7. Harrison Smith, Minnesota Vikings
In the talented tandem of Minnesota Vikings’ safeties, both Anthony Harris and Harrison Smith have their preferred roles. Harris is more of your traditional free safety, while Smith is more of the in-the-box, strong safety type. But these two can do both, as evidenced by their utilization last season. For his part, Smith saw 91 snaps on the defensive line, 278 snaps in the box, 91 snaps in the slot, 22 snaps at boundary cornerback, and 488 snaps in a deep safety alignment.
Smith does some of his best work down near the line of scrimmage against the run. According to Pro Football Focus, his run defense slipped a bit in 2019, but he is still a force in that part of the game. Smith notched 66 tackles and 20 “stops,” plays which constitute a failure for the offense according to PFF. Plays like this are considered a failure for the offense:
Your weekly Harrison Smith run blitz đź’¦ pic.twitter.com/u9Ylu8F05k
— Luke Inman (@Luke_SpinmanNFL) October 8, 2019
When you add what he can do in coverage to his run defense skills, Smith remains a formidable talent at the position. Smith had one of his better pass coverage seasons in 2019, allowing just 18 receptions on 30 targets and an NFL passer rating allowed of just 35.7, his second-best season in his career. With Harris patrolling the field alongside him, Smith and the Vikings remain a stout defense to face.