5 most concerning Vikings position groups heading into Week 1

Safety No. 3

The Vikings’ backup safety spot is very concerning. They decided to keep rookie Camryn Bynum and second-year player Josh Metellus as their two backups. If either has to see the field on defense this week, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and his talented trio of receivers could be feasting on the secondary of the purple and gold.

Bynum is clearly not ready to see any action, and his play in the preseason was evident of that. He was routinely out of position and didn’t seem to have any real clue what his assignments were supposed to be. Metellus played mostly on special teams in 2020, and while he can come up and hit, it is his coverage skills that are lacking.

Perhaps the Vikings would move Patrick Peterson or Harrison Hand to safety if Harrison Smith or Xavier Woods went down with an injury instead of relying on one of these inexperienced players? Or maybe Zimmer expects the veterans in the secondary to get them lined up correctly so there aren’t any blown assignments.

He must have a strong level of confidence with his two backup safeties. Otherwise, the team would’ve brought in a free agent to be the No. 3 option on the safety depth chart.