Geno Stone's statistical projections are among the best in his class

Free agency came last week, and with it plenty of activity. The safety position was one of the more active, with Justin Simmons and Anthony Harris earning the franchise tag, while players like Malcolm Jenkins, Eric Murray, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Tre Boston and others earned deals.  

While free agency is often seen as the solution for all of a team’s needs, the draft is really where you find value in the offseason. And when it comes to safety, there are a decent number of prospects at the position — one of whom is Iowa two-year starter Geno Stone.

Like his contemporary, Grant Delpit, Stone’s best year came in his sophomore campaign, when he earned an 88.4 overall PFF grade. Unlike Delpit, Stone did not regress significantly in 2019, earning an 83.4 overall PFF grade. His interceptions fell from four to one, but he broke up another three passes and allowed only 22 of 36 passes into his coverage to be completed, while earning four pressures and 19 stops.  

Using our college-to-pro system, we will look at Stone’s projected performance during his rookie contract. This projection uses his play-by-play data from college, adjusts it for play- and opponent-level context and weighs more-recent data more than past data.

How Stone Projects as a Coverage Player

Stone is projected to be the biggest playmaker in this safety class, edging out Delpit in terms of percentage of primary coverage snaps where he earns an interception or pass break up:

Geno Stone’s projected completion percentage allowed and play maker rate during the first five years of his NFL career in the context-free environment.