Robert Fitzgerald

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No Lead is Safe

The most unpredictable position group in the 2027 draft class is probably safety. Several prospects have emerged from out of thin air, vying for consideration as early round picks when before they weren't even listed as priority UDFAs. I know nothing about many of these players. Luke Talich from Notre Dame is a tall and bigger safety. He never started a single game in his career prior to 2026. He started as a walk-on at ND. Tae Johnson and Adon Shuler are supposed to be ND's draft prospects at safety, but when Johnson was out due to injury, Talich seized on the opportunity and has turned heads. Talich isn't listed at all on many draft boards. While he's a 4th year senior, he could return to school and wait for the 2028 draft. Sam Teets called Talich one of the nation's best safeties and compared his range to Kyle Hamilton. Teets has Talich as an early 4th round pick and said he has the potential to climb into the first 3 rounds. Ian Cummings is even higher on Talich, ranking him 71st overall. In other words, per IC's board, the Rams should consider drafting Talich in the 2nd round if we end up with the 64th overall pick. Meanwhile, Koi Perich has struggled this season. He's been a draft darling due to his athleticism, but his play has been inconsistent. This doesn't surprise me given some of the flaws I discussed when I profiled him. Will Talich get drafted ahead of Perich? That would be pretty wild.

Northwestern safety Robert Fitzgerald is another draft riser, just not as much as Talich. An earlier version of Drafttek's mock sent him to the Rams with our last pick (which is why I decided to look at him), but their more recent mock has him as an UDFA. On their big board, he jumped up 158 positions. Ian Cummings has Fitzgerald ranked 161st overall, which would be about a 5th round pick. That might not sound too high but consider some of the safeties that IC has ranked behind Fitzgerald: Ty Benefield (169), Adon Shuler (198), Marcus Neal (200) and Keon Sabb (214).

Unlike Talich, Fitzgerald doesn't have impressive size. He doesn't have blazing speed or the most range. The trait that stands out the most and that I think will appeal to NFL teams is his intelligence. He was a 1st team Academic All-American for the 2025 season. This trait translates to the field, where his awareness and positioning makes him play faster than his timed speed. I don't know if it will be enough to get him drafted but once he gets into a camp, it could help him from getting cut from the team. Who cares how fast you run if you are running in the wrong direction? I'd rather have a safety who was a step slower but very consistently moves in the right direction.

 

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Part 1: Background

Name, Age, School: Robert Fitzgerald. Turns 24 in August of 2027. Northwestern. 5th year redshirt senior. Majoring in Learning and Organizational Change.

Size, estimated speed: Listed 6 feet tall and 210 pounds. Draftbuzz 4.54 seconds estimated 40 time. Draftscout 6 feet 1/8'' tall, 210 pounds, 4.54 seconds estimated 40 time.

3-star and 4-star recruit from Texas. Played RB and S in HS. Mostly a defensive player until his SR year, then had 7.4 YPC as a RB, 877 rushing yards and 19 rushing TDs. Also caught 20 passes and had 2 INTs. Had 8 total INTs over 3 seasons in HS. Was listed as 200 pounds in HS and his first season at NW in 2022.

His father died from ALS in 2022.

Coaches rave about his football character and study habits, say that he's a role model and an extension of the coaching staff. Early in his career at NW, he was a core special teams player, a gunner on punts, blocked on kickoff returns kickoff coverage and was a versatile backup who played LB, CB, nickel CB and S. Fitzgerald said that having to play so many different positions forced him learn the run fit for each position. He had a breakout 2025 season, becoming a starter. Appeared in 2 games in 2022, but no stats.

In 2024, Ohio State fans were very angry with him, alleging that he intentionally hurt Jeremiah Smith's ankle by twisting his leg on a tackle. I didn't think it was a dirty play, but homer fans understandably have a biased POV when one of the star players on their team gets hurt.

Missed Michigan State game due to undisclosed injury. A recent article said that so far this season he has a 93.7 overall PFF grade and a 92.6 pass coverage grade.

2023 (12 games) 13 tackles (10 solo), FF
2024 (12 games, 4 starts) 46 tackles (31 solo), 1 TFL, 1 Sack, 1 FR, 1 INT
2025 (13 starts) 115 tackles (70 solo), 6 TFLs, 1 FF, 1 FR, 4 PBU, 1 INT
2026 (5 games) 49 tackles (21 solo), 0.5 TFL, 1 FR, 2 PBU, 2 INT

Named by CSC as 1st team Academic All-American for 2025 season, with 3.76 GPA. One of 25 players to earn that honor.

Voted by his teammates to have #1 jersey, a tradition that honors the player on the team that best embodies the football program. One of 6 captains for 2026 season.

DraftBuzz 5th round projection, 154 overall. (+) Physical, great run defender, elite box safety, reliable wrap-up tackler, diagnoses quickly. (-) Average coverage, better in zone than man, ordinary speed, 18 missed tackles in 2025, box safety with limited scheme fit.
Ian Cummings 161
Drafttek 208, up 158 spots, but not selected in their 7-round mock draft.
Jacob Infante 268
AtoZSports 306 (3rd lowest ranked S in the simulator)
SticktotheModel 6th round projection, 391 on big board
TheDraftDesk 509 (in late August)
NFLMDD consensus board 961
Sam Teets not ranked and not on list of players to study
Buffalo Fambase not ranked among 727 players
Fanspeak consensus not ranked among 398 players
FirstandTen not ranked among 431 players

As you can see, the majority of boards still have him deep in UDFA territory. Only a few experts have him as a potential late round selection.

 

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Part 2: Strengths

Elite football character and classroom intelligence. Sterling leadership traits, reliable work ethic, should be very low maintenance for the coaching staff.

Extensive special teams experience, which is very important if he's going to be a backup safety.

A lumberjack who chops out the legs of runners.

Intense competitor on the field. I'd love to have this guy on my team in a tug-of-war competition. He won't give in; fights to the bitter end. There is a certain gritty type of mental toughness he displays when the team's backs are against the wall. Consider how the 2026 season is going so far for the Rams. You don't want someone who will "let go of the rope". When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Dig in and keep believing.

Downhill attacker, very smart run fits, attacks upfield without hesitation, doesn't hang back and leak yardage and wait for the RB to get to him. Fast run blitzer. Very fast downhill pursuit to get to the ball, can explode past blockers before they can cut him off.

Physical vs lead blockers. No fear in the box, will sellout and charge into the line, dive over the top or sacrifice his body to stop the runner. Doesn't back out of physical challenges. Solid grip strength when making ankle tackles. Physical relative to his size, like half a linebacker when he's dropped into the box. Might end up playing mostly in the slot or as a 3rd S in the NFL.

Impressive playmaking range, makes tackles outside of his immediate area and gap.

Very good awareness, football IQ and positioning causes him to play faster than his timed speed. Quick post-snap communication. Reacts well to play action fakes. Aware to route combinations. Peripheral vision to run past blocks on his way to the runner.

Ball skills, has good hand eye coordination.

When he triggers or changes direction, he covers an impressive amount of ground with the first 3 steps out of his transition. Good short area burst that could make his 40 time at his Pro Day or the Combine deceiving. I'll be interested in seeing his short shuttle and 3-cone times. Good COD if he has to immediately switch from attacking forward in run support to pass coverage.

Pretty good long speed. Made very long runs on 2 plays to save TDs against Indiana.

Per PFN, Fitzgerald has the 5th best impact score in 2026 in the nation among safeties, with a 91.8 score. Ty Benefield is 1st. Fitzgerald's missed tackle rate is 2%. In 2025, his missed tackle rate was 16.2%. For comparison, KJ Bolden has a 75.8 impact score and a 12% missed tackle rate. Effectively, Fitzgerald and Bolden have flipped scores, with Fitzgerald's 2026 metrics being more like Bolden's 2025 numbers and Bolden regressing, measuring more like Fitzgerald's 2025 season.

Very productive. The AP named him a mid-season 1st team All American for 2026. Last year he led NW with 115 tackles and 70 solo tackles. For comparison, let's take a DB I love, Zach Lutmer from Iowa. He was more of a CB in 2025 and has played mostly S in 2026. Lutmer had 71 tackles in 2025 and has 34 tackles so far in 2026. Lutmer has 72 solo tackles for his entire career. Fitzgerald had almost as many solo tackles in 2025 as Lutmer has had his entire time at Iowa. If Fitzgerald hadn't gotten injured, his per game rate of tackles in 2026 would have resulted in 127 tackles over a 13-game schedule, topping his 2025 total.

Look at the high number of solo tackles he's made. He might have a high number of missed tackles, but this has to be placed in the context of the frequency that he has to make solo stops. I made a list of some safeties and their career solo tackle totals:

Ty Benefield 162 solo tackles
Robert Fitzgerald 132 solo tackles
Kam Kinchens 99
Adon Shuler 89
Koi Perich 88
KJ Bolden 88
Jelani McDonald 86
Keon Sabb 84
Marcus Neal 60

Fitzgerald might have a high gross number of missed tackles but he also has a very high number of solo tackles. So, is the ratio of those 2 numbers out of line relative to other safeties? An anecdotal example is the play I discussed in the Nick Marsh thread. Fitzgerald misses a tackle at the POA vs the RB, resulting in a huge gain. IMO, the other NW defenders don't give the S much help, result in a very difficult tackle attempt, because the RB has so much room to work with, he can go almost completely 90 degrees sideways to dodge the S. It makes the S look bad, but how much of it is Fitzgerald's fault as an individual player? If he played for Ohio State or Georgia, the players around him probably would do their jobs a little better and he wouldn't be exposed as much. The RB would tend to get funneled to him and he'd have a higher percentage tackle attempt.

 

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Part 3: Weaknesses

Doesn't have ideal size, frame or length for an NFL safety. Eclipsed by big OL climbing to the 2nd level. Too small to cover big TEs in man. Doesn't have length as zone defender to discourage QB from the passing lane. Can get bullied at POA in the box by bigger opponents. Susceptible to getting dragged for extra yardage by more powerful RBs.

Used as split field safety. Questionable whether he has enough speed and effective range to be used as single-high safety. Could be scheme limited.

Lacks range when flipping his hips.

His feet are sometimes too hyper, resulting in wasted steps changing directions.

Can be overly aggressive and physical. Doesn't pull out of hits, could be vulnerable to getting flagged for personal fouls on defenseless WRs similar to the one the Rams had at the end of the Arizona game.

Missed sack due to average redirect and length.

Average tackling radius, misses tackles in space. The way he's used by Northwestern reminds me of Taylor Rapp, but he's not as consistent a tackler as Rapp. To build off of the list we made above, Rapp had 104 solo tackles in 3 seasons in college.

Can be overly aggressive with his downhill attacks, not anticipating the block development or losing leverage on the ball.

Average ceiling. Nothing special about his size or athleticism, so even if he makes an NFL roster, don't know if he'll ever be more than a backup and a subpackage player. Similar to how Kamren Curl went from being a 7th round pick to an NFL starter, Fitzgerald will have to prove the experts wrong and rely on his smarts and his physicality to outperform his draft position.

 

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Part 4: Draft Grade and Pro Comp

Late round grade. (DeMarcco Hellams, 7th round 2023, Atlanta Falcons, Alabama)

In draft simulators, I often drafted Hellams for the Rams in the 7th round that year. Hellams had a reputation as a physical run defender but he wasn't considereed to be as good in pass coverage and experts thought he had poor recovery speed for the pros. He only ran 4.57 seconds in the 40. He measured 6 5/8'' tall and 203 pounds.

Hellams was a preseason star for the Falcons. He began his rookie season as a special teams player but eventually beat out a former 2nd round draft pick to become the starting safety as a rookie and he performed decently, giving Falcons fans hope for an even better 2nd year. Instead, he fractured his ankle in a preseason game and missed all of 2024. He played mostly special teams before ending up on IR again in 2025. He's still with the Falcons, but he's basically a backup who only plays on special teams.

Hellams was selected in the slot immediately after the Rams took Ethan Evans. Later in that round, the Rams did draft a safety, Jason Taylor II from Oklahoma State. Taylor spent a year with the Rams and is currently a street FA not on an NFL roster.

If Fitzgerald doesn't get drafted, I think he might be an interesting player to try to bring in as an UDFA. There are many questions in my mind how the backup DB situation for the Rams will shake out next year and which players we might keep or let go.

 

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An interesting contrast to compare vs Fitzgerald is Jelani McDonald from Texas. McDonald is a prototypical safety in size. He's a little taller with longer arms and is very athletic. He looks the part. From a mental standpoint, however, Fitzgerald is the more consistent performer. McDonald might be a 1st round pick. How do you weight the physical attributes vs the intangibles? Sometimes, the NFL requires athleticism. It doesn't matter if you are in the right position if the opponent is bigger, stronger and faster. Other plays, athleticism won't help you. There's a play from a Texas game where McDonald appears to be confused who he's supposed to cover, so the TE is wide open. Once you make a mental error, it isn't possible to run fast enough to recover, the gap is too big.