Pro Football Focus has been counting down the 101 best NFL players of the last decade and earlier this week we saw Notre Dame represented as Zack Martin checked in on the list.
On Thursday the list concluded with Tom Brady, Aaron Donald and Drew Brees taking the top three spots. Notre Dame did have another player make the list however as Harrison Smith came in at number-22 overall.
Of Smith’s NFL career since 2012, Pro Football Focus says:
Coverage is one of the most inconsistent grading elements PFF looks at; it is, by definition, dependent on the opposition more than most areas, and consistently grading well on the back end is incredibly hard to do. Harrison Smith hasn’t had a healthy season result in a grade lower than 75.0 overall, and he has four seasons above 85.0 overall. Smith has been a do-it-all safety for the Minnesota Vikings and has been equally comfortable in deep center field as he is in the box or covering the slot, whether that be against backs, tight ends or even wideouts. At his best, Smith has been the best safety in the league, and the fulcrum that allows Mike Zimmer’s defensive scheme to function.
I’ve said it before and will again. Harrison Smith turned into a very good football player at Notre Dame but thought a bit too highly of his own athleticism early on which got him in a bit of trouble.
He put it all together his junior year, intercepting seven passes, including three in the Sun Bowl rout of Miami.
If you would have told me after 2009 that Harrison Smith would go on to be one of the best safeties in the NFL for an extended amount of time I would have thought you ate jars full of paste as a child. He developed into a great player in his final two seasons at Notre Dame and been a legitimate star during his time with the Minnesota Vikings.