At age 32, Vikings safety Harrison Smith has quite the body of work.
And despite getting up there in age, Smith still showed he had it in 2020. The Minnesota safety tallied five interceptions and 10 passes defended.
ESPN surveyed 50 league executives, coaches, scouts and players in order to find the top 10 players at different positions. Smith’s 2020 performance helped him rank as the fifth-best safety in the NFL.
Per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, one high-ranking AFC evaluator called Smith “the gold standard for the last half-decade” at safety. Reputation and consistency earn Smith high votes, but most agree that his best years might be behind him, according to Fowler.
One NFC offensive coach, however, was pretty impressed with Smith:
“Unbelievable at disguise,” the coach said. “He knows where he has to get to on the field — as good as there is at that. The question now is can he still get there?”
Yes, maybe the Vikings safety isn’t in his prime anymore, but he can still be useful player to Minnesota’s defense. The group should be much better in 2021, so maybe Smith can put together a career year by extension.
