Harrison Smith ranked absurdly low on NFL Network’s Top 100 of 2019

The Top 100 Players of 2019 list has started to trickle out from NFL Network and the placement of Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith is mind-boggling.

Make no mistakes. Being included on a list of the top individuals at any profession is quite an honor. But every once in a while, an individual is massively underrated for what they are capable of. That is exactly what happened to Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith.

Ever since he was a first-round pick of the purple and gold in 2012, Smith has been the captain and cornerstone of the team’s defense. His ability to do anything that is asked of him in Mike Zimmer’s scheme makes him an invaluable asset whose importance can’t be understated.

Those who watch Smith play have seen the impact he can make on a football game. Whether it is hard hits, rushing the passer, dropping into coverage, helping in run support, or anything else, the safety excels and allows the rest of the defense to have more success.

It isn’t just fans of the Minnesota Vikings who have realized just how good Smith is. In fact, he was the top-rated player from Pro Football Focus for the 2017 season, winning the Dwight Stephenson Award. Plus, he is a four-time Pro Bowl player and the 29th highest rated player at any position on Madden NFL 20.

For those reasons and more, it was shocking when the Top 100 Players of 2019 list kicked off from the folks at NFL Network and Harrison Smith landed at number 83. Especially since this is a list voted on by other players in the league.

Last year, Smith placed in the number 46 spot in the rankings, which has to make fans wonder what part of the safety’s game forced him to take a dive down the list. And it gets even more confusing when noting that he had career highs in sacks and tackles for a loss while tying career highs in forced fumbles and fumble recoveries while adding three interceptions and 84 combined tackles.

The only logical explanation is that the Vikings defense as a whole did not have the same success in 2018 as it did in 2017 since the team’s offense couldn’t maintain drives and therefore the defenders were forced to be on the field a considerably longer time.

This should provide some bulletin board material for the Minnesota Vikings to motivate Harrison Smith, who should realize that his peers are sleeping on his ability on the football field and want to prove to them that he is significantly better than they seem to think he is.