Revitalizing The Hitman in 2023
K. Joudry
|
Harrison Smith – affectionately known as The Hitman – has been an elite defender in Minnesota for more than a decade.
In 2012, the Vikings made the Notre Dame safety a 1st-round selection, hopping up to 29th overall to ensure he traded Green & Gold for Purple & Gold. Looking back, it was one of the absolute best decisions Rick Spielman ever made.
Harrison Smith – The Hitman – and The Brian Flores Defense
At his peak, Smith was a first-team All Pro.
That honor came following the sensational 2017 season that featured a ton of standout performances on Minnesota’s defense. The veteran safety was a terror, piling up 78 tackles, 5 INTs, 12 PDs, 1.5 sacks, 3 QB hits, and 7 TFLs. He finished the year as the top-rated safety on PFF.
Part of what made that season so impressive is the variety of ways Mike Zimmer could use the safety. Smith had 374 snaps at free safety, 344 in the box, 138 at slot corner, 25 out wide, and 89 along the defensive line. Sensational stuff.
More recently, we’ve seen Smith’s deployment be a touch more bland. Instead of a near even split between the box and deep, Smith spent 519 snaps patrolling the deep area of the field and only 227 in the box. He also saw 118 snaps in the slot and then double digit snaps at both corner and DL, but the point remains: the safety who has excelled due to his elite versatility was too often forced into the deep portion of the field.
Consider, for instance, the amount of blitzes Harrison Smith had last season. The heat-seeking missile safety only got the chance to blitz 9 times last season, easily the lowest total since 2018. In fact, he had never dipped below 30 blitzes in that time frame.
Brian Flores, it’s safe to assume, will be considerably more aggressive than his DC predecessor. Might we see an uptick in Smith blitzes?
Part of what makes things so interesting is that he also allowed 79.5% of passes into his coverage to be completed, easily the worst figure since 2018. Perhaps some of that is due to his advancing age, but one has to assume that playing in the boring, predictable defense of yesteryear didn’t do him any favors.
Nevertheless, he did snag 5 interceptions last season to go alongside his 10 passes defended, so it’s not like he was a complete pushover in coverage.
For a little while, Harrison Smith’s Vikings future looked uncertain. Thankfully, the two sides agreed to a pay cut that kept the future Hall of Famer in town. Smith will thus lead a secondary in transition, one that’s chock-full of youth.
Indeed, the other safeties – Camryn Bynum, Josh Metellus, and Lewis Cine – are all on their rookie deals. Byron Murphy is still only 25, Akayleb Evans is 23, and Andrew Booth Jr. is 22. At 34, Smith is certainly the elder statesman. Or, if we wanted to pursue a Lord of the Rings metaphor, he’s Gandalf tasked with leading the fellowship on an epic journey replete with peril and pitfall.
We’d be misguided, though, if we concluded that Smith’s job was to merely mentor. On the contrary, Smith’s job will be to mentor as he returns to his usual elite self. His nickname – The Hitman – is a moniker that speaks to his aggressiveness and stealthiness. At his best, he lurks all over the field and delivers crushing hits.
Part of what makes the upcoming season so fascinating is the expectation that the Vikings will improve because players already on the roster take a clear step forward. Though older, Smith finds himself in that group. Joining forces with Flores bodes well for the aggressive veteran, a partnership that foreshadows a revitalized safety for the Minnesota Vikings.
He’s scheduled to have an $11,827,647 cap hit in 2023.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference, PFF, and Over the Cap helped with this piece.
