | Pitt

If you are a shorter safety, you need good length with the arms. Unfortunately, Hill fell short at 5-foot-10 and 30-3/4 inch arms. 

Athletic Testing

The jumps matter for the explosion, and the vertical also matters for showing how high they can get up there. Then, of course, you also couple those with the 40-yard dash, where you don't want to see a number above a 4.65 time. 

40-yard dash:

Winner: Daniel Scott | California

Scott tested well and has been under the radar, but his 4.45 second time will put him on the radar. 

Loser: Trey Dean III | Florida

Dean ran the slowest time of the safeties at 4.75 seconds, much slower than you want to see. 

10-yard split:

Winner: Jartavius Martin | Illinois

Martin ran the split in 1.47 seconds, tied for the third fastest time. The company of safeties he is with are some talented NFL players. 

Loser: Tyreque Jones | Boise State

While his 1.61-second split isn't bad, it was the worst of the group. 

Vertical Jump:

Winner: Jartavius Martin | Maryland

Martin jumped out of the building in both jumps but hit 44 inches on the vertical. 

Loser: Brandon Joseph | Notre Dame

You want to see a mid-30-inch vertical from safeties, and Joseph barely hit the 30-inch mark at 30.5 inches. 

Broad Jump:

Winner: Sydney Brown | Illinois

Brown nearly hit 11 feet with a 10-foot-10 broad jump. 

Loser: Jammie Robinson | Florida State

Lower body explosion matters for safeties, and while 9-foot-8 isn't terrible, it is below desired for safeties. 

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Position-Specific Drills:

In the safety drills, you want to see a smooth transition and a good tempo to show off your range in coverage. In addition, you want to sustain good speed throughout, especially on the drills that will have you cover a longer distance. 

Line Drill

This drill tests how smoothly the defensive backs can flip their hips from side to side and flip to close to get the interception. They have to stay low and keep their arms moving. Time is also an important factor.

Winner: Ji'Ayir Brown | Penn State

Brown is so smooth in this drill when flipping his hips and didn't slow his tempo. 

Loser: DeMarcco Hellams | Alabama

Hellams ran this drill upright instead of staying low, and his tempo wasn't good enough. 

Backpedal and Transition

This drill tests the smoothness of your feet and hip fluidity to challenge the corner/post routes. It also can show the range for safeties. 

Winner: Jartavius Martin | Illinois

Martin was smooth in this drill from top to bottom and start to finish, and he attacked the ball at the high point to finish. 

Loser: Jammie Robinson | Florida State

Robinson got upright through his backpedal, leading to wasted steps when transitioning, and failed to finish the drill. 

W-Drill

This five-yard backpedal to close tests the transition to closing on the ball and back. There are five transitions, and you want to finish with the pick.

Winner: Christopher Smith II | Georgia

Smith was clean through the drill, and he burst from his transitions and sustained a good tempo in the drill. 

Loser: Tyreque Jones | Boise State

Jones popped up in the drill, leading to an extra step in his transition. Unfortunately, his feet got out from under him, leading him to slip. 

Backpedal 90-Degree Break

This is a simple five-yard drop, then breaking on those short outside throws. Again, you want to finish the backpedal and show a smooth transition to jump on the route.

Winner: Sydney Brown | Illinois

Brown was fast through this drill, which isn't always a good thing, but it wasn't an issue with how smooth and clean he was. 

Loser: Rashad Torrence II | Florida 

There were a lot of wasted steps from Torrence when going into his breaks. 

Teryl Austin Drill #1

Every drill tests the transition of the defensive backs. This is a difficult one to open up inside, then flip and jump a curl route. You don't want wasted steps to gather for the change of direction, and you want to keep a good tempo through the drill.

Winner: Gervarrius Owens | Houston

He kept his shoulders low, flipped his hips naturally and smoothly, then finished by going after it to secure the ball. 

Loser: DeMarcco Hellams | Alabama

There were some extra steps to gather and flip, which you don't want to see. 

Teryl Austin Drill #2

This drill tests the break inside after a backpedal, then flipping to cover the out. Again, you want to stay low and get your feet up in the transition.

Winner: Antonio Johnson | Texas A&M

His footwork was clean and technically sound when flipping his hips. 

Loser: Jason Taylor II | Oklahoma State

Taylor had to waste some movement to gather himself when flipping his hips. 

Box Drills

This drill throws a lot at safeties and asks them to leave their comfort zone. They have to keep a good tempo through multiple transitions and change of direction with their movement.

Winner: Brandon Joseph | Notre Dame

This was easily the best drill from Joseph. He kept low, and his footwork was clean; then out of the transition, he burst to finish. 

Loser: Kaevon Merriweather | Iowa

His footwork was choppy, and he had to slow his tempo into his change of direction. 

The Gauntlet

While this drill is more important for wide receivers, showing good hands can be a significant boost for safeties. 

Winner: Jordan Battle | Alabama

Battle had extremely soft hands. Catching the passes seemed effortless, and he stayed tight on the line. 

Loser: Tyreque Jones | Boise State

Jones started well, but he dropped a pass and seemed flustered when finishing the drill, but he got a second chance and did a better job, though he still had some issues. 

Overall

Winner: Ji'Ayir Brown | Penn State

Brown showed great range and ball skills through the drills and was consistently smooth with his movement. 

Loser: Trey Dean III | Florida 

Dean didn't test out as well as you would hope, and his drills had some clunky footwork and didn't show great range. 

Winner: Sydney Brown | Illinois

Brown did everything well and did some small things, like being the drill demo guy. 

Loser: Jammie Robinson | Florida State

There was a lot of hype for Robinson entering the combine, but he struggled with the drills and the testing. 

Winner: Jartavius Martin | Illinois

Martin showed it all, and in the drills, he did better than a lot of corners. 

Loser: Tyreque Jones | Boise State

There are a lot of footwork issues with Jones, and the drills really exposed them. 

Winner: Jordan Howden | Minnesota

Howden had a couple of rough drills, but overall he showed solid footwork and covered ground quickly. 

Loser: DeMarcco Hellams | Alabama

Hellams was heavy-footed, and these drills can expose issues with the feet. 

Winner: Daniel Scott | California

Scott was consistently among the best for each drill and tested well athletically. 

Loser: Kaevon Merriweather | Iowa

The lower body mechanics of Merriweather are an issue, and the drills highlighted those issues. He finished the drills well, but everything before that wasn't good. 

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