The Vikings’ cornerbacks had their ups and downs in the 2023 season. But one fairly steady thing was the safeties.
Harrison Smith, a veteran of the league, has been a force ever since he arrived. He had yet another productive season, recording 93 tackles, three pass breakups, and three sacks. It was just the second season in his career he didn’t record an interception.
Camryn Bynum had himself a breakout season last year. The Cal product had 137 tackles, nine pass breakups, and two interceptions.
Then you have Josh Metellus, the do-it-all player. Last year, he went from being a special teams star to playing just about any position Minnesota needed on the defense. Metellus had 116 tackles, 2.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and one interception during a huge season.
Heading into the 2024 season, all three are ranked in Pro Football Focus’ top 32 safeties.
Smith came in at 16th overall:
At 35 years old, Smith, who is arguably the best safety of the past 10 seasons, might not be the player he once was, but he still plays at a high level.
Across the first eight weeks of the 2023 season, he ranked 17th both in PFF overall grade and coverage grade. He allowed just 8.3 yards per reception in 2023, the fifth-lowest mark among safeties.
Metellus, the Swiss army knife, was ranked 19th overall:
Metellus flashed ability on his way to an 85.1 PFF overall grade in 2022 in a limited role, but 2023 represented a new challenge. It was the first time that Metellus logged more than 300 snaps, and he immediately topped 1,000. He did not disappoint in an increased role, as he was among the NFL’s more versatile safeties and led the position with 116 pass-rush snaps. He was one of just five safeties to earn coverage, pass-rush and run-defense grades all above 64.0.
PFF ranked Bynum as the 25th-best safety, perhaps underrating him:
Although he went through a sophomore slump in his first full season as a starter in 2022, Bynum bounced back and finished 2023 as the 22nd-ranked safety in PFF grade.
Bynum’s 85.7 overall grade after the first 14 weeks ranked fourth at the position. He also tied for the most forced incompletions over the season (nine) and could have had an even better season if he capitalized on a league-leading three dropped interceptions.
