Consensus board vs. draft day: the full S class, charted.
The Steal
Josh Harvey-Clemons was ranked S14 on the consensus board (#158 overall) but lasted until pick 230, where the Washington Commanders took him in Round 7. A 72-spot fall, the largest gap between consensus and draft day of any S in the class. Behind him, Obi Melifonwu (+19) and Eddie Jackson (+15) also outlasted their rankings.
The Conviction Pick
The Seattle Seahawks took Delano Hill at pick 95, 86 spots ahead of his #181 consensus rank. That's the league's strongest disagreement with the public board at the position. Teams showed similar conviction on Nathan Gerry (65 spots) and Montae Nicholson (57 spots).
The Cliff
After Montae Nicholson went at pick 123, the next S didn't come off the board for 61 picks. That's the sharpest drop in the class.
The Spend
Teams spent 24 picks on S, 9 of them in the first two rounds. That's above the position's average of 20.4 since 2018.
The Bet
The New York Jets spent more draft capital on S than any other club: picks 6 and 39, 53% of their total draft investment.
The One Who Slipped
Lorenzo Jerome, ranked #175 on the consensus board, went undrafted through all 253 picks.
| Pick | Player | Pos Rank | Consensus | Δ | School | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Jamal Adams | S1 | #3 | +3 | LSU | NY Jets |
| 15 | Malik Hooker | S2 | #5 | +10 | Ohio State | Indianapolis |
| 25 | Jabrill Peppers | S3 | #29 | −4 | Michigan | Cleveland |
| 36 | Budda Baker | S4 | #31 | +5 | Washington | Arizona |
| 39 | Marcus Maye | S8 | #72 | −33 | Florida | NY Jets |
| 42 | Marcus Williams | S6 | #47 | −5 | Utah | New Orleans |
| 50 | Justin Evans | S9 | #75 | −25 | Texas A&M | Tampa Bay |
| 56 | Obi Melifonwu | S5 | #37 | +19 | Connecticut | Las Vegas |
| 61 | Josh Jones | S7 | #63 | −2 | North Carolina State | Green Bay |
| 91 | John Johnson | S11 | #125 | −34 | Troy | LA Rams |
| 95 | Delano Hill | S17 | #181 | −86 | Michigan | Seattle |
| 111 | Tedric Thompson | S12 | #142 | −31 | Colorado | Seattle |
| 112 | Eddie Jackson | S10 | #97 | +15 | Alabama | Chicago |
| 113 | Rayshawn Jenkins | S13 | #157 | −44 | Miami | LA Chargers |
| 123 | Montae Nicholson | S16 | #180 | −57 | Michigan State | Washington |
| 184 | Nathan Gerry | S21 | #249 | −65 | Nebraska | Philadelphia |
| 186 | Chuck Clark | S24 | #290 | −104 | Virginia Tech | Baltimore |
| 187 | Mike Tyson | S | — | — | Cincinnati | Seattle |
| 191 | Xavier Woods | S19 | #216 | −25 | Louisiana Tech | Dallas |
| 208 | Rudy Ford | S18 | #208 | 0 | Auburn | Arizona |
| 218 | Leon McQuay III | S | — | — | USC | Kansas City |
| 221 | Shalom Luani | S25 | #291 | −70 | Washington State | Las Vegas |
| 229 | Adrian Colbert | S | — | — | Miami | San Francisco |
| 230 | Josh Harvey-Clemons | S14 | #158 | +72 | Louisville | Washington |
| Undrafted (UDFA) | ||||||
| — | Lorenzo Jerome | S15 | #175 | — | — | — |
| — | Jadar Johnson | S20 | #237 | — | Clemson | — |
| — | Damarius Travis | S22 | #268 | — | Minnesota | — |
| — | Jordan Sterns | S23 | #272 | — | — | — |
| — | Ahmad Thomas | S | — | — | — | — |
| — | David Jones | S | — | — | — | — |
| — | Demetrious Cox | S | — | — | — | — |
| — | Fish Smithson | S | — | — | — | — |
| — | Jamal Carter | S | — | — | Miami | — |
| — | Kai Nacua | S | — | — | — | — |
| — | Nate Gerry | S | — | — | Nebraska | — |
| — | Randall Goforth | S | — | — | — | — |
| — | Tony Conner | S | — | — | — | — |
| — | Zach Edwards | S | — | — | — | — |
Pre-draft projections are from the Wide Left Consensus Big Board compiled by Arif Hasan, an aggregation of published analyst boards.