Brian Flores, to his credit, is ready and willing to do whatever is necessary to put together a winning defense. Too rigid he is not. So, one wonders if there will be an adjusted role for Harrison Smith.
Someday, the safety should get put into the NFL Hall of Fame. Right now, he’s trying to show that he’s still an impact defender, defying his status as a player who is going to turn 37 in early February. Any chance Minnesota asks the legendary defensive back to adjust his role, dropping down into the box to soak up more linebacker snaps?
Harrison Smith & The Needs of the 2025 Vikings Defense
To be sure, Mr. Smith has plenty of time operating in the box.
On PFF, there’s some clarification of where Harrison Smith has lined up across his career. The versatile defensive back has put in an enormous 6,335 snaps at free safety. That’s coming in in first place. Second is within the box, where Smith has soaked up 3,636 snaps. Otherwise, there have been 1,372 snaps in the slot, 981 along the d-line, and 248 out wide at corner.
As many have noted, Harrison Smith has long been the queen on the chess board, someone who can be moved in any direction according to the strategic needs of the one moving the pieces. Currently, that’s Coach Flores, but Mike Zimmer happened to be quite good once upon a time (the Ed Donatell year wasn’t ideal).
When we shrink things down to just what’s taking place in 2025, Smith’s workload appears similar to his career workload. The free safety spot is getting most of the love, demanding Smith’s attention for 105 plays. There are then 48 snaps in the box, 12 along the d-line, 11 in the slot, and 2 at corner.
Could tasking Smith with linebacker duties better position him for success? In that spot, there would be less of an onus on hanging with a speedster down the field and more of an emphasis on being physical in the shallow area of the field. And with Harrison Smith’s versatility and intelligence, Coach Flores could (possibly) ratchet up the pre-snap confusion and chaos.
Initially, Smith took some time to get back into the lineup. He missed Week 1 and Week 2. Even after returning, it took some time for Smith to get back into the starting lineup.
Coming out of the bye, Harrison Smith has become a starter yet again. He has played in five games, starting a pair: the Week 7 loss to the Eagles and the Week 8 loss to the Chargers. In both games, the defense wasn’t anywhere close to good enough. Is part of the adjustment going to involve leaning into a different job for Smith?
Consider, for the sake of argument, that the Vikings see a defense that’s not playing up to its potential. Very true, very reasonable. How to improve?
Well, one option is to shuffle the personnel. Could there be a decision to lean on Jay Ward a touch more, a third-year defender who is a step faster than Smith? Leaning on Ward and Theo Jackson in the deeper portion of the field could make some sense, at least if the desire is to increase the foot speed over the top.
Josh Metellus, meanwhile, could continue being someone who likes to flirt with the line of scrimmage more often than not. Smith, quite possibly, could do likewise. Each of Harrison Smith and Josh Metellus can be tasked with getting tacked onto the end of the d-line, playing linebacker, and shuffling to the slot. Does that added flexibility do anything to help solve an issue within a defense that’s neither good enough against the run or the pass?
A four-safety look could operate with Blake Cashman as the LB1. Eric Wilson, the LB2, could continue getting shuffled in when there’s a need for a more traditional linebacker, someone who is a bit larger and a bit more rugged. Or, perhaps, Wilson could continue soaking up snaps at edge rusher. He has been taking away playing time from Ivan Pace and Dallas Turner, a trend that could continue within a four-safety defense.
So far, Smith has played 178 snaps on defense. He has earned 21 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 2 passes defended. Does a greater portion of those snaps arriving at linebacker lead to not just beefier tackle numbers but a more effective Vikings defense?
Next up is a very difficult road test against the Lions. Look for Coach Flores to try all kinds of different looks in an effort to slow down Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, and a Lions offense that’s sitting at third in the NFL by averaging 30.7 points per game.
