10 Best Safeties of the 2022 NFL Season

Introduction to the Top Safeties of 2022

Some of the most sought-after specialists in the offseason are defensive backs, and none more so than the ones that play safety. NFL Players who man the Safety position need to be some of the most versatile athletes on their teams and in the League. They must be large enough to play against the big, bruising backs and tight ends but swift enough to run with the cheetahs at wide receiver. They are vital to run-support of their defense just as much as in defending against the passing attack of their opponents. They come in the free and strong varieties; some are even hybrids that drop into the box in an almost linebacker role. Other times, these players may be ball-hawking the deep zones of the speedy wide receivers or matching up to cover a tight end. It is an all-important high-profile position of the gridiron, and that is why we are so excited to share with you the top safeties in the NFL from the 2022 season. 

Using the powerful database of Pro-Football-Refernce.com and Stathead.com, the NFL safety rankings for the 2022 season will be unveiled in different categories of skill sets that will aid in identifying who is the best safety in the NFL for 2022.

Tackling

Excuse the pun, but we will “tackle” this research criteria by looking at who at the NFL safety position stopped the ball carriers and receivers after a catch the most in 2022. The safeties are often the last people on the defensive wall, and their stoppage of the man with the ball is critical to prevent log gains and even scores by opposing offenses. To be an NFL Safety, you need to be able to lay some lumber and drop the opposition in their tracks. The stats in this area of expertise to measure include combined tackles, solo stops, and takedowns behind the line of scrimmage.

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Julian Love of the New York Giants led all NFL safeties in 2022 with 124 combined tackles. This lofty total included 79 solo stops for the former Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive back. Big things are expected of this tough player for the G-men as they face some strong offenses in the NFC East in the coming season.

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The Atlanta Falcons star of the defense’s back end, Richie Grant, came in second to Mr. Love with 123 combination tackles in 2022. Grant, a second-year player from Central Florida, knocked down 70 opponents on his own as part of his tackle report to 2022.

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Tying Julian Love in the solo tackles for safeties in 2022 was Jalen Thompson of the Arizona Cardinals. The DB from Washington State helped out on 110 stops and even added one tackle for a loss of yardage.

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Donovan Wilson of the Dallas Cowboys had a special assignment in which he led the League, hitting the quarterback. This unique pressure from the blitzing defensive back in “Big D” had Wilson credited with nine hits on the opposing signal callers, including five sacks and seven tackles for loss! Timing is everything in this skill set; those are some unbelievably productive numbers for Donovan to help his team.

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Fumbles

Safeties often need to be “Johnny-on-the-spot” by creating opportunities for their defenses to take the ball away from runners. A look at two productivity stats in this area includes the forced fumbles and how many times this player gained possession of a loose ball. Here are the leaders of the position that either created a loose ball or gained possession of it more than any of their peers.

Rayshawn Jenkins and Justin Simmons led the League in Safeties that caused their opponents to put the ball on the ground with three each, but we will save them for a stat category later on. Right behind them were several Strong and Free Safeties that forced two fumbles in 2022, including:

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The Cincinnati Bengals’ DB Vonn Bell wrestled away two balls from his opponents, making a short field for the potent Bengals offense. Mr. Bell also added for interceptions to his resume on the season.

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Many Safeties recovered two fumbles in 2022, but none did it better than the Minnesota Vikings alert DB Camryn Bynum. Bynum recovered the loose balls twice and added fifty-five yards of return to help his team. Being alert enough to dive into the pile after a loose ball is one thing, but having the hands to scoop and run with it is special.

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Defending the Pass

As stated earlier, the safety has to wear many hats. They not only have to stop the advancing ball carriers by bringing them to the ground but they are also required to get in the way of people catching passes. Here are some men in the position that led the NFL in 2022 in pass defense.

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The Jacksonville Jaguars have a stud in their defensive secondary in Rayshawn Jenkins. Mr. Jenkins led all safeties in the NFL in 2022 with twelve passes defended, including three interceptions and one returned for a score.

If interceptions are the gold standard for the success of a safety statistically, then these next three gents are at the top of the class for 2022 NFL Safeties.

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The Pittsburgh Steelers secondary has a ballhawk star in Alabama product, Minkah Fitzpatrick. Minkah was one of three who had the league lead in picked-off passes for 2022 with six takeaways. Fitzgerald provided 94 return yards off of those picks, too. Number 39 in the Black and Gold returned one of these to the house and recorded eleven passes defended throughout the regular season.

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C.J. Gardner-Johnson was another safety in 2022 with six interceptions. “Ceedy Duce,” a Philadelphia Eagle that year, provided the backend support that helped take the Eagles flying high to the Super Bowl. The ball hawk provided 54 yards returned on the takeaways as well. Gardner-Johnson accomplished this in just twelve games played! Seeing what he does as a Detroit Lions’ defense member will be exciting.

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The Denver Broncos also had a representative of 2022 leaders in safeties with interceptions list in their star Justin Simmons. Simmons, out of Boston College in his seventh season in the League, also plucked six passes out of the air in twelve games. His 51 yards retired of the interceptions was an important element of his game.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are some great candidates for the best safety in 2022. Some even repeat the feats that make men at the position great and can be among the best safeties of all time if they continue. However, one wants to judge the statistical weights of determining who the best was in 2022 at the position that is squarely in the eye of the beholder. Still, the production of these stars may shed light on who the quarterback of the NFL has feared the most in the secondary.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 28th, 2023 at 10:56 am and is filed under Top Lists. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.