Top Five Safeties in the NFL

Everybody loves a hard-hitting safety. From Dick "Night Train" Lane to the greatest of all-time, Ronnie Lott, hard-hitting safeties have always grabbed their share of the spotlight - and now is no different.

Here are my top five safeties in the NFL.

Troy Polamalu
This guy is hands-down, the best safety in all of football at the moment and has the stuff to be one of the greatest of all-time if he can sustain his current level of play into the next decade. Polamalu's instinctive ability to zero in on the ball is uncanny - and currently unmatched. He blitzes, covers, intercepts and tackles with authority; what more could you ask for?

Brian Dawkins
Maybe I'm partial to Philadelphia Eagles great, Brian Dawkins, whom I've been watching since he entered the league, but I really do believe that Dawkins is the second best safety in all of football. He has been the anchor of the Eagles defense for so long it's almost taken for granted how good he really is.
To put it mildly, the Eagles often-uninspiring defense, would be much worse for wear without "Dawk."

Rodney Harrison
Harrison may be the game's heaviest hitter at safety. He's undeniably well respected - and equally feared. Harrison certainly isn't as fast as he used to be just a few seasons ago, but what he has lost in foot speed, he has substituted with experience. Harrison's nose for the ball is almost infamous.

Ed Reed
Reed is only a couple of years removed from his Defensive Player of the Year Award and although his play hasn't been as stellar over the past year and a half as it was when he won the award, Reed is clearly, still an excellent safety who allows the Baltimore Ravens ravenous defense to do a lot of different things because of his ability.

John Lynch
No offense to Sean Taylor or Roy Williams, but for my money, I like Lynch's nose for the ball - particularly at crucial moments. He may not be as athletically gifted as some of these other guys on this list, but Lynch more than makes up for it with his intelligence and has a funny knack for being in the right spot to make a play at the right moment.