Vikings

Place Your Trust In Harrison Hand

Photo Credit: Chuck Cook (USA TODAY Sports)

The Minnesota Vikings drafted three cornerbacks in last year’s draft, but we mostly only talk about the first two. Jeff Gladney had an inconsistent rookie campaign and is now dealing with the legal fallout from a domestic violence incident. Cameron Dantzler broke out to some degree in December and is slated to start opposite Patrick Peterson next year. But what about that third guy? Harrison Hand spent most of his college career at Baylor before transferring to Temple, then joined Dantzler and Gladney as a 2020 draftee. He, and every other person claiming to be a cornerback in the tri-state area, got some action last year. How’d that go?

On the whole, the 119 coverage snaps Hand played can only be so informative. But for whatever that small sample is worth, it went well. He was only targeted every eighth snap or so, which led the Vikings. Since he was usually playing in relief and only started one game in earnest, the fact that quarterbacks didn’t opt to attack him immediately is a good sign. Either every coach decided to be kind to the Vikings about their cornerback injury situation, or Hand encouraged quarterbacks to move to their next read.

Instead of relying on production metrics on small samples, we can look at the Vikings’ behavior to get a read on what they think. When Harrison Hand had to play extensive time due to injury in Weeks 6 and 8, they didn’t hide him with soft zone coverage. They asked him to play man-match principles. That means reading a route concept and covering a wide receiver. He had some help but still carried his fair share of the responsibility. Against go routes straight down the field, this looks like simple man coverage. Importantly, Hand dealt with these well.

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That Zimmer didn’t have to baby Hand with constant deep safety help is a big deal. That is enough on its own to justify Hand as a roster-worthy backup. The Vikings had a big problem with Kris Boyd, Chris Jones, and early-season Cameron Dantzler. Zimmer couldn’t trust them to carry deep patterns. He had to protect the young secondary by keeping Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris in deep coverage. That meant out of the run game and out of the pressure game, which wreaked havoc on the usually dynamic and unpredictable Zimmer defense. In the event that either Dantzler or Peterson goes down, Hand could come in and prevent this same fate.

Hand had to contend with some of the league’s greats in his limited exposure, including Julio Jones and Davante Adams. The bigger receivers that faced Hand often tried to beat him with superior physicality. At 5’11” and under 200 lbs., that’s an attractive option for bigger receivers like Julio Jones or Marvin Jones. Hand stood up fantastically against this particular strategy, and sometimes the opponent ended up on the ground himself.

That may look like illegal contact, and it may well be. But since the offensive player initiated it, Hand won’t have to worry too much. At the breaking point of the route, it’s hard to look too much like you’ve illegally influenced the receiver. If anything, the opponent should be flagged in some of those instances.

It’s worth noting that Hand played a lot of slot cornerback, playing almost exclusively there in Week 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. By December, the Vikings ran spot-drop Cover 2, leaving Hand with a watered-down assignment. Minnesota’s defense had lost a lot of corners between the Atlanta Falcons and Green Bay Packers games heavily featured here. Still, that versatility will go a long way toward determining his roster status come September.

This is all a glowing review so far. As a backup corner, you want someone who may not be as consistent but won’t require you to water down your system. Hand can fill in at both inside and outside cornerback spots without requiring that the Vikings bend over backward to protect him. If Hand keeps up his rookie year level of play, he should make the 53-man roster no problem. So let’s step it up a notch: Why not put him in the starting rotation?

Harrison Hand isn’t ready to be a starter quite yet and may never be. That’s okay since the Vikings only need him to be a backup, but it’s worth pointing out what prevents him from taking the next step. There were a few miscommunications that are concerning, but less so when you consider how many young players were lost and confused on the Vikings’ defense. Mostly, Hand’s bad plays can be boiled down to one spot in the route.

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Hand’s footwork is most often the culprit. Corners bite on good route technique no matter who they are, but if Hand can improve his footwork, he can improve his recovery. That’s a perfectly acceptable flaw in a backup, however. With a lot of cornerbacks, that sort of detail can be difficult to improve.

Of course, we have to be wary about a sample size of 119 coverage snaps, but the traits displayed on those snaps are more positive than negative. Hand can play man-match coverage on the outside. If he has a halfway decent camp, he could be called upon to rotate in Jeff Gladney’s place during his probable suspension. If those games go as well as his 2020 duty went, Hand could carve his way onto the defense for as long as he can keep it up.

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