On Monday afternoon, the NFL came out with the All-Decade team. Two former Vikings made the lists, as Adrian Peterson made the offensive all decade team and Cordarrelle Patterson made it on to the special teams unit.
One name left off the list that seems to be forgotten in several other conversations is safety Harrison Smith. The three safeties who made it over Smith were Eric Berry, Earl Thomas and Eric Weddle. Smith has been forgotten about in the All-Pro conversations as well.
Even though he doesn’t always get the recognition he deserves, his name should be on this list. Over the last decade, Smith has 658 total tackles, 13 sacks, 56 pass breakups, seven forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries, 23 interceptions and four touchdowns.
Thomas, who is arguably the best safety of the last decade, played in two more seasons than Smith and still has similar numbers. Over the last ten seasons, Thomas totaled 713 tackles, two sacks, 30 interceptions, 12 forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries and three total touchdowns.
Berry has been one of the league’s best, and has one of the best stories in the entire NFL. Although he hasn’t played every season, Berry still totals 445 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 51 pass breakups, four forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and 14 interceptions and five touchdowns.
Not only has Smith put up some of the best numbers at the position since entering the league, but he has also proven to be extremely durable. This is something that should be taken into account when creating a list like this.
All of the safeties on the list are great safeties, but Smith deserves to be given more respect than he has gotten over the years. He is the center piece to Mike Zimmer’s defense, being utilized as a hybrid safety all over the field.
Since coming into the league in 2012, Smith has been one of the league’s best safeties. For some reason, his name gets forgotten about when it comes to accolades like this. However, it’s important to remember that Smith is one of the league’s best, and more than likely should have been listed on the All-Decade team.
