Vikings

Minnesota's Secondary May End Up Being Their Achilles’ Heel

Photo Credit: Brad Rempel (USA TODAY Sports)

It may seem odd, given the Minnesota Vikings’ struggles on the offensive line, but it may be the secondary that holds the defense back the most this season. It’s a group with top-end talent and many potential weaknesses. If the mistakes start piling up, it could get ugly fast. To understand how this secondary will shape up, keep a close eye on these three factors.

Aging veteran talent

Harrison Smith is 33 years old, and Patrick Peterson turned 32 over the summer. You might think to yourself, Oh, that’s not too bad. Terence Newman was like 57 when he finally retired. However, that is not common. You can count on one hand the number of defensive backs on a roster this year who are older than the pair. I’m not saying these two are washed up or should swap their shoulder pads for an AARP card. But I am saying it’s fair to expect some regression. The Vikings are starting two of the seven oldest defensive backs in the league.

Minnesota is expected to run more zone this year, which might help cover up some of the issues they may have had trying to stay step-for-step with receivers and tight ends 10 years their junior. It’s still reasonable to expect Smith could be the best safety on the field and Peterson to be the best cornerback, but that may not be a sure thing like last year. It’s a young man’s game. While this duo has defied Father Time longer than most, this could be the year age catches up to them.

Rookies Still Have A Lot To Prove

The Vikings used their first-round pick in this year’s draft on safety Lewis Cine. And while expectations are high for him, it seems Camryn Bynum has been getting most of the starting reps this offseason. That’s not to say Cine couldn’t overtake that position this year or even develop into a superstar. But there is much to improve upon before he earns that role for the time being. A rookie safety rarely jumps into the league and makes an immediate impact.

In the second round, the Vikings selected cornerback Andrew Booth Jr. out of Clemson. While many draftniks projected him going higher, a history of injuries let him fall to Minnesota. And although you may not have seen much of Booth this year, you certainly have heard from him. He is a fiery guy who lets other players know what’s on his mind. He enters the preseason seemingly behind Cameron Dantzler for the other starting corner job, though, and has a long way to go before he can back up his talk with his play.

While the Vikings took both rookies high in the draft, they appear set to start the season in backup roles. That’s not the worst thing. It took Danielle Hunter almost three years to get full-time starter work. But with the rookies progressing slowly, that leaves the rest of the supporting cast to cover the field. And that’s where it potentially gets ugly.

The Wild cards

The starting secondary looks to be rounded out by Dantzler, Bynum, and Chandon Sullivan in the nickel position. All have experience — very up-and-down experience. Dantzler had a decent rookie year, then Mike Zimmer famously put him in his doghouse early on and started Bashaud Breeland. Despite this, Pro Football Focus rated Dantzler as the fourth-best corner from Weeks 11 to 17. It’s tough to say which Dantzler the Vikings get this year, but there definitely is some potential upside.

Bynum at safety and Sullivan at nickel are the two other wild cards. Bynum has shown flashes that he can be lighting to Harrison Smith‘s thunder, but he has minimal starting experience. And reports from camp are that Sullivan has been pretty average, but he doesn’t really have any competition at the slot position.

If Smith and Peterson can maintain the same level of play, the rookies improve quickly, and the supporting cast plays up to their full potential, there shouldn’t be any issues. But that’s an awful lot of “ifs.” And if the secondary doesn’t hold up their end of the bargain this year, it puts intense pressure on the defensive line to, well, get pressure.

There probably isn’t a big free-agent signing or a trade to be had at this point, so the secondary is what it is. And in a reversal of roles, that leaves the defensive line as the proverbial last line of defense for this team. Getting pressure on the quarterback will lighten the load on a secondary with some glaring potential weaknesses.

Maybe Harry the Hitman will look as spry as ever, and the rookies will take the league by storm. But the odds are stacked against them, and the defensive backs could be a sieve on an otherwise solid roster. Hopefully, they prove the historical data wrong, and this year the Vikings roll out a secondary that’s legend – wait for it – dary.

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Photo Credit: Brad Rempel (USA TODAY Sports)

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