Harrison Smith has garnered a reputation as one of the NFL’s best safeties for several years now.
Anthony Harris showed in 2019 that he should also be in the conversation. Harris had six interceptions this past season, tied for an NFL best.
Those two ranked in the top 10 of our friends at Touchdown Wire’s list of best NFL safeties right now.
Harrison Smith ranked at No. 7 in Touchdown Wire’s list. Here’s what Touchdown Wire said about Smith:
“Smith does some of his best work down near the line of scrimmage against the run. According to Pro Football Focus, his run defense slipped a bit in 2019, but he is still a force in that part of the game. Smith notched 66 tackles and 20 “stops,” plays which constitute a failure for the offense according to PFF.”
Smith is definitely higher up on some peoples’ lists, like this one done by PFF, but seventh isn’t bad.
Touchdown Wire rated Harris higher than Smith on these power rankings:
Harris ranked the No. 1 safety
His coverage, his tackling, his breakout 2019 — all that made it too hard to deny Harris the top spot on Touchdown Wire’s safety rankings.
Here’s what the outlet said about Harris:
“He was a stalwart in coverage, holding opposing passers to an NFL passer rating of just 55.0 and tallying seven interceptions, without allowing a touchdown catch. This interception of Aaron Rodgers demonstrates both Harris’ ability to play in coverage, and how he and Harrison Smith work together in concert.”
Maybe Vikings fans think Smith should have been higher, but they won’t be disappointed in Harris’ ranking.
