Top 25 Vikings of 2014: No. 3 S Harrison Smith
By Dan Zinski
The countdown hits the top 3…
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It’s weird how much confidence Harrison Smith inspires in Viking fans, when you think about it.
Ask a fan to make a list of Viking question marks, from biggest to smallest, and where would Smith rank? Near the bottom, I would guess.
And this is coming off a season mostly lost to turf toe. In a year where the Vikings have a new defensive staff coming in, installing a new scheme altogether.
At the very least, we should be mildly concerned about how Smith will fit in, if he will be able to produce at a high level in Zimmer’s system, if he will even be able to stay healthy.
But we’re not. Because, for whatever reason, we’ve gone all-in on Harrison Smith.
On the basis of a strong rookie season plus part of an injury-beset second campaign, we’ve decided that Harrison Smith is already an established player, an unquestioned top five asset on the roster.
There’s something about the way Smith plays. He plays fast, he plays hard, he plays smart. He combines instinct, physical ability and aggression in a way we haven’t seen from a lot of defensive backs in Minnesota over the years.
He’s probably the best safety the Vikings have had since Robert Griffith. And we’re pretty confident that once this season is over, you will be able to take the “probably” off.
Let’s completely ignore the possibility that Smith might regress in season three, or not mesh perfectly with Zimmer’s system, or just get hurt again.
There is always the chance it might not work out. But nah, of course it will work out. Harrison Smith is not a guy you have to worry about. At all.
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