Safeties
In case you were wondering, Harrison Smith is still very good at football. One of the key faces of the Vikngs’ defense lived up to his billing this year as Smith racked up 84 combined tackles with a career-high nine tackles for loss.
He was also solid in coverage, picking off three passes and ending up with six pass deflections. While Smith will turn 30 in February, he is currently showing no signs of slowing down.
On the opposite end, Andrew Sendejo was an afterthought for most of the season due to a groin injury. Even before that, Sendejo’s job seemed to be in jeopardy thanks to the signing of George Iloka. But the former Bengals defender never really saw the field even when Sendejo was placed on injured reserve.
Instead, the Anthony Harris’ coming out party was on display in 2018. The 26-year-old safety finally had his golden opportunity and he started nine games for the Vikings once Sendejo went on the shelf.
Harris intercepted three passes this season, deflected six more, and he ended up being the third-highest rated safety in the league according to Pro Football Focus’ coverage grades behind All-Pro Eddie Jackson and Pro Bowler Jamal Adams.
Minnesota can save $5.5 million by cutting Sendejo this offseason, so 2018 could go down as a changing of the guard in the Vikings’ secondary.