2028 Newcomers: Breaking Down an Intriguing DB Class

I'm as patient as they get when it comes to holding back classes of players. There's no worse feeling than ranking a player too early and having to drop them later. Accordingly, we wait until after the season to drop our initial 2028 rankings. But now, they're here. Our typical policy is to leave players without varsity film on the watch list, with a few exceptions. We'd rather be patient and right than early and wrong.   That being said, the 2028 class looks great and there are several players who made an immediate impact on their high school varsity team. Here, we break down all of the defensive backs in our initial 2028 rankings. What I love most about this group is that it's full of players from schools we don't see as often in our rankings, which always makes me happy. Here are the seven ranked 2028 defensive backs.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Introducing the 2028 Defensive Backs</h2>    Thames is an excellent athlete with plus size for his age. His hip fluidity and acceleration are obvious, so while he plays mostly as a free safety, I could see him eventually moving to corner. He's a guy with the type of athleticism colleges love in a defensive back and whichever position he plays, he should be a stand out defender.     While Loftin played both sides of the ball as a freshman, I think his future lies in the defensive backfield, where his length can be suffocating. He's played mostly as a free safety where his instincts have allowed him to make plays against the pass. As he gets bigger, he should get more aggressive in the run game and become a more complete player.     Simmons is a long defensive back with excellent ball skills. Though he's one of the few guys on this list who doesn't play receiver, he's extremely comfortable with the ball in the air. He's going to have to gain some weight, which he certainly will with more time in his high school strength program, but he's already a willing tackler and he should only get better as he gains mass.     [player_tooltip player_id='1616132' first='Cameron' last='Kiehl'] is an explosive athlete, with an excellent 10-yard split on his 40 and that shows when he plays safety. He's able to sit back in a center field role and break on the ball, knowing he can beat it to the receiver. That allows him to play more freely than most freshmen. He's also a quality kicker and as he improves his craft, could end up being a good recruit at that position.     The upside is tantalizing with [player_tooltip player_id='887866' first='Domonic' last='Williams Jr']. He doesn't have as much varsity film as some of the other guys on this list. His length, speed, and ball skills scream high-level defender. Jacksonville defensive backs are usually well-coached and he'll have plenty of opportunities to put up numbers against some of the best passing offenses in the state.     Dollard has an extremely high football I.Q. and that's on full display in his highlight film. He's able to read double moves and complex route concepts to get in position to make plays. He's extremely quick and his lateral movement allows him to mirror receivers in man coverage.     Malloy is a talented two-way player with wide receiver ball skills and the enforcing physicality of a safety... at corner. That's a rare and exciting skill set, as it's easier for corners to improve in coverage than to improve their speed, ball skills, or aggressiveness. As he continues to improve in man coverage, he'll have a complete skill set, one that should excite college coaches.

I'm as patient as they get when it comes to holding back classes of players. There's no worse feeling than ranking a player too early and having to drop them later. Accordingly, we wait until after the season to drop our initial 2028 rankings. But now, they're here. Our typical policy is to leave players without varsity film on the watch list, with a few exceptions. We'd rather be patient and right than early and wrong.