CLEVELAND, Ohio — The safety position in the 2025 NFL Draft is the latest example of an age-old debate: the more pro-ready player with average athleticism vs. the all-world athlete who needs more work. Georgia’s Malaki Starks and South Carolina’s Nick Emmanwori are the consensus top two safeties in this class. But who goes first in the draft? That all honestly depends on what a team prefers. Starks came to Georgia as a five-star prospect and made an instant impact on a team that won a second consecutive national championship in 2022. He was a consensus first team All-American in 2023 but took a slight step back in his stats in 2024. Emmanwori, however, had his best season in 2024 and had a world-class performance at the NFL Combine. He ran the 40-yard dash in just 4.38 seconds, had a 10-yard split of 1.53 seconds, jumped 43 inches in the vertical jump and 11 feet, six inches in the broad jump. All of that adds up to a Relative Athletic Score of a perfect 10.0. Starks posted a solid 40 time of 4.50, but he struggled in other areas, earning him a more modest 5.17 RAS. Both players are worthy of not only going in the first round but also being the first safety off the board. We won’t know who it is until the draft itself, of course. But this will be an interesting debate for teams over these final few weeks. Where this position ranks in the 2025 NFL Draft? As part of our 11-part position group ranking series for the 2025 NFL Draft, we have the safety position ranked No. 10. We will unveil one position group per weekday, so come back to cleveland.com each day to meet the next highest-ranked position group. You can catch up on the rest of the series here. No. 11: Off-ball linebackers What the Browns need at safety The Browns have a quality strong safety in Grant Delpit. But they still need to find a true free safety who can play deep to allow Delpit to play closer to the line of scrimmage where he is at his best. Juan Thornhill was supposed to be that safety, but he struggled to stay healthy, and the Browns released him after two seasons in Cleveland. Meet the top five safeties 1. Malaki Starks, Georgia Height, weight: 6-1, 205 pounds. 2024 stats: 52 solo tackles, 4 tackles for loss, 1 interception, 3 pass breakups. Projected slot: Mid-to-late first round. More about Starks: I wrestled really hard between Starks and Emmanwori for my top safety spot. Honestly, they’re pretty much tied for me and whoever goes first might just come down to a team’s preference. Starks’ case for the No. 1 safety comes from being a high-IQ player and producing in big games throughout his college career. That intelligence makes him a threat both in the pass and run games. What he will need to do to get to the next level is to temper his aggressiveness because e he is a playmaker, that aggression opens him up occasionally to giving up big plays. 2. Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina Height, weight: 6-3, 220 pounds. 2024 stats: 57 solo tackles, 3 TFLs, 2 pass breakups, 4 INTs. Projected slot: Mid-to-late first round. More about Emmanwori: There is a strong case for Emmanwori to be the best safety in this class, especially considering how he dominated at the NFL Combine. In fact, I had Emmanwori as the first safety taken in my latest mock draft. Emmanwori is a rare physical specimen and that shows up in how he defends the pass. Not only can he cover down the field, but he also is great at playing the ball. Despite his size, he will need to be better at attacking as a run stopper. He’s more raw than Starks, but his ceiling might also be higher. 3. Xavier Watts, Notre Dame Height, weight: 6-0, 204 pounds. 2024 stats: 52 solo tackles, 4 TFLs, 6 INTs, 10 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery. Projected slot: Late second to third round. More about Watts: The Fighting Irish made a surprising run to the national championship game last season, and the play of their defense, particularly Watts, was a big reason why. Watts is more of a true free safety because of his elite ball skills and production. He had 13 interceptions between his last two seasons and won the Nagurski Award in 2023 as the nation’s best defensive player. He is solid as a run defender, but he is not nearly as good as he is at defending the pass. But Watts could be the perfect complement to a traditional box safety because of his ball skills. 4. Andrew Mukuba, Texas Height, weight: 5-11, 186 pounds. 2024 stats: 41 solo tackles, 4 TFLs, 5 INTs, 7 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble. Projected slot: Third round. More about Mukuba: Like Watts, Mukuba is probably at his best as a safety playing centerfield against the pass. Mukuba, who played his first three seasons at Clemson, transferred to Texas for 2024 and was great as he had five of his six career interceptions last season. The ball skills and instincts he plays with are probably his best assets. But at shorter than 6-foot, Mukuba will probably have some limitations as a run stopper. 5. Lathan Ransom, Ohio State Height, weight: 6-0, 206 pounds. 2024 stats: 46 solo tackles, 1 sack, 9 TFLs, 1 INT, 2 pass breakups, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery. Projected slot: Third to fourth round. More about Ransom: Ransom is one of several Buckeyes who put their NFL futures on hold for one more season to try for a national championship, which they won. While Watts and Mukuba are more true free safeties, Ransom is more of a traditional strong safety. He plays with physicality and is capable of the hits that jar footballs free with six forced fumbles in his career. Ransom will be at his best when paired with a centerfield safety, which would allow him to play closer to the line of scrimmage and thus maximizing his skills.