FanPost

Competition At Safety Who Should Start?


We know one thing we don’t want to see—video of Chris Conte running two steps behind a WR into the end zone or his being stiff armed like a rag doll. He now is unemployed. But Licht has furnished our Safety Room with mostly backup quality Safeties. Conte was too slow and was timed at 4.53 in the 40. We know BA wants speed at all positions. Licht spent a second pick on Justin Evans who was touted as having good range for a Free Safety but his 40 time is 4.57–slower than Conte and he has had problems in tackling too. No wonder MJ Stewart was moved to Safety when he was found too slow to play slot or regular CB. At least he hits with a pop and is a good tackler, but Conte too hit with a pop but wasn’t fast enough at Safety at 4.53 in the 40 and Stewart is 4.54 in the 40 and not likely to start either. No wonder then that Licht signed two Safeties in Free Agency this year but both of them were backups at Safety with different NFL teams but one did start in AAF this year and did well there and the other started this year for Green Bay but didn’t impress, but Licht still picked another Safety in the draft this year-Mike Edwards who led the SEC with a 100 tackles one year and overall had good production but he has a 40 time of 4.53 just like Conte and may end up chasing behind players into the end zone unless he has a lot better instincts then Conte. Well Whitehead impressed last year with his solid tackling and his ball hawking despite being only 5’10" and 198 lbs. and since he only had a 40 time of 4.59 he had to have developed great instincts for strong safety. Now Bucannon is super fast and he is very short but tough and could play some Safety too with White and David as our starting ILBs but BA will likely use him in special defenses as a LB instead. Orion Stewart from the AAF is is 6’2" like Conte and 205 lbs. which is 2 pounds more than Conte and has a 37" vertical jump and just played almost a season as an AAF starter but he runs a 4.58 40 which is slower than Conte. At least Licht also signed Kentral Brice, a Green Bay back up Safety at the start of 2018 but was elevated to a starter but could not stay healthy and was a poor tackler and was let go to free agency. However Brice is by far the fastest Safety other than Bucannon with a 4.38 best 40 time and 4.44 at his Pro Day. He is 5’11" 200 lbs. with a 42" vertical jump. He and Evans both need full development at tackling, but if Brice with a year of starting experience can stay healthy he likely can beat out Justin Evans at Free Safety and will be able to cover all over the field.
The race for Strong Safety will likely be a tossup between Whitehead, Orion Stewart, Edwards, and maybe MJ Stewart. They all can tackle well and the fastest is Edwards and the biggest is Orion Stewart. Orion Stewart and Whitehead are both ball hawks. It will go to whoever plays the best in Preseason. Who would you choose and why?

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