NFL Draft
2/21/25
6 min read
Lathan Ransom 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Ohio State Buckeyes SAF
Height: 6010 (unofficial)
Weight: 210lbs (unofficial)
Year: Redshirt Senior
Pro Comparison: Talanoa Hufanga
Scouting Overview
Ohio State Buckeyes safety Lathan Ransom is a physical, tone-setting defender on the back-end who offers massive hitting power. Ransom is a rare five-year letterman for the Buckeyes with extensive special teams experience in addition to his three seasons as a starter at safety.
His prowess as a tackler is not without misses, but his ability to fit ball carriers running downhill and create violent contact will translate to either teams or defensive opportunities. Ransom’s coverage ability should be considered sufficient — he is less of a playmaker in the passing game than he is playing lower to the line of scrimmage, but he’s been a diverse piece of the puzzle with his alignment usage with a sufficient floor.
2025 NFL Combine Results
TBD
Positives
- Is a monster as a striking tackler fitting against the run — very good run-support player
- Shows good punch-out ability to force turnover opportunities
- Has filled a wide variety of coverage roles with sufficient competency
Negatives
- Missing dynamic range as a deep coverage player and has modest transition ability
- Lacks consistent ball production, with just one interception in each of the last three seasons
- Modest match ability in space as a man coverage defender
Background
Ransom is from Tucson, AZ, and played high school football at Salpointe Catholic HS. There, he was selected to play in the US Army All-American Game as a 4-star recruit (247 Sports). Ransom was a prized recruit who received offers from schools like Alabama, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, LSU, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Oregon, Texas A&M, and more. He enrolled at Ohio State as a member of their 2020 recruiting class.
Ransom played in seven games as a true freshman during the COVID-19 season in 2020, retaining his four years of eligibility despite his playing time. 2021 saw Ransom contributing on a high level as a special teamer. He broke his tibia and fibula during the Rose Bowl in 2021 and spent the 2022 offseason recovering from the injury. He returned to start nine of 12 games played in 2022. Ransom returned again as a starter in 2023 but missed the final five games of the season with a Lisfranc injury suffered against Wisconsin.
Ransom’s final season at Ohio State in 2024 saw him named First Team All-Big Ten and he helped the Buckeyes run the table in the College Football Playoff to secure the national championship.
Tale Of The Tape
Ransom is a ferocious striker who serves as a potent, impactful starter at the NFL level. He’s a role and skill-specific talent, but his ability to fit the run from depth, tackle in space, and serve as an intermediate presence in zone coverage will allow him to play near the line of scrimmage and maximize his abilities. He will need teammates around him to help change the math of spacing the rest of the field, but he serves essentially as a bonus linebacker with deep alignment and safety utilization in the run game.
He is aggressive and fast to trigger and fill against the run. Ransom has good instincts and overall spatial awareness, which helps his efficiency as a run defender, too. There are instances in which he’s quick to plug, thanks to an understanding of his assignment and how he trusts the front to fit their respective gaps.
Other times, you’ll see the needed patience to allow backs to declare into cuts based on playing in space and having to sort a blocker before converting into tackling pursuit. Ransom is long and physical, effectively discarding would-be blockers at tight end or wide receiver to keep his pathway of pursuit clear and available.
He’s quick to process action away, and in instances where he’s rolling down towards the line of scrimmage, you see the ability to flip the switch into pursuit and chase runs down from the back side in the backfield. He had career production in tackles for loss in 2024, with multiple opportunities coming as he could quickly convert from rotation down.
Ransom is a hot motor pursuit player who has little issue with angles as a backside player, as a trigger player from depth, or when runs bounce to the perimeter. He will leverage the line of scrimmage well as an added defender. Ransom’s tackling can be a bit reckless. He’s so fast to punch downhill, and his striking style can cause him to cut low or drop his eyes at first contact, trying to deliver jarring hits.
In the passing game, Ransom lacks the same game-changing ability that he’s illustrated as a rally defender and run fitter. He’s a sufficient talent with good instincts and disciplined eyes, but he lacks pop in transition when having to flip his hips open and run. He’ll be best served covering smaller patches of grass. He was exposed to a very balanced coverage scheme in 2024, with between 145 and 180 defensive snaps in each of Cover 1, 2, 3, and 4 variations this past year.
Further aiding Ransom’s coverage profile is his versatility in alignment. Ohio State was successful in its bid to move him around. He was a sufficient post player in Cover 1 and 3 but offered more impact closer to the line of scrimmage. Out of middle of the field open, he would successfully spin down into hook/curl zones or match with backs and tight ends.
He also logged significant snaps in the nickel and on the second level throughout different personnel packages. Ransom logged 632 career snaps in the nickel, 711 career snaps in the box, and 1,005 snaps as a high safety.
His trigger, footwork out of a pedal, and initial explosiveness all limit his ability to drive on throws in front of his face and beat receivers to the football — as evidenced by his modest ball production.
Ransom’s injury history is of note. He’s missed time with multiple lower-body injuries, including a Lisfranc injury and a broken leg. He also played through a broken thumb. Such a physical player having injuries on his ledger in 2021, 2022, and 2023 is worth a flag and consideration when weighing his valuation vs. his evaluation.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Ransom projects as a role-specific starting safety at the NFL level. He offers supreme run support ability and will be a true asset to an NFL franchise in this regard.
His coverage matrix is limited, and his new team will need to offer the right mix of opportunities as a deep half-player who can offer strong side rotation in the middle of the field, closed coverages, and opportunities a big nickel.
Grade: 74.50/100.00, Third Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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