Minnesota Vikings 53 man roster projection: Pre-training camp edition

Safeties (4)

The pass defense of the Minnesota Vikings is one of their biggest strengths and part of the reason for their success is how physical the secondary is…and much of that starts with the last line of defense for the team.

Here are the players expected to make the roster from this positional grouping:

1. Harrison Smith
2. Anthony Harris
3. Jayron Kearse
4. Marcus Epps

As usual, expect the Vikings to bring four safeties into the 2019 season. The most obvious one on the list is Smith, who is a four-time Pro Bowl player and a seven-year starter for the purple and gold. He hasn’t missed a game in the last two years and will be the cornerstone of the defense.

Andrew Sendejo has moved on from Minnesota and Harris looks to be his successor. Harris put together an excellent 2018 campaign and showed flashes of brilliance before that, which made Sendejo expendable.

When it comes to Kearse, expect him to be a tweener. Minnesota could use him as a safety or a linebacker on defense and his contributions on special teams will make him even more valuable to the team.

Finally, expect the Minnesota Vikings to go with a high-potential player with the fourth safety instead of a veteran with a lower ceiling. Epps is a perfect example of this kind of player and could also showcase some of his talents on special teams in the meanwhile.

Barely missed the cut: Derron Smith