2025 NFL Draft Preview – Safeties

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April 9, 2025

By Noonefromtampa

Washington replaced Jeremy Chinn, who signed with the Raiders, with Will Harris and brought by Quan Martin, Percy Butler, Jeremy Reaves, Dominique Hampton, Ben Nikkel, and Tyler Owens. Darrick Forrest departed, signing with the Bills.

Overall, the Commanders have a decent group of players at the safety position, so I don’t expect them to have a high priority on the position in the draft. Nevertheless, if a player they highly value falls into their lap like Johnny Newton did last year, Adam Peters may select a safety in the draft.

Top Safeties

Prospect Ht Wt 40 Time College
Nick Emmanwori 6-3 220 4.38 South Carolina
Malaki Starks 6-1 205 4.4 Georgia
Kevin Winston Jr. 6-2 204 4.45 Penn State
Sebastian Castro 5-11 202 4.59 Iowa
Xavier Watts 6-0 204 4.49 Notre Dame
Andrew Mukuba 6-0 185 4.45 Texas
Billy Bowman Jr. 5-10 198 4.42 Oklahoma
Malachi Moore 6-0 198 4.50 Alabama
Lathan Ransom 6-0 207 4.53 Ohio State
Jonas Sanker 6-0 206 4.48 Virginia
Hunter Wohler 6-1 217 4.57 Wisconsin
Craig Woodson 6-0 210 4.45 Cal
Upton Stout 5-8 181 4.44 Western Kentucky
Jaylen Reed 6-0 211 4.49 Penn State
R.J. Mickens 6-0 199 4.49 Clemson

Two players stand out above the rest, Nick Emmanwori and Malaki Starks, who are probable day one picks in the draft. Emmanwori gets described with the word “freak”, because he has Sean Taylor size and speed. He is good in coverage and run support because of his long wingspan and excellent tackling. Emmanwori can get overly aggressive and can have issues keeping up with the shifty, quick receivers.  Starks, a former track star in high school, can change direction quickly and close quickly. He does rely too much on his speed when trying to recover on pass plays which can fail on fast receivers. He also needs to become better in press coverage techniques.

Day 1 Picks

Malaki Starks, Georgia

Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina

The day two picks include players such as Xavier Watts, Andrew Mukuba, Kevin Winston Jr., and Sebastian Castro. Watts is an early day 2 pick who plays with the “violence” that Dan Quinn talks about. He is good in pass coverage and run support, plus played on most of the special teams in college. The other three players will be later on day 2 and have some flaws. Mukuba has a lean frame, doesn’t always wrap up tackles and can be beat with double moves. Winston is coming off an injury and is more adept at run support than pass coverages at this point in his career. Castro is older (will be 25 soon), doesn’t have the elite level speed and because of that, he gets handsy in coverage, which will lead to penalties at the next level.

Day 2 Picks

Xavier Watts, Notre Dame

Kevin Winston Jr., Penn State

Sebastian Castro, Iowa

Andrew Mukuba, Texas

There are, of course, a ton of day 3 picks that will occur. Some key ones to watch for in the draft with respect to the Commanders are below. I like Bowman because he is the type of player who could possibly elevate his game at the next level in the right scheme. He has excellent speed and is always around the ball. He also played on most special teams in college, which is helpful to secure a roster spot. Moore reminds me of a slightly smaller version of Will Harris who Washington just signed as a free agent. He’s a smart player, with decent speed, who can play all over the defense. Ransom is an attacking safety who creates turnovers with nice size and good speed. Taylor is Sean Taylor’s little brother, a developmental project.

Day 3 Picks

Billy Bowman Jr., Oklahoma

Malachi Moore, Alabama

Latham Ransom, Ohio State

Gabriel Taylor, Rice

Thoughts

It will be interesting to see what Adam Peters will do if Nick Emmawori is on the draft board when Washington drafts at the number 29 spot. It would be very tempting to add such a potential game changer on defense despite having other positions that also need upgrading.

Will the Commanders honor Sean Taylor’s legacy with the team and draft Gabe Taylor in one of the later rounds? Gabe doesn’t possess the same freakish physical traits as his older brother, but it would be an excellent public relations move for the team, which is looking to capitalize on last year’s positives.

Overall, I don’t think safety is as high a priority on defense as is edge rusher, cornerback and linebacker. The team will probably look for developmental players after the draft when signed undrafted free agents.

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