2020 NFL Draft: Defensive back rankings - Do Patriots finally start youth movement at safety?

The Patriots bid adieu to Duron Harmon with a trade to the Lions, which broke off a piece of their veteran-laden secondary.

Still, they're left with Devin McCourty and Patrick Chung at the starting safety spots, and both players will be 33 this season with a lot of mileage on them. Even signing Adrian Phillips from the Chargers didn't really usher in a youth movement, considering he's 28.

Beyond those players, there's really not much in the way of every-down safeties on the roster.

So it would not be a surprise to see them address the position early, and perhaps a couple of times in this draft since cornerback is well staffed with talent and youth.

The good news is this draft is extremely deep in safety talent, and several players offer the type of versatility the Patriots covet.

A look at the top safeties and cornerbacks in this year's draft:

SAFETY

Xavier McKinney, Alabama (6-0.5, 201, 4.63, Round 1-2): There's a lot of disagreement in the scouting community over the third-year junior. Some think he's the best Crimson Tide safety under Nick Saban, others think he can't run and will be exposed in the NFL. This is what we know: he's a solid, well-rounded safety who can play deep and in the box. He's a better cover guy than people think. Is he smart enough to run a complicated scheme like New England? That's for debate. Didn't make many big plays.