Raiders 2016 NFL Draft Radar: Safeties

No position is in greater need for the Raiders than safety. For that reason, the simply must look to get one in the upper half of this draft. There are some good options available, some of whom could be Raiders on day two. Here are the top safeties who look to be in the Raiders' Doppler.

Karl Joseph, West Virginia - Round 2

Joseph has drawn comparisons to former Colts great Bob Sanders due to his size (5-10, 205) and style of play. Some have also compared him to Sanders due to what they deem to be the likelihood of injury. Then again, if you're basing his likelihood of injury on his size, I would counter with the 5-10, 208-pound Earl Thomas who hasn't missed a single game in his six-year NFL career.

One of only a couple safeties who could come off the board in the first round, he is versatile enough to play at either safety position, which means the Raiders could put him at strong safety to begin with and eventually move him to free safety, which could be ultimately where he is best suited.

Darian Thompson, Boise State - Round 2

Like Joseph, he is versatile, with the ability to play either safety position. But Thompson has much better size at 6-2, 208 pounds. He specializes in stopping the run, which he did better than most safeties in this class. But his 5 interceptions and 5 passes defended show he is more than just a stopper. His speed is decent (4.61), but whatever he may lack in speed he makes up for it with instincts, good angles, and ability to jump routes underneath.

Kevin Byard, Middle Tennessee State - Round 3-4

He almost never misses a tackle, with just one MT in 294 run snaps, and 4 MT in 362 pass snaps according to Pro Football Focus figures. In addition to his solid tackling, he has averaged 5 interceptions and 10 passes defended over the past three seasons, being named All Conference USA his junior and senior seasons. A former quarterback who also played some wide receiver and DB in high school, offering him knowledge as to how the other side of the ball sees things.

Miles Killebrew, Southern Utah - Round 4

This small school stud lit up the scouting combine. Showed his strength by bench pressing a safety combine best 22 reps and being top three in leaping ability with a 38-inch vertical (2nd), 10'7" broad jump (3rd), 6.93 3-cone (3rd), and 11.02 60-yard shuttle (2nd). This 6-2, 217-pounder has a linebacker mentality, coming up from his safety spot to stop the run and is a very efficient tackler. He shows flashes as in man coverage, but overall his cover skills need work.

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