Amid all the turnover on the Vikings’ defense, a position group that has stayed consistent is one of Minnesota’s best: safety.
The team has Anthony Harris and Harrison Smith back deep on defense.
Harris is coming off a season where he had six interceptions, tied for an NFL best. Smith had three in 2019.
Pro Football Focus gave Harris a grade of 91.1 out of 100 for his performance last season. Harris was the highest-graded safety in the NFL. Close behind was Smith, who earned an 88.4. He ranked fourth among safeties in the NFL this past season.
All that is to say that the Vikings have solidified the safety position — for now. Here are three storylines surrounding the group:
Can a long-term deal be reached between Harris and the Vikings?
The Vikings gave Harris the franchise tag earlier this offseason, and less than two weeks ago he signed it.
The road from the tag being given to Harris signing his tender was not a simple one. There were reports that Harris was a tag-and-trade candidate, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.
Then, it came out that Harris reportedly wanted the security of a long-term deal, according to Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press. That was followed by multiple reports that Harris and the Vikings have been in talks over a long-term deal.
After that, Harris signed his tender, he announced on Twitter. But the saga continues.
Rapoport said that Harris’ agents and the team will continue to work on a long-term deal, as Harris mentioned in his statement on Twitter.
Hopefully the Vikings can work something out between Harris, because he’s obviously a great player and an important part of the defense. Here’s to hoping that happens.
Will the Vikings use Smith differently?
Smith has been the perfect mix of a safety who can get back deep and cover the best wide receivers and one who can even get to the quarterback.
However, now that the cornerback corps has gotten considerably younger this season, there will have to be a question as to whether Smith can blitz effectively without putting too much pressure on the young corners; some of whom won’t be used to the NFL level right away.
If Smith blitzes and quarterbacks are able to find open receivers over the top a little too easily, I could see Minnesota switching its defense to one that uses Smith a little more conservatively.
Will Josh Metellus become a contributor?
Metellus was drafted by the Vikings in the sixth round.
Granted, the team has Harris and Smith, but what if one of those players goes down? Or what if Harris and the Vikings don’t reach a long-term agreement?
Metellus was a solid player for Michigan, and despite having two of the best safeties in the NFL, the Vikings don’t have a ton of depth past those two on the depth chart. There’s Brian Cole II and Myles Dorn at safety besides Harris, Smith and Metellus.
Now that Andrew Sendejo is gone, and Mike Hughes will probably be playing less safety after the mass departure at cornerback, there’s a chance Metellus could work his way up the depth chart, similar to how Harris did it in his NFL career.
