NFL Draft
12/3/24
6 min read
Kamari Ramsey 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For USC Trojans SAF
Height: 6000 (unofficial)
Weight: 204 (unofficial)
Year: Redshirt Sophomore
Pro Comparison: Jevon Holland
Scouting Overview
USC Trojans safety Kamari Ramsey projects as an impactful NFL starter. He is an impressive athlete with explosive short-area reactive ability to trigger and attack developing plays in front of his face. Ramsey, despite his youth and relative inexperience, has superb play diagnosis ability and sorts out bunch sets, rub action, and quick-hitting perimeter throws quickly to challenge and make plays as a tackler.
His ability to impact the passing game offers room for growth as a potential ball-hawking player as he continues to refine his spacing on the back end. His ability to play closer to the line of scrimmage should afford him more opportunities to be around the ball as he collects more reps. He should be considered a viable early starter with the ability to grow into a quality, multi-contract option at his position.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Has splendid instincts for such a young player, shows very good play recognition and trigger ability
- Sturdy tackler with a good tackle radius and stout physicality through his pads
- Bursty initial twitch and showcases great range and eagerness as a run defender or rally tackler from depth
Negatives
- Limited ball production in coverage leaves questions about ability to track the football
- Has better twitch from flat-footed reads as compared to explosive transitions in space as a deep defender
- Missed tackle rate did leap in 2024; control with angles from depth can be irregular
Background
Ramsey is from Palmdale, CA, and played high school football at Sierra Canyon HS. There, he was a high-profile 4-star recruit (247 Sports) who earned a slew of offers from notable programs, including Texas and Utah, in addition to the major California programs. Ramsey initially committed to Stanford but made a late switch to UCLA and enrolled with the program as part of the 2022 recruiting class.
Ramsey redshirted his true freshman season in 2022, playing in four games to preserve his redshirt. He assumed a starting role with the Bruins in 2023, playing in 11 games as a starter. After the 2023 season, Ramsey announced he would be entering the transfer portal — where he was again ranked as a 4-star transfer (247 Sports). He committed to play at USC and immediately stepped into a starting role for the Trojans in 2024.
Tale Of The Tape
Kamari Ramsey is an easy player to like — and that’s before the reality of his youth and growth potential really sinks in. Ramsey, who turns 21 in August of 2025, has one year of experience starting at UCLA and USC. His ability to play diverse roles in a defensive scheme supports his potential as a scheme-diverse talent who can be moved around a defensive formation. This is a large key to safety positional value at the NFL level, and Ramsey has the necessary
Ramsey illustrates good eyes in zone coverage, ensuring he’s capable of making rapid decisions against multiple breakpoints in quick game. His ability to sort his assignment through the traffic of additional routes or eligibles to decipher designed targets in the passing game or screens is impressive. It has allowed him to make a number of explosive third down stops with good tackling at the line of scrimmage. He shines best in the intermediate areas of the field in this regard.
Ramsey has the length to complement his closing ability — an important trait that shows up at the catch point as opportunities arise on routes and targets that develop further down the field. His ability to drive out of his base of support and accelerate against hooks, out routes, and other mid-level routes have seen him nearly undercut and steal multiple footballs away from opponents in 2024, including one that could have gone the other way for six against Penn State.
Finishing ball production opportunities in the passing game is a missing piece for Ramsey’s resume. He has logged one career interception through two seasons as a starter, and that came on an overthrow as a deep-half defender while playing for UCLA against Cal in 2023.
Some of this is simply football variance. But, especially as a safety, teams may be more keen on seeing the inherent trait of being at the right place at the right time. He simply hasn’t had many opportunities to showcase how good his hands are.
He’s proven himself as a tackler, though. He has violent finishes in the box and on the perimeter. He can roll down from deep-half assignments to fit the box and make effective adjustments to the track of the back. He can take some of these initial charges with aggressive angles downhill, but he does showcase the ability to adjust late on the fly and subsequently finish, thanks to a large tackle radius.
Ramsey did have a regression in missed tackles in his 2024 season compared to his effectiveness at UCLA. Still, it is worth acknowledging that his range as a player puts him in a position to have and make more plays than the average defender, even if he doesn’t finish all of those opportunities.
This appears to be a coverage-diverse player, although playing him in deep half coverages constantly likely does not do him favors to maximize some of his best traits. He has illustrated the ability to matchup physically against tight ends in man coverage and can play catch coverage in off situations when playing the sticks.
His hip mobility and transitional quickness are good on underneath patterns in off-coverage, but he’d likely benefit from playing in the face of his assignment in pressure situations and with an open back end.
Ramsey has not taken a great deal of pressure reps himself as a blitzer but, in limited opportunities, he is capable of timing up his attack from depth well and being in position to attack backs in protection or have the range to reach the quarterback from off the line of scrimmage.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Kamari Ramsey projects best as a versatile safety at the NFL level for a defense willing to move personnel and play matchups. Thanks to his instincts in play diagnosis and his physicality at the position, he should be considered a viable NFL starter early on despite his youth and two years of starting experience.
He is a potential impact defender at the NFL level if he can refine his impact in coverage to match what he does as a support player in underneath zones and in run support. He is a viable slot defender option as well. This is a high-ceiling prospect with big-time potential.
Grade: 82.00/100.00, Late First/Early Second Round
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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