Safeties wreck positional value in 2026 NFL Draft, thanks to Macdonald

The comeback of the positional value of safeties is apparent in the 2026 NFL Draft, a movement Mike Macdonald helped pioneer.

From his days as the Baltimore Ravens defensive coordinator to his first two years as the Seattle Seahawks head coach, he championed the position among the coaching ranks to worthy applause. The Ravens defense became the modern standard in 2023, Macdonald got hired to build the Seahawks in his image, and they won a Super Bowl shortly after.

His foundation in both defenses was to secure the middle of the field first. He invested in the interior defensive line of both teams first, secured high-quality linebackers that could play in all facets of the game, and forced teams to the perimeter in the passing game. His most revolutionary idea that’s changed the game, though, came in the form of the personnel he’d choose for his safeties.

His first ever draft pick as the Ravens’ defensive coordinator was Kyle Hamilton 14th overall, and in his second draft with the Seahawks, he traded up to select Nick Emmanwori 35th overall. Both had an incredible ceiling as safeties, but were overlooked due to the argument of positional value.

Now, there’s another safety being lauded as one of the best prospects in the draft, and teams are swearing off making that same mistake. Take a look at this text Peter Schrager posted from an NFL general manager today:

With Caleb Downs a consensus top-5 player in the draft, general managers are willing to say, “Throw positional value out this year.” But it’s not just about Downs and the top 10.

In the NFL Stock Exchange’s latest mock draft, just as many safeties went in the first round as cornerbacks (three apiece) and two safeties- Downs and Dillon Thieneman- went before a single cornerback did. This is unprecedented compared to recent drafts. In the last five first rounds, there have been 20 total cornerbacks and 4 total safeties taken.

Some will say it’s just a banner year for safeties, with Downs, Thieneman and Emmanuel McNeil-Warren all outliers at the position, and that’s also true. But Hamilton and Emmanwori paved the way for outliers at the position to be valued properly. When all three of the former are likely drafted higher than Emmanwori next week, they and Macdonald will be laughing to themselves, knowing the impact they’ve had in teams throwing positional value out the window.

This article originally appeared on Seahawks Wire: Safeties are valued higher in 2026 because of Mike Macdonald's vision