Vikings' draft plan might be safety in numbers

At one safety spot, the Vikings have one of the NFL's best in Harrison Smith, a versatile playmaker who soon could be among the league's highest paid, too.

That other spot, though, has been a source of frustration for coach Mike Zimmer since he arrived in Minnesota two years ago. So it was no surprise at the NFL scouting combine in February when Zimmer blurted out to a pack of reporters that he felt the Vikings could do much better at strong safety.

"If Harrison Smith was paired with a guy that had some other qualities, we could allow Harrison to be more of an impactful player," he said. "I think Harrison can be more impactful if he had the right kind of guy next to him."

Asked if that right kind of guy is on the roster, he replied, "I don't know."

A couple of weeks later, the Vikings passed on free agents Reggie Nelson and George Iloka, whom Zimmer coached during his days with the Cincinnati Bengals, and added 31-year-old safety Michael Griffin, a first-round draft pick of the Tennessee Titans in 2007, on a one-year deal worth $2.5 million.

The plan is for Griffin to duke it out with Andrew Sen- dejo to start alongside Smith in 2016. The Vikings brought back Sendejo, last year's starting strong safety, with a four-year, $16 million contract. Youngsters Antone Exum and Anthony Harris, who also got starts last season, could get in the mix, too.

But the Vikings might not be done adding competition at the position.

During this year's NFL draft, which starts with the first round Thursday night, the Vikings figure to select another safety, perhaps even in an early round. This year's safety class is considered by most draft analysts to be solid.

"There's a couple safeties [that we like]," General Manager Rick Spielman said Tuesday. "From a philosophy standpoint, we are looking for safeties that are interchangeable. They have to be able to do both. … Can they be just as effective close to the line of scrimmage as they can be on the back end?"

Smith certainly has been. After getting snubbed in 2014, the 27-year-old made his first Pro Bowl last season, albeit as an injury replacement, after Zimmer used him all over the field — sometimes blitzing, sometimes covering tight ends man-to-man, sometimes dropping back into a deep center fielder role.

"He's one of the top three, four safeties right now," Griffin said in March. "I look at myself coming in and competing and trying to help this team win ballgames. Whatever the coaches ask me to do, I'm going to do it."

Griffin, meanwhile, usually was a deep safety for much of his Titans career. But Spielman said the Vikings believe Griffin, who was moved around by first-year Titans defensive coordinator Dick Lebeau last season, can be interchangeable with Smith.

"That's why we signed him," he said at his annual pre-draft news conference.

Griffin played nine seasons in Tennessee, starting 133 of his 141 career games. He has made 763 career tackles while recording 25 interceptions and 11 forced fumbles. He picked off three passes for the Titans last season.

He was a second-team All-Pro in 2010 and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2008 and 2010. But the Titans cut him in February after his play dipped.

Smith, who was born and raised in the Nashville area, appreciates Griffin's game.

"He's a guy I've watched ever since he was at Texas. And then when he came to Tennessee, I obviously got to see him a lot," said Smith, who is from Knoxville, Tenn. "So I'm excited just to be around him. He's obviously a guy that knows the game well and has had a great career. … Obviously he's a playmaker and can help us a lot."

But given that Griffin profiles as more of a deep safety and that Zimmer felt that Sendejo, an in-the-box type, was not the "right" kind of strong safety, it is fair to wonder if Spielman was putting up a smoke screen Tuesday and instead the Vikings are looking for a rangy prospect so Smith can wreak havoc in the box.

Either way, the Vikings have had a bunch of safety prospects to sort through.

"This year's safety group is slightly above average and better than most believe," CBS Sports draft analyst Dane Brugler said. "[Florida's] Keanu Neal, [Ohio State's] Vonn Bell and [West Virginia's] Karl Joseph will be top-50-type prospects and early NFL starters. And there is intriguing depth in the middle rounds."

Brugler pinpointed Joseph, Neal and Boston College's Justin Simmons as potential center fielder types for the Vikings to consider in the early rounds of the draft. He also feels a pair of Day 3 prospects, Middle Tennessee State's Kevin Byard and Central Michigan's Kavon Frazier, fit that profile.

Another name to remember is T.J. Green. The Clemson safety was among the 30 draft prospects the Vikings invited to Winter Park for an official visit.

And if the Vikings really do want another versatile safety, one who can cover and get dirty against the run, Brugler said they can find that this year, too.

"Neal loves to play physical downhill, but also has the athleticism to cover both sidelines so he would make sense," he said. "Southern Utah's Miles Killebrew could be that type of player in the third or fourth round also."

Perhaps one of those safety prospects will be the "right" long-term running mate for Smith that Zimmer has been coveting the past two-plus years.