2013 NFL Draft safety rankings

The safety group in the draft this year is impressive. There isn't a player quite as good as Mark Barron a year ago, but there are several immediate starters in this class.

Kenny Vaccaro of Texas continues to lead the way. With so many teams needing a coverage safety, Vaccaro may get drafted higher than expected. That should also pull Jonathan Cyprien of Florida International into the first round. He's a stellar all-around safety who can drop in coverage and absolutely lay a hit.

The same can be said for D.J. Swearinger of South Carolina. We've pushed him to the third spot among safeties because he's so good in coverage. That dropped Matt Elam down a spot. Elam can lay a hit better than any safety in the draft this year, but he's a little deficient in coverage.

As always, rankings are not an indicator of where we think a player will be drafted.

1. Kenny Vaccaro | 6'1, 215 pounds | Safety | Texas
2. Jonathan Cyprien | 6'0, 210 pounds | Safety | Florida International
3. D.J. Swearinger | 6'0, 212 pounds | Safety | South Carolina
4. Matt Elam | 5'10, 206 pounds | Safety | Florida *
5. Eric Reid | 6'2, 208 pounds | Safety | LSU *
6. Shamarko Thomas | 5'10, 206 pounds | Safety | Syracuse
7. Shawn Williams | 6'1, 217 pounds | Safety | Georgia
8. Tony Jefferson | 5'10, 212 pounds | Safety | Oklahoma *
9. Earl Wolff | 6'0, 207 pounds | Safety | North Carolina State
10. Bacarri Rambo | 6'0, 218 pounds | Safety | Georgia
11. Duke Williams | 5'11, 203 pounds | Safety | Nevada
12. JJ Willcox | 6'0, 215 pounds | Safety | Georgia Southern
13. T.J. McDonald | 6'3, 205 pounds | Safety | Southern California
14. Phillip Thomas | 6'1, 215 pounds | Safety | Fresno State
15. Robert Lester | 6'2, 210 pounds | Safety | Alabama
16. Josh Evans | 6'1, 207 pounds | Safety | Florida
17. Daimion Stafford | 5'11, 221 pounds | Safety | Nebraska
18. Cooper Taylor | 6'4 3/4, 228 pounds | Safety | Richmond
19. John Boyett | 5'10, 205 pounds | Safety | Oregon
20. Rontez Miles | 6'0, 203 pounds | Safety | California (Pa.)
21. Jordan Kovacs | 6'0, 202 pounds | Safety | Michigan
22. Zeke Motta | 6'2, 215 pounds | Safety | Notre Dame
23. Kemal Ishmael | 5'11, 206 pounds | Safety | Central Florida
24. Vaughn Telemaque | 6'2, 200 pounds | Safety | Miami