Lewis Cine Is Making Dazzling Plays Again
When the Vikings selected Lewis Cine with the last pick of the first round in the 2022 draft, they expected him to immediately help their defense, a unit that desperately needed some extra speed and aggressiveness, the two main attributes of Cine. But that didn’t happen in 2022 because of the NFL learning curve and a nasty injury. One year later, things could be different.
Lewis Cine Is Making Dazzling Plays Again
Cine’s first career season didn’t go as planned. He apparently wasn’t ready when he lost the camp competition to Camryn Bynum, who earned the starting job, and a minor injury prevented Cine from playing in Week 1. In Weeks 2 and 3, Cine only saw the field as a special teams player before he logged his first defensive play in London in Week 4 against the Saints, but that didn’t matter for long, as he exited the game with a gruesome leg injury. The fractured leg required surgery in London. He was placed on injured reserve and was out for the remainder of his debut season.
Fast forward to OTAs, Cine is back on the field and is full-go. He is no longer held back by his injury, and the team doesn’t need to limit his workload. All of that is extremely promising. On Wednesday, the Vikings posted a video of an interception of his on social media, and it excited some fans.
Practice highlights should never be overvalued. Great practice performers don’t always translate to the real NFL field. In addition, it was a poorly thrown pass by Nick Mullens, who has competition for the backup spot since the Vikings drafted Jaren Hall. The team also hosted XFL star Jordan Ta’amu for a workout.
Despite that, it is still good to see Cine running at full speed and making plays. The ability to be in the right position to make a play is important for a safety. Everything indicates that he is good to go in training camp and can hunt for the starting safety job.
The second-year player is in a similar position as last year. He is the more talented player than Bynum but needs to learn a new defense, get used to NFL speed, and unseat the incumbent starter to clinch the second safety spot next to Harrison Smith. Of course, there’s always the option to have Bynum starting and insert Cine later in the year, which was expected to happen last year.
There is a reason why the Vikings selected Cine. He won the national championship with Georgia and was one of the top defenders on the team. Cine brings elite athleticism to the table and could be a significant upgrade in the middle of the Vikings’ defense, where the unit had a big weak spot in 2022. The defender can be a part of a revamped defensive back group. There will be three new starting cornerbacks, and right in front of the safeties, there will be linebacker Brian Asamoah instead of the departed veteran Eric Kendricks.
Defensive coordinator Brian Flores helped Jevon Holland in Miami to have an outstanding rookie season in 2021, Cine will be his next project, and he fits the theme of Flores’ defense, a unit that is expected to feature aggressiveness and versatility.
Janik Eckardt is a football fan who likes numbers and stats. The Vikings became his favorite team despite their quarterback at the time, Christian Ponder. He is a walking soccer encyclopedia, loves watching sitcoms, and Classic rock is his music genre of choice. Follow him on Twitter if you like the Vikings: @JanikEckardt
You must be logged in to post a comment.