Detroit Lions near the top of the NFC North safety power rankings
By Ash Thompson
The Minnesota Vikings safety group
Harrison Smith is one of the NFL’s best safeties. He is coming off a season with 12 passes defended and five interceptions. He is also a thunderous hitter in run support. If you were to design the perfect strong safety for the modern NFL, it is Smith. His combination of running and passing game acumen is rare among players who are comfortable in the box.
Andrew Sendejo is also a very good safety. He does all the things Harrison Smith does not do very well. Sendejo is a bot of a forgotten man in the Minnesota defense. He is a decent run stopper, a good center fielder, but he has one downside. He misses a lot of time. Sendejo has had to sit out multiple games in each of the last three seasons for the Vikings. He does not cause a lot of events, he has fewer passes defended ant interceptions in the last three seasons than Darius Slay had in 2018. he does provide the same level of solid safety play every snap, however.
Anthony Harris provides a solid third option when pressed into action. It is much easier to do that when you’re in one of the most loaded defensive units in the NFL, but that doesn’t change the fact that he does. In spot duty, Harris gets solid reviews. he earned a 74.5 grade from PFF.
Neither Jayron Kearse or Tray Matthews have logged enough snaps to matter. Kearse has been the fourth man in the group for two years, and Matthews is an undrafted signing this year.
Next. Lions top the NFC North cornerback rankings. dark
The Lions have a very good safety group, but the unknowns in their lineup and Minnesota’s multi-year track record of success give them the edge over the Lions. The Bears are very well set up for the future, but the Packers appear are likely to be victims in the air on the back end. The safety group may go a long way toward determining the outcomes for the teams of the NFC North.