Harrison Smith is 32 years old, but he showed he was still one of the best safeties in the NFL last year. He finished 2020 with five picks and 10 passes defended.
Since 2012, Smith has been a force back deep on the Vikings defense. For that, he’s the second-best safety in the NFL right now, per Pro Football Focus. Sam Monson of PFF wrote:
“Smith’s rookie season was in 2012, and he has never had a poor healthy season since that point — the kind of consistent excellence that Smith has been able to maintain for the Vikings is freakish at the safety position. The former Notre Dame star had a relative down year in 2020, but he still recorded five picks, five pass breakups and better-than-average grades in every facet of play.”
Smith has been so consistently good that I think he gets taken for granted a bit. Of course, it takes more than good safeties to make a defense stifle its opponents. But Smith certainly makes the defense better. That should help the new starter at safety — whether it’s Xavier Woods, Camryn Bynum or someone else — adjust to the role quickly.
