2023 NFL Draft: Top 10 Safeties and their fits with the Atlanta Falcons
No. 7: Rashad Torrence, Florida
2022: 12 Games Played, 84 Tackles, 1 QB Hurry, 1 Fumble Forced, 1 Pass Deflection
2021: 13 Games Played, 87 Tackles, 3.5 Tackles for Loss, 3 Interceptions, 2 Pass Deflections
2020: 9 Games Played, 25 Tackles
Outside of long speed, Rashad Torrence has the same kind of athleticism that Micah Hyde had coming out of college. pic.twitter.com/tC8pgOG9eH
— Scott Carasik (@CarasikS) April 8, 2023
If a team looking for a good cover-2 safety, Rashad Torrence II from Florida would be a great fit for any NFL team. He plays with excellent run fits and is able to force incompletions by knocking the ball out with force. He takes great angles to the ball and is the better of the two Florida safeties in this draft, though they are close. While he's solid in the run game, he needs to get better as a coverage player by reading the ball in the air and playing the ball better overall than he has been.
Torrence doesn't have the quickness or recovery speed to be a deep safety, but he makes up for it with solid tackling and overall intelligent play. The Falcons could take him in the draft's fourth or fifth rounds, but he's not the best fit for their high level of cover 1 and cover 3 looks that they are projecting to have under new defensive coordinator in Ryan Nielsen and assistant head coach of defense Jerry Gray. The Falcons would also use him a ton on special teams, but he may not be the best profile for a special teamer either.