Lathan
Ransom.
Lathan
Ransom.
Ohio St.· 6'0"· 206 lb· 4.53s 40
"A downhill menace who triggers instantly in run support, Ransom consistently makes plays near the line of scrimmage but lacks the coverage fluidity to be more than a situational contributor."Pre-draft read
Ransom is a downhill strong safety who plays with his hair on fire. He triggers the instant he reads run, fills the alley with real force, and finishes tackles with intent; 217 career tackles and 16 tackles for loss from the safety position tell you where he is most comfortable, which is within eight yards of the football.
He is useful on timed pressures and as a robber underneath, and the 4.26 shuttle shows the short-area burst that makes those work. The coverage is the question. He is not a fluid mover in space, he opens his hips late against vertical routes, and asking him to play the deep half alone exposes both his angles and his 30.5-inch arms at the catch point.
Fangio two-high defense that prioritizes athletic safeties with range and versatility to play both deep and in the box.
Year 1 rotational safety and special teams ace, with the ceiling to develop into a reliable starting free or strong safety.
Single-high centric defenses that demand a true centerfield ball-hawk with elite instincts and range.
Ransom's size and athletic profile make him a good fit for two-high schemes that value positional flexibility and a physical presence, but he lacks the elite top-end speed and coverage instincts for consistent single-high duties.
Lathan Ransom | Safety
Game film cut-up of Lathan Ransom's Ohio St. tape.
Hard-Hitting Safety 🔥 Lathan Ransom Highlights ᴴᴰ
Game film cut-up of Lathan Ransom's Ohio St. tape.
Lathan Ransom | Ohio State 2024 Season Highlights
Game film cut-up of Lathan Ransom's Ohio St. tape.
Ransom played five years at Ohio State and finished on a national title team, leaving with 217 tackles, 16 for loss, 3.5 sacks, three interceptions and 13 pass breakups in 56 games. His senior season was his best: 75 tackles, 8.5 for loss and first-team All-Big Ten honors as the enforcer in one of the best defenses in the country. He also broke his leg in the 2022 Rose Bowl and came back from it.
Physically he is a box safety in every sense. Six feet even, 206 pounds, a 4.53 forty and 30.5-inch arms, with a 36.5-inch vertical and a 4.26 shuttle that both point at short-area explosion rather than long-speed range. He hits, he tackles, and he is genuinely valuable on all four special-teams units, which is exactly the profile that survives on a roster.
The projection is a Day 3 sub-package strong safety and core teamer who takes the field in run-heavy and nickel-blitz looks. The ceiling is a starting box safety on a defense that pairs him with a true free safety. The floor is a special-teams captain. There is not much variance here, which is fine for the fourth round.
- 01
Run Trigger
Ransom diagnoses and fills the alley faster than almost any safety in the class.
- 02
Physical Finisher
He is a physical, reliable finisher with 217 career tackles and 16 tackles for loss.
- 03
Effective Blitzer
He is an effective timed blitzer from depth and from the slot.
- 04
Short-Area Explosion
His 36.5-inch vertical and 4.26 shuttle show real short-area explosion.
- 05
Five-Year Starter
He is a five-year starter on a national champion with elite four-phase special-teams value.
- 01
Tight Hips
Ransom exhibits tight hips in coverage, late to open and turn against vertical route stems.
- 02
Short Arms
His short 30.5-inch arms cost him at the catch point against bigger targets.
- 03
Single-High Option
He is not a single-high option, with range and angles that break down in the deep middle.
- 04
Aggression
His aggression leads to missed tackles when he arrives out of control.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.53sp50
- Vertical
- 36.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 121inp50
- Three-cone
- —s
- Shuttle
- 4.26sp50
- Bench
- 20repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Ohio State | 7 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | Ohio State | 13 | 38 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 2022 | Ohio State | 12 | 65 | 1.5 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2023 | Ohio State | 9 | 34 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2024 | Ohio State | 15 | 75 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Career | — | 56 | 217 | 3.5 | 3 | 13 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Honors
- First-team All-Big Ten (2024)
- CFP National Champion (2024)
- Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist (2022)
Box-first safety who starts in sub packages and produces near the line without ever playing deep.
Downhill hybrid safety whose physicality and blitz value made him a productive full-time starter.
Athletic special-teams safety who never carves out a meaningful defensive role.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Carolina got exactly the player the tape described, on schedule. Ransom appeared in 16 games with six starts as a rookie, finishing with 51 combined tackles, a sack, an interception, two pass breakups and a forced fumble, plus one playoff appearance.
Six starts and a sack in year one is a straightforward confirmation of the projection: he is on the field in the packages that ask him to come forward, and the defense does not ask him to carry the deep half. The tackle volume and the blitz production both showed up; the coverage numbers, two breakups in 16 games, did not. He looks like a long-term sub-package starter and special-teams core piece rather than a three-down safety, which is the likely comp landing right on the nose.