Lost in the flurry of the big names in the draft, a player currently flying under the radar is Kevin Ayers, strong safety and brother to Titans linebacker Akeem Ayers, who tried out at the rookie mini camp for the Titans. An undrafted free agent out of Arizona State, Ayers played at Pasadena City College and then transferred to West Los Angeles College. At the beginning of his junior year he committed to Arizona State where he had a solid 2 years, playing in the secondary and excelling on special teams.
He would block 2 punts his senior year, one against Arizona State that led to a safety. A versatile player who has played linebacker, free safety and strong safety, Ayers is likely a long shot to make the Titans roster. However, he could very well make a good practice squad candidate where he could hone his skills and possibly make it onto the 53, either with the Titans or elsewhere.
Ayers is listed officially at 6' 0" tall and 202. His best 40 time was 4.57 with his official being 4.66 which compares favorably to other top drafted safeties. His vertical jump was 33 which is a bit sub-par compared to other top safeties drafted. He benched 19 reps.
It is often said timing and opportunity is everything and there is certainly opportunity at the safety position with the Titans. There is going to be a lot of competition at the position and watching Ayers when training camp opens should be interesting should he get the opportunity. His appearance at rookie minicamp was on a tryout basis and it is unclear whether he will get an invite to training camp.
Yesterday the Titans signed former Ravens safety Bernard Pollard to a one year deal, adding the hard hitter to a group that includes newly signed former Bills safety George Wilson, Michael Griffin, Robert Johnson, Al Afalava and Markelle Martin (did not play his rookie year due to injury). I previously took a look at the George Wilson signing here A Look At New Titans Safety George Wilson. What does the Pollard signing mean for the Titans? Let's take a look.
In 2012, the primary safeties for the Titans were Jordan Babineaux, Michael Griffin, Robert Johnson and Al Afalava. Suffice it to say that as a group the Titans safeties struggled that season. The Titans signed Wilson on February 22, 2013 and released Babineaux on March 13. Respectively, Babs and Griffin ranked 76 and 86 out of 88 safeties ranked per ProFootballFocus for safeties that played at least 25% of the time. PFF Safety Rankings 2012
Johnson and Afalava don't make the list because of their limited snap counts but if you look at all safeties Johnson was 124 out of 163 and Afalava was 57. The charts above are safeties who played at least 25 % of all defensive snaps. Wilson was ranked 8th and Pollard was ranked 29th. Without a doubt the Titans got better at the safety position with the addition of Wilson and Pollard.
In 2012, Wilson played 82.6% of the defensive snaps and was split fairly evenly between pass coverage and run defense. He really had a solid season with 79 solo tackles and 104 total tackles, 1 QB hit, 2 hurries, and 5 passes defended (per NFL.com. He was targeted 24 times with 13 receptions for a catch rate of 54.2%. It should be noted he led the team in tackles.
Like Wilson, Pollard led his former team in tackles at 98 with 71 solo. He added 2 sacks, 1 QB hit, 3 QB hurries, 2 batted passes, 1 interception and 6 passes defended (per NFL.com). He played 81.3% of the defensive snaps, was targeted 49 times with 33 receptions for a catch rate of 67.3%.
By contrast, the numbers for the Titans safeties speak for themselves. 2012 was not kind to the position by any stretch of the imagination. While statistics don't tell the entire story, I firmly believe they are useful to help formulate a picture. Numbers don't lie and by the numbers the Titans clearly got better at the safety position.
Pardon me for being late on this but here is my take on the Titans signing former Buffalo Bills safety George Wilson. First, for the ladies, he is smoking hot. Second, this is a good signing for the Titans and take the pressure off them (to a certain extent) to draft a safety high. For the record I do think the Titans will draft a safety and it wouldn't surprise me if its not a safety that can play both free safety and strong safety like Wilson. How good is George Wilson though? Let's take a look.
Wilson played college ball at Arkansas, where he was a walk on wide receiver. He ultimately became an All SEC wide receiver, racking up 16 touchdowns, 144 passes and 2151 yards. In 2004, He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent wide receiver for the Detroit Lions. He didn't make the 53 but was signed to the practice squad. When the Lions released him he signed with the Buffalo Bills. He was converted to safety by the Bills in 2007 and as the proverbial phrase goes the rest is history. He was a team captain his last 5 seasons in Buffalo.
According to Football Outsiders Wilson can play both free safety and strong safety and the numbers for him over at ProFootball Focus back that up. In fact, I think a very good argument can be made that he plays free safety just as well as he plays strong safety. We will take a look at each year individually, going back to 2008, but he only played strong safety in 2012. He also has some special teams experience.
In 2008, Wilson played 9 games, 3 of which he started at free safety. He played 159 snaps, had 2 sacks (neither at FS), 1 QB hurry, 7 tackles and 2 stop. Yet it appears his best games in coverage that year were are free safety.
He played 27.1 percent of the defensive snaps.
In 2009, he played entirely at strong safety and this was one of his best years. He played 90.3 percent of the defensive snaps, racked up 62 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 2 sacks, 2 QB hits and 1 QB hurry.
In 2010, he played 9 games at free safety and only played 24.3 percent of the defensive snaps. This seems rather odd in light of how well he played in 2009. He registered 14 tackles, and 1 QB hurry.
In 2011, he played 2 games at free safety and the rest at strong safety. He missed 3 games but still finished with 83 tackles, 1 QB hit, 2 batted passes, and 31 stops. He also had 2 forced fumbles and played 95.4 percent of the defensive snaps.
In 2012 as indicated earlier, he played entirely at strong safety and played all 16 games. He finished the year with 921 snaps, 77 tackles, 27 stops, 2 QB hurries, and 1 QB hit.
So there you have it Titans fans. Welcome to the team George Wilson!
P.S. He also has done some modeling and has a music video with Mary J. Blige where he played her boyfriend. Swoon!
P.S.S. He also has a foundation called the George Wilson SAFETY Foundation devoted to helping and educating adolescents.
Stop me if you have heard this before but I wrote about SS Shawn Williams in my pre-combine draft blog and he did not disappoint at the Combine. At 6' 0" and 213 pounds, Williams is a nice combination of speed and power. He ran a 4.46 40 yard dash and put up good numbers in agility testing. Projected to be a mid round draft pick, it wouldn't surprise me if he doesn't sneak into the 2nd round.
If you want a safety who has been productive in his college career, you can't get much better than DJ Swearinger of South Carolina. A captain of the Gamecocks football team and a starter since his rookie season, Swearinger has played both safety positions and at 5' 10" and 208 plays much bigger than his size. He put up respectable numbers at the Combine but the production doesn't lie. He projects as a 2nd to 4th round talent.
At 6' 0" and 208 pounds, Phillip Thomas projects to both FS and SS. A strong showing at the Senior Bowl increased his draft stock. Thomas has put up nice numbers at the Combine and certainly looks the position. He is projected to go in the 2nd or 3rd round.
