Browns’ Next Defensive Star? 3 Explosive Safeties to Watch in the 2026 NFL Draft Class
As the Cleveland Browns gear up for a critical 2025 season, their safety room is brimming with talent—but also uncertainty beyond this year. With Grant Delpit anchoring the back end and Ronnie Hickman flashing potential, the future still hinges on long-term depth. That’s where the 2026 NFL Draft comes in. From sideline enforcers to center-field hawks, this year’s safety class is stacked—and these three rising stars could be game-changers in Cleveland’s secondary next season.
The Cleveland Browns’ safety room is in an interesting spot entering the 2025 season, with some questions about the future after this year. They have a star in Grant Delpit to go with a young guy they have high hopes for in Ronnie Hickman. After that, there are two veterans on one-year deals, meaning the team could look to add one at some point, maybe early on, in the 2026 NFL Draft.
This year’s class is headlined by maybe the best defensive player in the country: Ohio State’s do-it-all safety Caleb Downs. I won’t go into much detail about Downs, seeing as everyone is talking about him, but he is a special player I can easily see go in the top 10 in next year’s draft. Downs is a brilliant and athletic safety who can play all over the defensive backfield and make just as big of an impact in the run game as in the pass game. Not to mention, he’s a fantastic punt returner, too. I don’t know that he’s an option for the Browns because they’re looking to use their top pick on a quarterback unless something crazy happens with Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel, but man, having Downs with Grant Delpit on the same defense would be a lot of fun to watch
Kamari Ramsey, USC
Redshirt Junior Kamari Ramsey is a guy I liked last draft cycle as a versatile chess piece before he decided to return to school for the 2025 season. I talked about him a few times in mock drafts and podcasts, so of course, I will keep a close eye on him this year. He’s just about to turn 21 years old with 26 games of experience under his belt, starting his career at UCLA for two years before transferring to USC in 2024.
Ramsey has great instincts at the position, and once he recognizes what’s going on in front of him, he has a quick trigger to react. He’s got great range and sideline-to-sideline speed and has no issue getting physical in the run game. In fact, Ramsey has a violent temperament and has been known to lay down some big hits in the run and pass game. Last year, Ramsey had over 150 snaps in the slot and the box to go along with 273 as a free safety; you can line him up anywhere in the defensive backfield.
Michael Taaffe, Texas
Watching Texas safety Michael Taaffe reminded me of watching Carson Schwesinger and thinking, “How was this guy a walk-on?” Taaffe is a smart, instinctual player in coverage with a high motor and great speed. His range and ability to cover a lot of ground in a hurry are impressive. If a wide receiver fools and gets past him, he has great recovery instincts and is so fluid that he flips his hips and takes off at top speed in a hurry.
As a deep, free safety in coverage, his instincts help him be in the right place at the right time to come up with turnovers or pass breakups. He does a great job following the quarterback’s eyes and knowing what side of the field to attack, especially when the quarterback locks on to one guy.
Taaffe isn’t afraid to crash downhill and get physical to make plays in the run game despite being under 200 pounds. He’s a decent open-field tackler, but his technique could use refinement after he missed 19 tackles in 2024. On top of that, he’s a good special-teams player, particularly as a gunner. He also blocked a punt for Texas against Texas Tech during the 2023 season.
Dillon Thieneman, Oregon
Dillon Thieneman played the last two years for the Purdue Boilermakers before transferring to Oregon for the upcoming 2025 college football season. He had a phenomenal true freshman season for Purdue in 2023, including over 100 tackles, six interceptions, and two forced fumbles while playing primarily as a deep center field-type free safety.
His sophomore season last year wasn’t as good, it wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t as impressive as his first. I think a lot of that had to do with his usage. He went from 702 deep safety snaps to only 450 deep, 214 in the box, and 102 in the slot. It’s not that he is a liability in the box or slot, he was good, but he’s a game changer, and at his best as a center fielder deep. After transferring to Oregon, I see Dan Lanning getting him back to his freshman level of play as a deep safety.
Thieneman has fantastic range and ball skills. He quickly reads the quarterback’s eyes and reacts in coverage. He has good instincts and is probably my favorite part of his game as a deep safety; you do not see him get beat deep very often. He has allowed just three touchdown passes combined in his collegiate career. If he returns to his freshman-level play, he’s an easy first-round talent for me.
