The folks over at Pro Football Focus ranked the secondaries across the league as training camp opens up.
The Vikings ranked No. 10 with the core of Harrison Smith, Xavier Rhodes, Trae Wyanes and Anthony Harris.
Here’s the blurb on the Vikings’ unit and why they ranked 10th:
While a lot of the blame got heaped on Kirk Cousins and the offensive line for the Vikings struggles in 2018, this was the unit that quietly took a huge step backward. Xavier Rhodes earned the lowest coverage grade of his career (55.1) while Harrison Smith went from a 91.6 coverage grade in 2017 to 68.7 last season.
On paper, this could be a top-5 unit in the NFL. But 2018 was a disappointing season for this group, even with the emergence of slot corner Mackensie Alexander.
Without Holton Hill for the first four games of the season (suspension), this group will need to be at their best from the beginning.
Among teams in the NFC North, the Vikings rank second. The Chicago Bears are No. 2 on this list.
