We have to understand that the modern safeties are not just safeties these days. If you are not a true enforcer in the deep third, it is very much possible that your NCAA or NFL team will need you as much in the box and in the slot as you will be roaming deep. Free and Strong designations seem to be the things of the past. Now, the drills in scouting are rather instructive for multi-position safeties.
Speaking of scouting combines, Malaki Starks, Nick Emmanwori, Marques Sigle, and Kitan Crawford were four names with excellent scouting combines. But what does the tape point out?
What Game Film Shows About Nick Emmanwori, Malaki Starks, and Top Safety Prospects
Let’s have a look at the four safeties with great scouting combines.
Nick Emmanwori
There’s no shred of doubt why Nick was one of the stars of the 2025 scouting combine. After Marques Sigle, he had the best 40-yard dash time among the safeties. He was only 4.38 seconds behind Kansas State’s safety. Moreover, he had the best vertical jump at 43 inches and the best broad jump at 11 feet, six inches.
The NFL will have a hard time keeping its eye off his stats. In this time in the NFL, where teams are referring to safeties as mirrors, due to the belief that a safety should match a potential receiver wherever he goes, Nick’s coverage palette seems to be the ideal thing.
Wherever his destination might be in the future, his stats and drive make him an ideal future star in a lot of NFL defenses.
Malaki Starks
On a lot of boards, Starks is already considered among the top safeties. While his 1.51-second 10-yard split was exceptional, his 4.5-second 40-yard dash was not eye-catching, looking at it from his level. The top 40 speed, 23.13 miles per hour, made the top 5 ranking.
In the previous season, Starks allowed 34 catches on 51 targets for 453 yards, 190 yards after the catch, a couple of touchdowns, one interception, a couple of pass breakups, and an opponent passer rating of 99.6.
While his performance on the drill was great, there are concerns surrounding alignment and assignment errors that can be a subject of concern.
Kitan Crawford
Among the safeties, the 202-pound recorded the third-best 40-yard dash. Right behind Emmanwori, Kitan’s vertical jump of 41.5 inches ranked second and his 10-foot, 8-inch broad jump was ranked third. The 5 foot 11 inch Crawford had a top speed of 23.31 miles.
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Kitan played 351 snaps at free safety, 177 in the slot, 312 in the box, 8 on the defensive line, and 2 at outside cornerback. The NFL coaching staff only needs to improve his ball skills. Unlike others, Kitan rarely gets beaten badly when he allows receptions. Instead of being focused on being Captain Chaos, he needs to be focused on the ball itself.
Marques Sigle
Ran the fastest 40-yard dash at 4.37 seconds among the safeties, he was exceptional. His top speed of 23.53 miles per hour was the finest in class. His 38-inch vertical jump and 10-foot 8-inch broad jump were fourth-best and third-best, respectively.
There are no eye-widening concerns about Sigle. Sure, when it comes to covering, things do not always pan out well for the safety. The delays in processing may become the biggest hurdle to his NFL potential. That being said, his tape will be a joy to watch.
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