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2015 NFL Free Agency: Top Five Safeties Available

By Matthew Lorscheider

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3. Da’Norris Searcy

Pros: big, strong, safety who has good speed and a thick, muscular build with long arms. Searcy is a bit of a monster at 220 pounds and recorded 27 reps on the bench press in his Combine, and is only 26 years old. He emerged as Buffalo’s replacement for the departed Jarius Byrd last season and played at a very high level, showing an improvement in his cover skills and ability to close on deep passes over what he’d shown at the collegiate level and as a younger pro. He has the cover skills to play deep with the frame and strength to play down in the box

Cons: only one season as a full-time starter, and has only started 23 games in his four-year NFL career. He’s not an ideal deep-zone safety, and also doesn’t have a polished skill set for man coverage on tight ends and slot wideouts. While he’s improved as a tackler over the course of his career, he’s still somewhat inconsistent here as well.

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Da'Norris Searcy return a plus for reeling Panthers secondary
Da'Norris Searcy return a plus for reeling Panthers secondary /

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    • Scheme Fit: Searcy may be a perfect fit for the future of the Raiders’ strong safety position. He’s a big, strong guy who can play down in the box in man-free/cover 1 alignments but has the speed and range to play in a cover 2 at times. He has a good football IQ and could be useful in a number of ways in Jack Del Rio and Ken Norton’s defense for the Raiders.

    Market Value: a number of teams are high on Searcy, including the Raiders, Bears, Texans and Dolphins, and he may actually have a stronger market than Rahim Moore when it’s all said and done. With not a lot of legit strong safeties in the NFL, Searcy is going to get paid in free agency, look for him to sign for four or five years, perhaps $32M or more.

    Would he sign with the Raiders: probably. The Raiders are definitely interested in Searcy, and with Suh and Cobb and other big money guys out of the running, the Raiders have plenty of money to outbid nearly anyone else who may be interested. It depends on how highly McKenzie and Del Rio value Searcy, and if they’re willing to pay more than anyone else to get him.

    Next: 2015 FA Preview: #4, Antrel Rolle

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