Lathan Ransom Scouting Report
By: Michael Higgins
(Image courtesy of Adam Cairns/The Columbus Dispatch)
School: Ohio State
Class: Senior
Position: SAF
HT: 6’0
WT: 206 lbs
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Background: Lathan Ransom was an ESPN Top 300 player who earned a 4-star rating at the safety position. He was widely recognized as one of the best safeties in the country. Ransom is from Tucson, Arizona and played his football at Salpointe Catholic School. Ransom was the 2019 Region Defensive Player of the Year. He led his school to an appearance in the Arizona 4A championship game. After his senior season, he was selected to play in the Army All-American Game. Ransom had plenty of interested schools but he chose to play for Ohio State over Notre Dame, Alabama, and many more.
College: Ransom saw an increase in defensive snaps as the 2020 season progressed and by 2021 he was one of the main contributors to the Ohio State secondary. He was 3rd on the team with 74 tackles in 2022. Ransom was named Big 10 Honorable Mention for the 2022 season. In 2023, Ransom was All-Big 10 honorable mention selection, despite missing the last 5 games of the season due to injury. Ransom had his best season in 2024, being named a First Team All-Big 10 member. He had 62 tackles, 7 TFLs, and an interception on the season.
Strengths: Lathan Ransom has excellent instincts and recognition skills when patrolling the back end of a defense. He does well to read the quarterback’s eyes while diagnosing different offenses to position himself to make a play. Ransom can be put at the nickel, where he can be seen playing man coverage against tight ends. He gets pretty sticky against tight ends as he has enough speed to go stride for stride and he has the strength to hold his own against those bigger players. Ransom is also an impactful run defender. He diagnoses the play in the backfield quickly and has a quick trigger to shoot into the backfield. He loves physically setting the tone. He plays with a level of physicality and violence that is rare in today’s game. He is a splash play machine. He can get his hands on the football in a variety of ways. As he is a more dynamic run defender than he is coverage safety, he can be seen jarring the ball loose in the run game.
Weaknesses: In man coverage, Ransom struggles to get his head around. Instead, he face guards the wide receiver/tight end. This can result in penalties from being too grabby or just allowing a window for the receiver to go up and make a play on the ball. Ransom has a missed tackle issue. Many times he launches into the point of attack with no regard and it opens up a window for the ball carrier to read and react. He has excellent instincts as a run defender, but pass coverage is a different story. Ransom has stiff hips and does not have the ability to get sticky in man coverage.
Conclusion: Lathan Ransom plays with aggression and a certain juice that is valuable on a defense. His athletic limitations and stiffness in coverage is tough to look past. He has an extensive special teams history and could be looked at as a special teams ace if he does not pan out as a defender.
Scheme Fit: Two High Safety
Ideal Role: STAR/Special Teams
Best Team Fits: PIT, CLE, LAR
Player Comparison: Lewis Cine
Player Grade: Round 6 (49.7)
