Three Safety Prospects Who Make Sense for Washington Commanders

The Washington Commanders made a move to address the safety room this offseason after bringing home DMV native Nick Cross to the organization on a two year deal, adding a desperately needed piece who will serve as an upgrade in run support. Yet more is needed in the secondary, so could that be a route the Commanders turn to on day two? If so, we take a look at three prime candidates.

Six years at TCU. 61 career games. Three-time team captain. At 6-foot-2, 190 pounds with a 4.41 forty, he has the length and closing speed to play at the next level. But none of that is what makes him special. What makes him special is a 91.3 PFF grade over the past two seasons. To put that in context, the only safety in the entire 2026 draft class who graded higher over that stretch is Caleb Downs. Caleb Downs won't be on the board in round three. Bud Clark might be.

The production backs up every bit of it. Fifteen interceptions over four seasons isn't something you scheme into a player. He forced incompletions on 17.1% of his targets — a number that tells you this isn't a passive deep safety sitting in zones and hoping balls fall near him. He's active, he's disruptive, and he attacks the catch point. At the Senior Bowl, he collected multiple interceptions and pass breakups against NFL-caliber competition. The football IQ jumps off the tape — he reads quarterback eyes, anticipates throwing lanes before the ball is even released, and triggers downhill with conviction.

The concerns are real. At 190 pounds, physical tight ends can give him problems in the box, and he gets put on skates if his leverage isn't right against power in the run game. His missed tackle rate has fluctuated throughout his career. But the comp here is Kevin Byard — not a prototypical size-speed specimen, just a safety who finds the football at a ridiculous rate and wins with processing and anticipation. In Jones' two-high defense, Clark is the kind of centerfield safety who eliminates throws before they're completed. If he's there in round 3, Washington can't pass him up.

Kilgore walks into the league with one of the strongest athletic profiles in this safety class — 6-foot-1, 210 pounds, 4.40 forty, and a 9.66 Relative Athletic Score that puts him in elite company at the position. The physical tools are real. So is the production that came with them.

Over three SEC seasons he piled up 178 tackles, eight career interceptions, and 21 pass breakups. In 2025, he held opposing quarterbacks to a 52.3% completion rate on his targets and broke up 10 passes — both marks that stand up against anyone in this class. He's not just accumulating stats in favorable situations either. Watch the Missouri tape: 10 tackles, constantly shedding blocks, arriving at the ball carrier first. That's what his run defense looks like every week — downhill, physical, and finishing.

What makes Kilgore genuinely interesting for Washington is the versatility. South Carolina moved him across the entire secondary — nickel, box safety, deep half — and he held up at every stop. The coaching staff trusted him enough to play him on slot receivers and tight ends in man coverage, and the 52.3% completion rate allowed tells you he held his own. He's the rare safety who can kick outside in a pinch if a corner goes down.

The limitation is pure man coverage against elite speed vertically. His hips aren't loose enough to mirror burners on the boundary in isolation, and off-coverage technique on timing routes can be rounded. He's best with help over the top. But in Jones' two-high scheme, that's exactly the role he'd slide into — physical strong safety who erases tight ends, fills gaps against the run, and reads zone concepts from a position of strength. The comp is a younger Jaquiski Tartt — physical, instinctive, built for the role from day one.

Stukes' story starts with zero recruiting stars and ends with a 4.33 at the NFL Combine — third-fastest time among all safety prospects in Indianapolis. Nobody who walked on at Arizona in 2020 was supposed to run that fast. Nobody who tore their ACL mid-season in 2024 was supposed to come back and post four interceptions, six pass breakups, and earn AP Third-Team All-American honors the following year. Stukes did both.

He's a nickel-safety hybrid — best in zone, where he can keep his eyes on the quarterback and trigger downhill. At Arizona, he rotated between Cover 1, Cover 3, and split-safety looks, which tells you how much the coaching staff trusted his football IQ. On film, the standout trait is his explosiveness at the catch point. He times his arrival to disrupt throws before they can be caught rather than letting receivers make the grab and then tackling them. His interception at the Sugar Bowl against Ole Miss is a perfect snapshot — he reads the crossing route, breaks before the throw, and attacks the ball in the air rather than waiting for it to arrive.

The questions at the next level center on man coverage — he gives up too much ground inside to receivers when asked to play on an island, and his build-up speed means he can't consistently recover if he gets stacked vertically. The comp scouts are landing on is Minkah Fitzpatrick before the position solidified — a versatile, zone-based chess piece who wins with instincts and speed. In a Daronte Jones defense built around two-high coverage and free safety range, Stukes' 4.33 speed and elite ball skills could make him one of the Day 2-3 steals of this entire draft.