From now until the 2025 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top 10 picks, down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Ohio State safety Lathan Ransom.
#8 LATHAN RANSOM/S OHIO STATE – 6002, 206 POUNDS. (RS SENIOR)
Measurements
| Player | Ht/Wt | Hand Size | Arm Length | Wingspan |
| Lathan Ransom | 6002/206 | 8 1/2 | 30 1/2 | 75 1/8 |
| 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Dash | Short Shuttle | 3-Cone | |
| N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
| Broad Jump | Vertical | Bench Press | ||
| N/A | N/A | N/A |
THE GOOD
– Physically strong, tough player who comes to play with aggressive mentality
– Frame and length to be a box safety
– Plays with a lot of energy and has infectious enthusiasm for teammates
– Excellent in run support with stout point-of-attack skills
– Has good closing burst to fly at runners and receivers
– Not afraid to get his hands dirty in the run game and take on blockers
– Understands run fits for gaps and boundary plays
– Doesn’t allow much YAC for short and underneath routes
– Does a nice job of mirroring and matching tight ends off the line
– Knows how to punch the ball out well
– Quick to recognize and trigger downhill from depth
– Instincts and awareness to not get beat over the top often
– Loose hips to make breaks with receivers
– Special teams dynamo who can return, block punts, and works well in coverage units
THE BAD
– Doesn’t appear to have great top-end speed
– Lacks sideline-to-sideline range to cover the deep middle part of the field
– Quarterbacks can manipulate him with their eye movement
– Tends to bite on play action
– Too loose with receivers in deep zone coverage
– Allows for too much separation at the top of the route in off-man coverage
– Difficulty with faster receivers on slants and crossers to show transition ability
– Lacks the agility to mirror sharp routes and adjust on the fly
– Reckless with his tackling and struggles to stay balanced consistently
– Doesn’t wrap up the runner often enough that causes too many breakaways
– Struggles much more out of the slot than when he can be allowed to roam as a safety
– Not a lot of ball production to break up or intercept passes
BIO
– Birth date: 6/16/02 (22 years old)
– Born in Tuczon, AR and attended Salpointe Catholic HS
– 2,420 total snaps (1,113 FS, 711 SS, 632 slot CB, 40 outside CB)
– 428 special teams snaps (156 punt return, 116 FG block, 67 punt coverage, 64 kick coverage, 25 kick return)
– Appeared in 40 games with 22 starts in 5 years at Ohio State
– Career: 218 total tackles (135 solo, 83 assisted), 15 TFLs, 63 run stops, 2 sacks, 46 missed tackles, 65.8% comp. allowed, 5 TDs allowed, 3 INTs, 15 PDs, 6 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 2 punt blocks, 93.9 passer rating against, 7 penalties
– 2024-25 season: 76 total tackles (46 solo, 30 assisted), 25 run stops, 1 sack, 14 missed tackles, 70% comp. allowed, 1 TD allowed, 1 INT, 3 PDs, 3 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 95.4 passer rating against, 1 penalty
– Lengthy injury history: broken left leg during the 2021-22 Rose Bowl, missed the 2022 Wisconsin game with an undisclosed injury, missed the last five games of the 2023 season after an injury
– 2023 Graduated in December with his degree in communications (working on a certificate in diversity and inclusion)
– Four-star recruit (#5 ranked safety) by 247Sports out of high school
– Selected to play in the US Army All-American Game in San Antonio
– Played safety, running back, wide receiver, and returned kicks and punts in HS
TAPE BREAKDOWN
Lathan Ransom wore many hats in his 5-year career at Ohio State University, which gained him a lot of great experience. He’s best known as their do-it-all safety who can lay the boom on opponents. He is a nasty tackler who looks to be able to carve out a specific role at the NFL level as a box safety. He’s excellent at playing the run from depth, playing as your hover zone coverage guy, lining up with tight ends in 11 personnel, and hovering near the line of scrimmage to be a menace. He plays with instincts and decisiveness to trigger and intimidate guys that get in his space. He is just the kind of safety every team needs as an enforcer that allows his teammates who are more adept in man coverage to make plays on the ball and stay with receivers.
Ransom is a physically imposing safety who is a tone-setter in the secondary and is often hyping up his teammates while he’s at it. He has modest length on his frame to play into the receiver’s catch radius and also take on blocks near the line of scrimmage. He can line up deep at safety in Cover 1 and Cover 3 single-high looks. He also showed the capability to play that robber role in the middle of the field. He’s definitely not someone you want in man coverage due to his lack of agility, change-of-direction skills, and top-end speed. Vertical receivers will give him trouble if he’s tasked to run stride-for-stride with them. He is really good at closing quickly from depth in zone and moves really well in space to cover short areas.
He is #8 for Ohio State in all of the following clips:
He shows good eye discipline when it comes to not getting beat deep and funnels everything in front of him. This can also allow for fewer opportunities to make plays on the ball, but he does a nice job when he does decide to break on a ball. He quickly recognizes and triggers on underneath and flat routes. Ransom can sniff a screen out as well as anyone to fly down and make the tackle. He allows limited yards after the catch.
As a run defender, Ransom’s fits are excellent, and he instinctively locates the ball when operating in the box. He takes good angles to the football and isn’t afraid to take on tight ends and linemen.
A big nuisance is that he leaves his feet too often to make ankle tackles. He has the strength to drive through guys but has to show that he can do it consistently. He slides off too many tackles because of this. His good instincts and visual-spatial awareness allow him to find run fits and plug gaps quickly. He also lets the running backs make their cuts and doesn’t get too overaggressive to trigger and run through the play.
He is a really good special teams player. He can run down punts and kicks, return, and even get some blocks (2 in his career). This is where he can earn himself a roster spot and showcase his play personality.
CONCLUSION
Lathan Ransom projects as a strong safety who can play in different coverage schemes to align as a single-high safety and give you some snaps in the slot. His instincts, intelligence, motor, and physicality make him an asset in run-heavy defensive schemes or situations where he can play closer to the line of scrimmage. His limitations in coverage may not permit him to be an every-down safety at first, but there isn’t much Ransom can’t do from the safety position.
Kitan Oladapo, a draft prospect from last year out of Oregon State, is similar to Ransom in that he can give a defense a nice chess piece to add as a rotational player at first who can work his way to becoming a full-time starter. His run support skills and special teams ability should get him on the field sooner rather than later.
Projection: Day 3
Depot Draft Grade: 7.5 – Third Round (Potential Starter/Good Backup)
Games Watched: at Penn State (2024), at Texas (2024), at Notre Dame (2023), vs Penn State (2023)
