Camryn Bynum
The Minnesota Vikings have multiple holes and limited resources to fill them. First-year General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has to make the tough decision, where he wants to spend his draft picks and remaining salary cap.
Harrison Smith has been a fixture in every Minnesota defense since he was drafted in 2012. The players on the second safety position next to him changed significantly over the years.
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In his first two seasons in the NFL, Smith shared the safety spots with 2009 7th rounder Jamarca Sanford. After Sanford´s release in 2014, Robert Blanton started on the strong safety position for one season. Blanton and Smith were teammates at Notre Dame, and the Vikings selected both in the 2012 draft. Head Coach Mike Zimmer promoted hard-hitting defensive back Andrew Sendejo to starting strong safety in 2015. He kept that spot until the 2018 season when he injured his groin in Week 5 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
As a result of the Vikings placing Andrew Sendejo on injured reserve, Anthony Harris took his chance and became the starter for the remainder of the 2018 campaign and kept the job in 2019 when he had his career year and led the NFL in interceptions, which certainly helped to convince GM Rick Spielman of using the franchise tag on the former undrafted player in 2020. As a consequence of a disappointing season, Harris left in free agency to play for the Eagles. The Vikings subsequently replaced him with the former Dallas Cowboy, Xavier Woods.
Woods signed a one-year deal in free agency to play the free safety position next to Harrison Smith. He managed to play all 1208 defensive snaps for Zimmer´s defense in 2021 and led the whole team in snaps. The safety earned a Profootballfocus grade of 66.7, 39th in the NFL among all safeties. His strength was the run defense, where he was the third-best league-wide at his position. His pass coverage, meanwhile, lowered his overall rating. After his solid campaign, the 26-year-old Woods signed a three-year contract with the Carolina Panthers during the free-agent period.
The 2021 fourth-round pick was a cornerback in college. For that reason, it was surprising for some fans when the pick was announced with the words “safety Camryn Bynum.” The rookie struggled in the preseason, including a missed assignment on an 80-yard touchdown pass from Denver quarterback Drew Lock.
Bynum looked like a multi-year project after the position change. That is why fans were shocked when he unexpectedly had to start in Week 9.
Harrison Smith has just been tested positive for COVID before the game in Baltimore. Against the Ravens, the rookie was the bright spot on a struggling defense, recording twelve tackles and intercepting former MVP Lamar Jackson. In the following road game against the Chargers, Harrison Smith was still ineligible to play, so Bynum had the opportunity to showcase his talents once again.
And again, he did not disappoint. The former California Golden Bear sacked Justin Herbert and looked promising in coverage. Bynum did not miss a defensive snap in the two games.
The 2021 rookie has done enough to earn the starting spot or at the very least the chance to compete for the job. For that reason, the new GM Adofo-Mensah should not draft a safety in early rounds nor bring in a highly prized free agent at the position. Sometimes teams have to trust the development of young, promising players.
And Bynum looks like a prime example of that. When he had the opportunity, he flashed a lot of talent. Rick Spielman might have found a gem in his last draft for the Vikings. The defensive back should be the starter, at least for 2022, and maybe he turns out to be the long-term answer. The pass coverage skills of the former college cornerback are a perfect match to play next to box-safety Harrison Smith.