When you are one of the highest-paid defenses in the National Football League, expectations are sky high, and anything less than capable is soon met with massive amounts of criticism. The Pittsburgh Steelers have lately embodied a defensive unit that has hovered around good, but not great, and mediocre, and has collapsed in pivotal moments.
As it currently stands, the Steelers’ safety room is looking murky. Jalen Ramsey, while still very much a solid player, is 31 years old and is not getting any younger. Meanwhile, DeShon Elliott is coming off a season-ending injury [suffered in Week 8 at home](https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2025/10/26/nfl-packers-injury-deshon-elliott-seumalo-kraft/stories/202510200157) versus the Green Bay Packers. Kyle Dugger, who was acquired at the trade deadline last season from the New England Patriots, is an unrestricted free agent who’ll be 30 by the time September rolls around. Needless to say, another starting safety outside Ramsey and Elliott is a position of need this offseason with free agency and the league new year looming next week. Armed with the [eighth-most salary cap](https://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space) space, Pittsburgh has the potential to do some damage. One possibility would be to add a young, established safety on the open market.
### 1\. Jaquan Brisker, Chicago Bears
A projected top-40 unrestricted free agent, Brisker solidified himself a solid payday with a 2025 season with the Chicago Bears that consisted of 93 tackles and eight pass deflections. He’s known as a Swiss Army Knife, able to play free safety, in the slot, or box. Two-high safety looks are where he thrives, where Brisker can disguise and rotate his coverages. He’s a violent hitter when it comes to downhill tackling and keying in on run support, filling alleys, and showing no fear when up against blockers who are larger than him. The speed and athleticism are there, as he ran a 4.49 40-yard dash coming out of Penn State, which allows him to cover tight ends one-on-one and aid in his zone coverage. Plus, he has impressive play recognition.
What often gets ignored in his profile is that he can rush the quarterback. Brisker notched four sacks in his rookie year back in 2022 and has seven career sacks to date. He’s a good back-end communicator with good football IQ and leadership qualities, often correcting teammates when out of alignment.
### 2\. Bryan Cook, Kansas City Chiefs
Just like Brisker, Bryan Cook is a hard-hitting and very physical safety who’s evolved from a rotational depth piece to a full-time starter for the Kansas City Chiefs. In run support, he is a gap filler, and has shown he will punish wide receivers in the middle of the field when the ball is thrown their direction. Versatility is a highly coveted asset for the modern safety archetype, as Cook can play a multitude of roles, such as looks in single high and split safety, on top of being the “STAR” defensive back inside the box. He can naturally lead with high football IQ and strong instincts, which help him recognize routes and adjust his checks defensively pre-snap.
While not known to be a ballhawk, Cook is effective at timing, rarely being out of position, and disrupting the point of catch, using his 6’1 frame in forcing incompletions. Durability is a strength of his, as he’s appeared in all 17 games in each of the 2o24 and 2025 seasons. Last year, he missed just five tackles.
### 3\. Kamren Curl, Los Angeles Rams
After playing the last two seasons with the Los Angeles Rams and the four prior with the Washington Commanders, Kamren Curl will be a prized free agent safety target after his recent performances helping the Rams in back-to-back playoff appearances. He’s a disciplined player who is elite at stopping the run and identifying run fits, where he will also aggressively close in on spaces and make stops in alleys, all while disengaging blockers in his peripheral.
Curl is versatile when it comes to lining up in the slot, box, or as a split-field safety with underrated coverage skills. Curl has been the primary communicator for the Rams’ secondary, as he understands trigger points and passing concepts while on the field. He anticipates plays more often than he reacts, and is a dependable tackler who rarely misses in the open field. He’s recently been emerging as a playmaker, coming up with two interceptions and five pass breakups in 2025, and that is backed by his high grades in coverage and run defense by _Pro Football Focus_.
### 4\. Coby Bryant, Seattle Seahawks
After making the transition from cornerback to free safety, Coby Bryant finds himself in a good spot, breaking out in 2025 with the Seattle Seahawks, where he was able to record three interceptions. Versatile in the nickel and outside spots, along with possessing good ballhawking skills, Bryant is a concentrated yet excellent ball-tracker, where he is great at high-pointing balls and, while also in traffic, is making plays as a former Jim Thorpe award winner out of the University of Cincinnati (named the nation’s top defensive back).
An instinctive player with good vision, he sees the field well, where he’ll then read the eyes of quarterbacks from a place of deep alignment. Bryant is also known to be physical, forcing turnovers consistently as a striker who’s violent despite having a smaller frame. None of that mattered when he was a rookie, as he was tied for third in the league for forced fumbles. Bryant has a strong recognition of routes and is quickly able to learn complex defensive schemes such as Mike MacDonald’s, further attributing to his high football IQ. Bryant has a knack for the ball. While covering routes underneath, he has an aggressive trigger. Fluid hips help him in man coverage and make transitions smoothly across the field, has good awareness spatially while in zone coverage, and can read cover two, four, and six route combinations exceptionally well.