Antoine Winfield Jr. may not be sitting at the very top of the safety mountain anymore, but league insiders still aren’t ready to push him far down the board.
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler released his latest position-by-position rankings Thursday morning, and Winfield landed at No. 7 among NFL safeties. That puts him in the upper tier of the position, even after a stretch where injuries and changes to Tampa Bay’s defensive approach kept him from matching the peak he reached during his All-Pro 2023 season.
The ranking process was built from ballots submitted by more than 70 voters, with league executives, coaches, and scouts weighing in on their own top 10s at each position. Fowler said the final order was shaped by top-10 votes, composite average, interviews, and film study. Winfield’s range in the voting told the story: one voter had him as high as second, while others left him off entirely.
Still, the overall view was strong enough to keep him firmly in the conversation. He finished behind Nick Emmanwori and ahead of Budda Baker.
Here’s how Fowler framed Winfield’s season and skill set:
“Winfield, a former No. 1 safety, had an injury-riddled 2024 but got back on the Pro Bowl track this past season. He played mostly in a traditional, deep-safety role - Tampa Bay had deployed him as a slot corner at times in the past - and produced a 22.9% ball hawk rate (eight pass breakups on 35 targets as the nearest defender, per NFL Next Gen Stats) along with two interceptions and one sack.”
One AFC executive put it plainly: “He’s just so well-rounded and a very consistent player when he’s out there,” an AFC exec said. “Can blitz, cover, rare instincts and always around the ball.”
Winfield’s 2025 season came with its own bumps. He dealt with lower leg injuries early in the year, but he still appeared in all 17 games. Tampa Bay also believed he gave up some of his usual production because the defense had him playing deeper than usual, away from the line of scrimmage where his playmaking tends to pop.
Even with that adjustment, the ball production was still there in stretches. Since 2023, Winfield is one of only two NFL players - along with Buffalo’s Terrel Bernard - to post at least five interceptions and five fumble recoveries.
The numbers from 2025 back up the idea that he remained productive, even if he wasn’t quite at his peak. Winfield finished with 93 tackles, eight passes defensed, two interceptions, and a sack, earning another Pro Bowl nod in the process.
So seventh feels about right: not quite the best safety in football anymore, but still the kind of defensive back who can tilt a game when he’s healthy and used the right way.
For Tampa Bay, the bigger picture is even clearer. If the Bucs want real improvement on defense in 2026 and beyond, they need Winfield back in that All-Pro conversation. With inside linebacker Lavonte David retired and defensive tackle Vita Vea now in his thirties and in a contract year, Winfield stands as the team’s lone captain signed long-term.
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