Vikings camp questions: Will Lewis Cine emerge? Can Harrison Smith flourish?
With Minnesota Vikings training camp right around the corner, it’s time to kick off our camp preview series "Vikings Camp Questions," where we look at each position in depth and the major storylines that will be hashed out over the next month at TCO Performance Center.
For Part 1, we begin with the five biggest questions regarding safeties and linebacker:
What will it take for Lewis Cine to win the job?
The Vikings’ first-round pick in 2022 had a difficult first training camp in which he never threatened Cam Bynum for the starting job alongside Harrison Smith, and lost out the backup gig to Josh Metellus. Just when he was getting his feet wet on special teams, Cine suffered a catastrophic injury Week 4 against the New Orleans Saints that ended his season.
His fast recovery, however, has created hope for his chances of winning the starting job in camp. While was still playing behind Bynum and Metellus during OTAs and minicamp, he was a full participant, meaning that he won’t have to start from behind the others.
From a physical talent perspective, Cine towers over his two competitors, but Bynum and Metellus thrive on the mental side of the game, giving them an edge as the safeties learn a brand new defense under Brian Flores. The scheme asks safeties to line up in many different positions and understand everyone’s assignment. In order to compete for the starting gig, Cine will need to equal the other players’ understanding of the playbook and then gain quick chemistry over a few summer weeks in order to get consideration for the starting position.
What about another role in three-safety packages? That’s going to be a battle as well because Metellus was being used in that role during minicamp.
That raises the question: What if he doesn’t win starting gig? It would still be too early to start whispering the word “bust” but it would certainly bring about questions of whether he’s going to be a major part of the defense’s future, especially when Harrison Smith decided to hang ‘em up. It’s a very important camp for Cine.
Can Josh Metellus become a hybrid weapon?
In a small sample size of defensive play, the former fifth-round draft pick from Michigan was very good for the Vikings. He graded an 85.1 by Pro Football Focus and allowed just 70 yards into his coverage on 17 targets. Combine that with his special teams excellence and Metellus emerged as a player who could be potentially useful across different roles in the defense.
During minicamp he was mixing in at safety and playing in a hybrid linebacker role, which might suit him well. Even going back to the Senior Bowl he was touted as a player who could have positional versatility. In previous years the three-safety defense was more myth than reality but Flores has a history of using more than two safeties on the field at the same time. Still, it’s not clear whether Metellus’s role was something they were experimenting with or actually plan on using as a regular part of the defense.
If Metellus does become comfortable in that spot, it may become more difficult for Cine to carve out his place unless he beats out Bynum.
Will Harrison Smith show signs of a big season under Brian Flores?
If the Vikings’ star safety remembers what it’s like to play close to the line of scrimmage after a year under Ed Donatell, he could get back to his old playmaking shenanigans. Smith played only around 250 snaps on the D-line or in the box last year, down from close to 450 in 2021. While in Miami, Flores used safety Brandon Jones in a hyper aggressive role that resulted in him racking up 17 QB pressures. We can’t quite expect that much pass rushing from Smith, who was among the best in the NFL at picking off passes last year, but he is likely to be in position to use his instincts and playmaking ability at the line of scrimmage much more often.
How will we figure out if Smith is fitting with the defense by watching camp? That is a tricker question to answer but the Vikings do have multiple joint practices this year, which will inevitably increase the intensity and give us a better indicator of what the defense looks like than preseason games.
Is Brian Asamoah a lock to start at linebacker?
The assumption when the Vikings moved on from veteran Eric Kendricks was that 2022 third-rounder Brian Asamoah would be taking over his spot alongside Jordan Hicks, particularly since the tiny sample size (121 snaps) of him playing showed flashes of lightning quickness and playmaking ability. But it isn’t a total guarantee that he lands the full-time spot out of the gate alongside Jordan Hicks. The Vikings signed veteran Troy Reeder, who was a regular in the Chargers’ defense in 2020 and 2021. Similar to the safety position, Asamoah’s physical gifts are exceptional but his fit in the defense will be the determining factor.
In all likelihood Asamoah will win the job but a major part of this year’s camp on defense is finding out which players appear to be foundational pieces to the defense going forward and which positions are still going to have questions going into the season. The young linebacker has an opportunity to establish himself as one of the mainstays.
Who are the under-the-radar players to watch?
Depth at linebacker beyond Reeder is — as usual — spotty. Troy Dye has mostly become a special teamer but hasn’t shined when given a handful of games as a full-time linebacker. Behind him on the depth chart is undrafted free agent Ivan Pace Jr., who has drawn some excitement over his college tape and remarkable PFF grades but his lack of size makes it questionable whether he will excel on an NFL field (remember Hercules Mata’afa?). One of the standouts of camp last season was William Kwenkeu. He played in 94 special teams snaps and 13 defensive snaps in 2022. He may continue to emerge as a trustworthy option in case of emergency.
The long shots to make the roster are Wilson Huber and Abraham Beauplan. Huber is from Cincinnati and he’s the opposite of Pace Jr., he’s 6-foot-4 and 241 pounds. Beauplan was part of Bruce Feldman’s Freak’s List prior to the 2022 season, though he is only 5-foot-11 and didn’t wow at the Combine when it came to the agility tests. These players are likely fighting for any opportunities available on the practice squad.
