Typically, quality safeties are hard to come by in the NFL Draft. The combination of athleticism and elite football IQ needed to play the position is a rare combination in today’s era of college football. However, 2026 is different as this class is loaded. This class features an elite prospect at the position in Ohio State’s Caleb Downs. Other notable names include Oregon’s Dillon Thieneman, Toledo’s Emmanuel McNeil-Warren, and the subject of this piece – USC’s Kamari Ramsey. Ramsey is currently the SAF5 on the LWOS Big Board, coming in at 72nd overall.
Kamari Ramsey 2026 NFL Draft Profile
Measurables*
Height: 5’11 7/8″
Weight: 199 lbs
Arm Length: 31″
Hand Size: 9 1/8″
*All confirmed at the 2026 Senior Bowl
Player Background
Kamari Ramsey was a four-star recruit out of Sierra Canyon High School in Los Angeles, California. He stayed local with his choice of college, committing to UCLA for the 2022 season. Ramsey redshirted his true freshman season, only appearing in 3 games. Following this redshirt season, Ramsey played much more in 2023. He tallied 36 tackles, 1 interception, and 3 pass break-ups. Unfortunately, this was the end of his time at UCLA. In his four academic semesters at the school, he was named to multiple honor rolls. Ramsey elected to stay in-state once again after electing to transfer from UCLA, landing at USC. As a matter of fact, he chose USC to follow his defensive coordinator from UCLA, D’Anton Lynn.
This proved to be a very beneficial move for the young safety, as he broke out in 2024. He had 43 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 1 interception, and 5 pass break-ups in 11 games. Ramsey was named an All-Big Ten honorable mention for his play during that season. 2025 was poised to be a big year for Ramsey. However, new circumstances quickly arose. Nickel cornerbacks Prophet Brown and Alex Graham were both injured before the season began. Therefore, Kamari Ramsey was forced to take over this position. As a result, Ramsey’s production was not as eye-popping as it was in 2024. He also only played 9 games as he suffered a season-ending knee injury in USC’s game against Iowa. He only had 20 tackles and 3 pass break-ups in his final collegiate season. Despite this, Ramsey still received an invite and participated in the 2026 Senior Bowl.
Strengths
Experience in multiple roles as a starter – primarily a FS in ’23, all over the field in ’24, and primarily a NCB in ’25
Amazing in coverage when playing over the top as a safety
Very good at diagnosing plays close to the line of scrimmage (screens, checkdowns) and making the appropriate play
Weaknesses
Inconsistent tackler – missed 20.8% of his tackle attempts in 2024, but only missed 3.2% in 2025
Lack of INT’s (2 in whole career) and 2 dropped INT’s per PFF may reflect poor ball skills
Suffered injuries in every season he played in
Player Comparison:Camryn Bynum
Projected Draft Capital: Day 2
Team Fits:Minnesota Vikings, Tennessee Titans, Washington Commanders
Last Word on Kamari Ramsey in the 2026 NFL Draft
Kamari Ramsey adds to a solid list of good safety prospects in this year’s draft. His trump card is his exceptional coverage ability when playing on the backend, particularly in a split-safety system. He accomplishes this exceptional coverage using his high-level processing. There are countless instances of him reading and reacting to routes in his area very quickly, allowing him to make a play. He is also incredible at reading pass plays that occur in the short area of the field. He broke downhill with precision against these types of plays countless times at USC. Ramsey’s biggest weakness is missed tackles. In 2024, when he played high-safety the majority of the time, he missed ~21% of his tackle attempts. This number improved greatly in 2025 to ~3% when he played the nickel most of the time, but he is much better as a coverage guy over the top. If he and his eventual coaches can combine his coverage prowess from 2024 and his tackling improvement from 2025, Ramsey will be a force to be reckoned with in the NFL.