Harrison Smith Named NFL’s Best Blitzing Safety

While I also think an argument could be made for Smith as the “most complete safety,” Bowen gave those honors to Tennessee’s Kevin Byard.

In a Titans scheme that spins safeties late before the snap, Byard can play top down as an impact defender with both run-game and pass-game production. He can get dirty in the box, cut off the ball on the edge or run the alley from split-field alignments.

He leads the Titans in tackles (73), and he also has five interceptions and 13 pass breakups. He has scored twice, too – check out his first career pick-six below. Byard is a disruptor who plays with a physical element.

Bowen named Rams CB Jalen Ramsey, whom the Vikings will face Sunday, as the NFL’s most complete cornerback.

This is still Ramsey, who was the top corner here in 2020, too. He’s the prototype for the position when we look at his coverage ability, length, short-area speed and ability to set an edge in the run game. Plus, we’ve also seen Ramsey’s versatility this season in coordinator Raheem Morris’ defense. He has logged 526 of his 743 total reps inside at the “star” and nickel positions for a unit that has played zone on 68.9 [percent] of coverage snaps.

Now, Ramsey can still match up and play man coverage versus any wide receiver in the NFL. We have fresh tape on that, too. And he’s still creating on the ball production with three interceptions and 11 pass breakups. But we are also seeing his complete skill set this year – from multiple alignments.

Ramsey also was tabbed as the best corner in run support. Bowen said he “shows savviness against pulling linemen to dip under and tackle.”