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With another step in a postseason run firmly in mind, these five Minnesota Vikings will have to be great in 2020.
The Minnesota Vikings rebounded to 10-6 last season, the beat the New Orleans Saints in the Wild Card Round before being overwhelmed by the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round.
The Vikings made a headline this offseason by trading wide receiver Stefon Diggs to the Buffalo Bills for a bunch of draft picks. Offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski also left to become head coach of the Cleveland Browns, and Gary Kubiak is taking over that post after coming aboard as an advisor last year.
With no news of contract extensions, this is shaping up as a make-or-break year for Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer and general manager Rick Spielman. Contributions from a deep and pretty strong 2020 draft class will be critical.
The Vikings would surely like to make a deeper playoff run this year, and legitimately compete with the best teams in the NFC. If that happens, these five players will surely have performed at a very high level.
5. S Harrison Smith
Now into his 30s, Smith remains one of the best safeties in the NFL. He has earned five straight Pro Bowl nods, with consistent top-tier grades from Pro Football Focus as an all-around defender.
The Vikings lost plenty of experience at cornerback this offseason, cutting Xavier Rhodes while losing Trae Waynes and Mackensie Alexander to free agency. Anyone other than Rhodes at the one corner will be a natural upgrade based on his play the last couple years.
Minnesota will have three rookies (Jeff Gladney, Cameron Dantzler and Harrison Hand) in place, and Holton Hill is a question mark with the prospect of a bigger role. Former first-round pick Mike Hughes is now the proverbial No. 1 corner, with two injury-shortened seasons on his resume.
Smith and Anthony Harris formed one of the best safety tandems in the league last year (if not the best), and as long as Harris isn’t traded they should be on that level again this year. They both stand to have their share of mistakes and missteps from Vikings’ corners to cover this year, with Smith as the lead eraser.