Christian Izien and Avery Young were warriors

There was no depth at safety, and so Izien and Young had to play just about every snap in every game. Izien started all 12 contests and saw 739 snaps on defense. Young missed a game and was third at 669.

Sign up for TKR premium now and get your first year for $20.21 ($75+ savings)

Both were battered and bruised, and yet still came down to stop the run just as much if not more than the linebackers. Young tallied 77 tackles while Izien had 71.

Building depth at the position key to keep those two fresher, something Greg Schiano and co. did at nose tackle with Julius Turner and Kyonte Hamilton as the season went along. Desmond Igbinosun and Elijuwan Mack are two to watch at safety. Alijah Clark played cornerback this year and missed the last handful of games due to injury, but he’s one to build off of as well and could eventually make the potential move to safety.