2020 Lions Safety Depth Chart
The Lions acquired a few new faces for the safety room this offseason.
Gone are former staples of the defense in Tavon Wilson and Quandre Diggs. And in are Duron Harmon -- via a trade with the New England Patriots -- and free agent Jayron Kearse.
The Lions, subsequently, have semi-overhauled the position.
Towards the top of the depth chart, third-year pro Tracy Walker is still the chess piece that will move all over the field.
Whether it be while lining up in the slot, in the box or as a traditional deep safety, Walker can be a playmaker.
Meanwhile, Harmon has plenty of experience, and will provide the Lions with a true free safety on the back-end.
In all likelihood, Harmon’s addition will move second-year safety Will Harris into a more natural box safety alignment.
Playing predominantly as a deep safety, the athletic Harris does his best work closer to the line of scrimmage, a la Wilson's old role.
Perhaps one of the more underrated moves of the offseason was the signing of Kearse.
He'll give the Lions a 6-foot-4 enforcer with the ability to cover flexed tight ends.
He was a top-three graded safety, according to Pro Football Focus in 2019, and lined up mostly in the slot, followed by free safety.
Ultimately, he was the third man in the Vikings' pecking order at safety.
He'll be the fourth safety in Detroit, where he'll be able to excel on special teams.
Speaking of special teams, as an undrafted free agent from a year ago, C.J. Moore played in all 16 games due to his special teams ability.
The same goes for Miles Killebrew, if you can even still consider him a safety.
Both of those players have had prominent roles without playing on defense, which give them some hidden value.
The Lions didn’t draft any safeties this year with their nine selections. They did, however, sign three undrafted rookie free agents -- Jalen Elliott, Bobby Price and Jeremiah Dinson.
Elliott was a good football player at Notre Dame.
Playing as a free safety, his 4.80-second 40-yard dash at the NFL combine probably scared some teams away.
Take it with a grain of salt, but Elliott did improve his 40-yard time to the 4.54-4.56 range at his own makeshift pro day.
On the opposite end of the athletic spectrum, Price, hailing from Norfolk State, was one of the best athletes in the entire draft class.
His measurables from his pro day -- he wasn’t invited to the combine -- were very similar to many draft enthusiasts' favorite safety in Jeremy Chinn.
Even with eye-popping size, speed and agility, Price is more likely a developmental, practice-squad type player.
Lastly, Dinson was a productive player while at Auburn, but is a bit of a "tweener."
On the lighter side -- in terms of weight -- and with well below-average athleticism, Dinson spent the majority of his college career in the box.
Standing in at just 191 pounds, it may be difficult for him to last at the NFL level as a strong safety.
Safety depth chart:
1.) Tracy Walker
2.) Duron Harmon
3.) Will Harris
4.) Jayron Kearse
5.) Miles Killebrew
6.) C.J. Moore
7.) Jalen Elliott
8.) Bobby Price
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