Breaking down the most notable moments from the 2025 NFL Combine media sessions with the safeties.
Safety may not be the Detroit Lions ’ biggest need at the moment. Detroit has All-Pro Kerby Joseph and Pro Bowl Brian Branch returning for the 2025 season. But as of now, there are questions both about the future and the depth of the position. Ifeatu Melifonwu is a free agent this year, while Joseph could be next year. The only other safeties currently signed to the roster are Morice Norris, Loren Strickland, and Erick Hallett—two undrafted players in 2024 and one who has never played an NFL down.
The 2025 NFL Draft class has a few standout safeties that could be in play for the Lions . I hung around three different safety media sessions at the NFL Combine to get a sense of who these prospects are as people and players.
Previous NFL Combine media recaps:
Safeties
Penn State safety Kevin Winston Jr.
Kevin Winston Jr. checked off just about every box in a Dan Campbell player. He’s a leader, he’s tough as nails, and he values tackling and run support.
Winston suffered an injury in the season opener against West Virginia. He tweaked it a little during Wednesday’s practice, but still pushed through and even went a little faster than a walk in walkthroughs. He took the field on gameday, but ultimately had to pull himself out of the game after 14 snaps because he believed the injury was causing him to be a liability to the team.
Turns out he was trying to battle through a partially-torn ACL that required surgery.
The Lions have talked about playing when hurt vs. being injured, and that’s exactly what came to mind when Winston said this about his mentality in the lead up to the game:
“I understand you’re going to have nicks and pains during the season. You’re never going to feel 100 percent throughout the season.”
Tackling is also a huge deal to Winston. He earned a 90.3 PFF tackling grade in 2022, a 92.8 grade in 2023, and he graded out 80.1 in the one full game he played in 2024.
“That’s something I’ve taken pride in since I was a little kid,” Winston said. “My father, the way he raised me as a tackler when he coached me up. When you hit a dude, he should feel you every time. A lot of times, you shouldn’t miss any tackles as a safety, and coming into this level, the greatest safeties don’t miss many tackles.
Lastly, Winston seems like such a great culture fit. Inspired by Nittany Lions head coach James Franklin, he said one of his life lessons he carries with him is to treat everyone equally.
“You shouldn’t treat the janitor differently than the head coach,” Winston said. “Going around the building, that’s something I took pride in. If you go to Penn State, you won’t find one person that said I treated them bad. I made sure that every interaction I had with people around the building was a great interaction, and whether they were having a good or bad day, I’ve added to their good day or made their bad day better.”
Was very impressed with the way Winston carried himself.
Alabama DB Malachi Moore
Brian Branch was a huge topic regarding Moore’s press conference, and understandably so. For several years, Moore played the same STAR (nickel) position at Alabama that Branch did during his time with the Crimson Tide. Beyond that, both Moore and Branch spent the 2024 season transitioning to safety. Moore noted that Branch has been a valuable resource throughout this entire process.
“I always ask him little techniques that he does or what he’s picked up in the league that’s different from college. Stuff like that,” Moore said. “He’s always giving me little gems.”
Moore believes that transition has given him a leg up from the rest of the safety class, because he’s shown his versatility, and thinks landing at safety is perfect for him.
“I feel like I have an advantage. Being able to be versatile, but also be able to be comfortable in doing new things,” Moore said. “Because this year was my first year playing safety, and I feel like it was the best season I had in college.”
The stats seem to agree. He produced a career-high 70 tackles, eight passes defended, and two forced fumbles in 2024.
Moore also believes he’s benefitted from going up against some of the best receivers in football in 2020—practicing against the likes of DeVonta Smith and Jaylen Waddle on a daily basis in his freshman year. Naturally, I had to ask him about Jameson Williams, too.
“He’s got a different type of speed and you see that, but seeing it every day in practice is a little different, though. You definitely get acclimated and used to guarding people that fast, so when you go to the game and people aren’t that fast, it’s easier.”
Moore will not be participating in any NFL Combine events due to hernia surgery in December. He was cleared two weeks ago, and plans to do everything at his pro day.
South Carolina S Nick Emmanwori
The youngest of five brothers, Emmanwori just absolutely oozes confidence. He also has some of the most intriguing physical traits among this year’s safety class. At 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, he’s nearly built like a linebacker, but as a former cornerback, he’s got the speed and agility of a man-coverage cornerback. He believes he’s going to run among the three fastest 40-yard dashes at the NFL Combine among defensive backs.
The size and physical nature of Emmanwori has drawn comparisons to former Seahawks All-Pro Kam Chancellor, but it’s not just media who is making that comparison. Emmanwori’s defensive backs coach Torrian Gray, who coached Chancellor back at Virginia Tech , told Emmanwori he sees the same qualities in each.
“He used to compare us a lot. I remember him telling me a lot of dudes tried to say he was a linebacker coming out of college and all this stuff. But, yeah, a lot of comparisons.”