Vikings

Jayron Kearse Trying to Be Less Cautious in Year 2

Photo Credit: Brian Curski

Since drafting Harrison Smith in the first round of the 2012 draft, the Minnesota Vikings have decided to take the value approach at safety.

Under Mike Zimmer, the Vikings have amassed numerous late-round or undrafted safeties to partner with Smith. Fifth-round pick Robert Blanton, sixth-round pick Antone Exum Jr. and undrafted Andrew Sendejo top the list.

While Sendejo is currently entrenched as the starter next to Smith, it’s unclear who the immediate backup is at the safety position.

Jayron Kearse would like to be the guy.

Minnesota used Kearse, a rookie last year, when Sendejo went down in Week 7 against Philadelphia — and sparingly in the Week 8 game against Chicago — but opted to go with Anthony Harris, the former undrafted free agent, when they needed a fill-in safety later in the season.

Kearse wowed fans with his uncanny size at 2016 training camp and recorded two interceptions in the preseason, earning him a roster spot after being selected out of Clemson in the seventh round.

But his play in the regular season still left something to be desired. Kearse was sometimes indecisive and struggled in the open field. Most notably, he took a bad angle on Chicago’s Jordan Howard in an Oct. 31 loss, allowing the Bears rookie to scamper for a 69-yard run.

Coaches are trying to develop in Kearse a more confident mentality in the open field, a place where one wrong move can lead to a game-breaking play.

“When he’s playing close to the line of scrimmage he’s been forceful, he’s been making quick decisions,” said Zimmer. “When he’s in the middle of the field or in the backfield, a little bit slow to pull the trigger sometimes. That’s what he’s working on.”

Kearse has played with the second- and third-team defense in practice, often playing next to Harris. When Sendejo missed a preseason game with injury against Seattle, the Vikings elected to play Exum in the starting role, though they’ve also been working to transition Exum to nickel. When given his chance against Seattle, Kearse showed his potential as a dynamic back-end presence, but also demonstrated the same liabilities that were present last year.

In the third quarter, Kearse closed well on a Trevone Boykin pass over the middle to David Moore and nearly got an interception. Several plays earlier, though, Kearse failed to cut off Mike Davis’s angle as he ran for 38 yards down the left sideline.

It’s consistency the Vikings are looking for, and Kearse still has two preseason games to show that he can be trusted as the last line of defense.

“Just trying to get him in those situations a lot more in order to help him make better decisions and quicker decisions as far as angles and techniques we use in the middle of the field,” said defensive coordinator George Edwards. “Whether you’re playing a quarters, whether you’re playing a half, whether you’re playing single-high in the middle of the field, just getting him comfortable and making quicker decisions in those aspects of his game.”

Zimmer said that Kearse has been overly-cautious when forced to make quick decisions in game action, which has led to some of his miscues. The second-year safety has thrown himself into the playbook to attain a higher level of understanding of the defense.

Kearse and the coaches agree: You can’t be afraid to make a mistake when you’re playing a sport as fast as football.

“They’re telling me every day,” said Kearse. “They say something to me about it every day, so really I just have to work on that. They let me know about it.”


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