In his second training camp with the Minnesota Vikings, safety Lewis Cine is beginning to flash some of the skills that made him a first-round draft pick in 2022.
No one is going to disagree with the fact that Lewis Cine did not have a good rookie season with the Minnesota Vikings in 2022.
The disappointment was mostly the result of a freak injury that occurred in the Vikings' Week 4 win over the New Orleans Saints. But even before that, some were unhappy that the rookie safety wasn't able to make more of an instant impact for Minnesota last season.
This summer, Cine is fully recovered from his injury, and he's back to remind people why he was a first-round pick in 2022. He's still working with the second-team defense in training camp, but based on some of the plays he has been making, opportunities with the first-team defense don't seem too far in the future.
Lewis Cine is "locked in" heading into his second season with the Minnesota Vikings
Last week, Cine shared that he's more comfortable in Minnesota's new defensive scheme under Brian Flores than he was in the scheme that the team ran last season under former defensive coordinator Ed Donatell.
During the first few days of training camp, Cine's comfort level in Flores' scheme has been made very clear with some of the plays that the second-year safety has made.
Safety Lewis Cine just FLEW across the field and made a beautiful diving interception 🔥 pic.twitter.com/BoQ1oOezMO
— vikesinsider (@vikesinsider) July 29, 2023
Cine recently shared that he's more "locked in" this year than he was during his first year with the Vikings. His interception in the clip above is evidence of this, as he clearly recognized something he saw on film, and it resulted in him getting to use his elite athleticism to snatch the ball out of the air.
If Cine continues to make plays like his interception on Saturday, it's eventually going to lead to some opportunities with Minnesota's first-team defense.
His development might have taken a little longer than expected, but it appears that the Vikings' top draft pick from a year ago is ready to make a significant impact for the team in 2023.