2012 NFL Draft: Top Five Free and Strong Safeties

Even more than the cornerback class, the safeties this year, whether free or strong, are very disappointing. Outside of Mark Barron from Alabama, I certainly wouldn't put a second round grade on any of them, and I might not even place one in the third round. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Barron went in the first 10 picks of the draft and we didn't hear another go off the board until Saturday morning.

OK, enough of the negative...at least for now. Mark Barron is a "do-it-all" safety who can play in the box, cover in zone or man-to-man against tight ends and some slot receivers. He has great ball skills and a slightly below elite level burst to the football. He is an aggressive run defender who arrives at the ball carrier with an attitude. Many general managers wouldn't think of selecting a safety with a top ten pick, but I would beg them to reconsider when it comes to Barron.

Here are the rest of the strong safety rankings:

Rank	Name	School	Height	Weight
1	Mark Barron	Alabama	6010	213
2	Harrison Smith	Notre Dame	6017	213
3	George Iloka	Boise St.	6035	225
4	Brandon Taylor	LSU	5112	209
5	Antonio Allen	South Carolina	6014	210

I'm sure some of you noticed that I have George Iloka listed with the strong safeties, and it's for a good reason...he will be an absolute liability in coverage. He is simply way too tight withe extremely poor change of direction, backpedal, and lateral movement skills. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if his new team bulked him up and moved him to linebacker.

As for the free safeties, they're an even more nondescript group. Markelle Martin is the best of the lot, and he'll probably be relegated to special teams duty unless injuries are involved. He plays way too high and stiff, so his movement skills are an issue. Then, on top of all that, he's very aggressive and finds himself often out of position. If you're a team in need of a free safety, this is not your year.

Here are the free safety rankings:

Rank	Name	School	Height	Weight
1	Markelle Martin	Oklahoma St.	6010	207
2	Trumaine Johnson	Montana	6017	204
3	Trent Robinson	Michigan St.	5096	195
4	Brandon Hardin	Oregon St.	6025	222
5	Aaron Henry	Wisconsin	5116	208