Converting College CBs to NFL Safeties

by Stephen (shaynes41) on Apr 17, 2009 7:00 AM PDT

We've all thought about it before. Why not convert one of our three CBs into the FS and then move Weddle over to SS? On the surface it sounds simple. We need safeties who can cover, CBs are built to cover, move him over, piece of cake. Why not? Well, it's not quite as simple as it sounds. If it were that simple, every safety (or at least every free safety) would be a former college cornerback.

There are some skills that a safety must have that your normal cornerback may not have. First of all, safeties are much more involved in stopping the running game than corners are. More so with strong safeties than free safeties, but true for both. A cornerback who can't tackle might be tolerated if they can cover, a safety that can't tackle isn't a safety.

Safeties are also more involved in the defensive play calling and aligning. They must have a much better grasp of what the defense is trying to do as a whole and where they fit in. Corners tend to live on islands (as much as any defensive player can). There are certain plays where a CB really only focus on their own man and nothing else, a safety never is in that situation.

Safeties usually are involved in covering the bigger bodies on offense. While this may sound easier since the bigger bodies are usually slower, there is a different technique to defending a big TE than a skinny WR.

So, there are some challenges to moving from corner to safety. Let's see how often it actually happens. I had some spare time on my hands so I looked up all the starting safeties in the league and figured out what they played in college. 6 of the 32 starting FS played CB in college:

Antrel Rolle (Arizona)
Charles Godfrey (Carolina)
Renaldo Hill (Denver)
Nick Collins (Green Bay)
Eugene Wilson (Houston)
Hiram Eugene (Oakland)

Nick Collins has been to the Pro Bowl and was an All-Pro last year. He played CB and FS in college, but was projected as a CB coming out. He also played linebacker his sophomore year.

Could a guy like Malcom Jenkins make the switch? Guys coming out of college tend to want to be labeled as CBs because they want to get more money. Also it would be a project and might not work out. Do we want to spend a first round pick on a project who might not be able to play the position? If we do draft a CB to switch to safety, I would want it to be in the later rounds. I would also want to find a CB who had also played a bit of LB or safety at the college or HS level.

Could a guy like Cason, Cro, or Jammer make the switch? I'm inclined to think Jammer could because he is definitely the best tackler of the bunch and probably understands the whole of the defense better than the other two due to his experience. Of course, I'm not sure it is a good idea to take a position of strength and make it weaker to potentially shore up another spot. Our nickel corner is probably on the field 40% of the time, so shifting one of our CBs to safety leaves a hole there.

Oliver is trying to make the switch and he is a former college CB, so that might be the answer. Although he may be making the switch more because he didn't have the speed or quickness to play CB.

One other option is to look at another position all together. My favorite safety of all time was Carnell Lake for the Steelers. All Pro Safety, moved to CB for a year due to injuries and was All Pro there as well. Played OLB in college at UCLA! Anyone want to look at the OLBs coming out of college and project some of them at safety?

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Great article

I think checking OLBs to see if they’d be able to make the switch to Safety is almost impossible without watching a workout. In a safety you’re looking for acceleration (backwards), speed, coverage, recognition, etc. etc. In a linebacker you’re basically looking for strength, speed and tackling.

Jenkins is supposedly a very good tackler and the film I got to watch of him showed him lined up as a safety about 10% of the time (especially when it was obvious that the offense had to go for the endzone). I think he’d make a fine safety, but he’s stated that he’s a corner and that’s where he wants to play. So I wouldn’t draft him and I bet AJ wouldn’t either.

The issue we’re facing is that we need somebody that can start at safety now and be better than Hart (or as good as Weddle at FS). Drafting a corner or a linebacker to switch over runs a risk against that. My feeling is that AJ will look for a good safety talent in the third round, but he won’t pick a safety he doesn’t believe in. I don’t know that they’d mind moving Cason to FS and having Cletis Gordon as the nickel back. He’s not great, but he’s not that bad and it gets Cason (who has potential to be great) on the field more. Also, worst case scenario with this plan is Cason moves back to nickel and the search for a FS starts again. Worst case scenario with a draft pick is that you still have to pay him to sit on the bench.

One more thing to add is that Cason get better throughout 2008. He started at a similar level to Florence but by the end of the year he was considered by most to be a near-shutdown cornerback. Hell, we toyed with the idea of trading away Cromartie this offseason and that would not have even popped into AJ’s head if he didn’t believe Cason was a player that needed to be on the field more and one who picked up the defensive system very quickly (showing intelligence).

"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock

by John Gennaro on Apr 17, 2009 8:24 AM PDT reply actions

you’re right, the LB to safety switch doesn’t happen often enough for it to be considered.

Do you really think we need to find someone who can start at safety right now? As in before the season? It’s definitely a weak link, but is it a critical weak link? The only thing that makes me think it might not be critical is because I think Hart played reasonably well two years ago. I think he was exposed last year with Merriman out, Weddle taking some time to get going, and Cro having a very bad year. Plus, Cooper was out the first four games and Williams took about 3 weeks to play into shape. Hart also had some injury issues. Now, a lot of those things are going to happen every year, injuries, guys playing down around you, etc. and you don’t want your starter exposed when that happens. But I wonder if last year was a bit of perfect storm scenario and maybe we aren’t as bad off at SS as we think we are?

by Stephen (shaynes41) on Apr 17, 2009 10:04 AM PDT up reply actions

The weakness seems suspect. I have to believe that with a renewed pass rush the safety question would be less of a concern. Not that Hart is not an issue, but for arguments sake there were too many asterisks for last year to be the definitive sample.
That being said with names like Polamalu, Reed, Sanders, and Dawkins it does makes the grass look greener. Is Patrick Chung (Oregon) ever going to be that kind of player? Supposedly the best SS in this class, and a middle 2nd round pick. With the Chargers not picking until the 3rd it would appear he will be taken before they are on the clock. But realistically is he that good? I mean should the Chargers be pining for him. Is there talent in the draft sufficient with the need, because at first blush it seems like option of trotting Hart back out there is the lesser of a few evils.

gully

by DanRed on Apr 17, 2009 10:50 AM PDT up reply actions

The perfect CB to safety project

I’ve found our FS of the future.

Jarius Byrd, Oregon, CB
Son of Gill Byrd, former Charger Safety and owner of John Elway’s soul
All Pac-10 for three years in a row
5-10 207
Good tackler, good zone cover guy.
Ran a 4.67 40, which is slooooow for a CB, and even for a safety
6.73 three cone drill (quickness and lateral movement) which is as fast as they come
2nd round prospect right now, but falling because of his slow 40 time at his pro day

NFL.com says he is more quick than fast and might have trouble playing CB in the league. Sounds to me like he would make a great pickup with a 4th round pic if he lasts that long. Played QB, WR, and safety in HS and also returned punts in HS and at Oregon.

by Stephen (shaynes41) on Apr 17, 2009 9:48 PM PDT reply actions

I love it!

Great find for a number of reasons. With one of them obviously being that he’d follow in his father’s footsteps as a Chargers safety.

I looked for a some detailed scouting reports on Byrd and repeatedly found that he pulled his groin at the combine and couldn’t run, then ran slow at their pro day but some think he may still have been dealing with the groin injury. However, I also found this:

Byrd tested very well in shuttle drills (4.10 short shuttle, 6.75 3-cone). Each of these marks would have ranked among the top ten cornerbacks tested in Indianapolis and are indicative of the rare agility and burst Byrd showed throughout his career with the Oregon Ducks.

Let’s get the jersey ready! We want Byrd! We want Byrd!

"I did not invent the wheel, I was the crooked spoke adjacent." - Aesop Rock

by John Gennaro on Apr 18, 2009 5:11 AM PDT reply actions