Brian Flores says Bobby McCain will begin at safety for Vikings, could play nickel

McCain brings significant versatility and experience to Minnesota's secondary.

Aug 29, 2020; Miami Gardens, Florida, United States; Miami Dolphins safety Bobby McCain (28) stretches during training camp at Hard Rock Stadium. / Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports

New Vikings defensive back Bobby McCain has played all over the place in his nine NFL seasons. Early in his Dolphins career, he was mostly a slot cornerback. When Brian Flores arrived in 2019, McCain's fifth season, he was moved to free safety. He continued playing that position for a couple years in Washington after his Dolphins tenure ended.

Here's the positional breakdown of McCain's nearly 6,000 career defensive snaps, per PFF:

* Free safety: 39.1 percent
* Slot: 35.1 percent
* Wide corner: 12 percent
* Box: 11.4 percent
* Other: 2.5 percent

Flores, who is now in his second season as the Vikings' defensive coordinator, said Monday that McCain will begin at safety in Minnesota but could find himself moving around. The Vikings' first padded practice of training camp will take place this afternoon.

"I love the versatility, the fact that he's played several positions," Flores said. "He'll start at safety, but you may see him in there at nickel, you may see him matched up on certain guys. Even day one, with a vet guy like that, there's just a conceptual understanding of things that any defense does or can do. He's already got a pretty good feel, and we'll see some of that today."

Roster-wise, it would make more sense if McCain practices in the slot during camp. The Vikings already have maybe the deepest safety room in the NFL with Harrison Smith, Camryn Bynum, Josh Metellus, Theo Jackson, Jay Ward, and Lewis Cine. They're much thinner and less proven at corner, especially after losing Mekhi Blackmon to an ACL injury. Veteran Shaq Griffin is banged up right now, but he's expected to start for the Vikings along with Byron Murphy Jr., who can move into the slot in nickel looks. At the moment, Akayleb Evans is in line to join Griffin on the outside in those personnel groupings.

Regardless of his role, McCain's experience with the Dolphins, Commanders, and Giants should be beneficial to the Vikings, who could still look to add a veteran corner at some point.

"(I) love Bobby," Flores said. "Bobby loves playing football. He's smart, he's physical, he's played multiple positions over the course of his career. Lotta familiarity (between us). He's got leadership for sure, he communicates well. I was excited that we had an opportunity to get him and I'm glad he's here."