We have nearly reached the end of our offseason positional reviews. Now we look at the group of safeties, which was believed to be a strength, then was a liability and then developed again into a strength.
We will go over what happened in 2019, address offseason questions and discuss what is coming at the position in 2020.
2019 review
When the season began, safety was supposed to be a position of strength. With Budda Baker and veteran D.J. Swearinger, it was supposed to be enough to help weather the issues at cornerback with Patrick Peterson’s suspension and Robert Alford’s broken leg.
Swearinger’s play completely fell off. He was cut after four games it was so bad. That left rookies Deionte Thompson and Jalen Thompson to play.
They split time until Jalen eventually became an every-down player and looks like he could be a starter moving forward.
Baker earned a Pro Bowl starter berth after leading the NFL in solo tackles.
By the end of the season, it was the defense’s best position group.
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