Jaguars Draft Review: Caleb Ransaw is a Future Starting Safety

The Jacksonville Jaguars made several additions to the secondary this offseason to become more versatile with depth and sufficient talent after a horrendous 2024 showing, where the defense overall finished with the next-to-last unit in the NFL in yards per game allowed.

General manager James Gladstone and defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile have established a defense with better depth, young developmental talents, and overall talent on this side of the ball. Compared to last season and the type of style Campanile wants to play with this season, the Jaguars defense is improved on paper, but it is what happens on the field that counts.

The Jaguars technically made two consecutive selections of defensive players with their first two draft choices in the NFL Draft, with Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter and Tulane defensive back Caleb Ransaw. The former Green Wave standout was also one at Troy before making the move up in competition in the AAC as a three-star transfer recruit.

There is plenty to like with Ransaw on film. First of all, he tested incredibly well this offseason with a 4.33-second 40-yard dash, 10'9" broad jump, and 40-inch vertical jump at 5-foot-11, 197 pounds. The explosiveness and downfield speed are evident along with great hip fluidity, short-area quickness and burst, and recovery speed.

Something Jaguars fans are going to appreciate with Ransaw is that he is a versatile defender who can play from multiple spots. His projection to the NFL seemed dependent on who would value him more as an inside-out defender or on the backend at safety. Ransaw was Tulane's standout nickel defender who lined up in the box on occasion while having the transition explosiveness and quickness to work from a single-high role.

The reason some see Ransaw as a free safety (aka the Jaguars) is because of the quality explosiveness and recovery speed to keep himself attached to deep passing concepts and routes, and he does a good job staying in phase as a defensive back. He is a great coverage shell rotator on the backend when it comes to Cover 2 and Cover 3 alignments.

#Tulane versatile DB Caleb Ransaw is one of the more sound secondary tacklers in this class. Explosive player (4.33s 40, 40 inch vert, 10-9 broad). Has outside CB and nickel experience. Knows how to force WRs to sideline on vertical routes.

Depth DB that should be Day 3 pick. pic.twitter.com/v373EB1OM6
— Devin Jackson (@RealD_Jackson) April 16, 2025

Ransaw's explosiveness and closing burst allow him to get downhill quickly as an alley defender or to make plays behind the LOS. He can use this to further develop his ball skills when attacking the catch point.

In the run game, Ransaw is truly at his best despite having a smaller frame for a potential deep third defensive back. He takes on blockers with physicality and maintains it as a force defender in the box and around the line of scrimmage to disrupt the track of the ball carrier. Ransaw can block-deconstruct well in space, and shows to be an ample tackler in space with impressive blowback and technique.

However, Ransaw must improve his consistency in some areas, with one critical area for improvement and growth.

I think Ransaw can afford to be more disciplined in man coverage, especially as an overhang defender in off-man or soft press-man coverages, because he can false step from time to time. His spacing in zone coverage could be more consistent, but it is sufficient overall.

Ransaw's ball skills are almost non-existent at the moment. There were some occasional plays, but it was right-place-right-time moments for the former Trojan and Green Wave defensive back. Ransaw must learn to be more assertive at the catch point, get his head around to the ball better, and play more disciplined when the ball is in the air.

Overall, Ransaw is expected to be a safety in Jacksonville as a potential future starter on the backend. He would've faced a crowded nickel defender group of Jourdan Lewis and Jarrian Jones, but could offer some ceiling and variance here in the long run, should Lewis want to move on in the next year or two.

The crowded room at nickel will push Ransaw to play on the backend and will likely compete to be a rotating third safety with Antonio Johnson, but projects as a future starter at free safety with growth needed as a ball defender and technique in man or zone. He should see time on the field as a special teams player as well.

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