With Vikings, special teams bar is raised to superstar status

Young Danielle Hunter's prowess as a pass rusher was beginning to overflow last season when Vikings coach Mike Zimmer sat down with special teams coordinator Mike Priefer for a conversation Priefer has heard many times before.

"He was like, 'Prief, we don't want him covering kickoffs anymore because he's really, really good [at defensive end],' " Priefer said. "So you lose a very, very good special teams player. But that doesn't slow us down. Never has. It's been 'next guy up' around here for a long time on special teams."

There also was a time when Everson Griffen was one of Priefer's standout special teams players. Ditto for Harrison Smith. And Adam Thielen, among other big names.

But then they became core starters with contracts to match. And, frankly, in the brutal reality of the NFL their health became too valuable to risk on special teams.

So Priefer is asked time after time to turn toward the bottom of the 53-man roster, where the residents are younger, cheaper and, hopefully, eager for some of the more violent collisions in football.

"That's what I love, though," Priefer said. "I fell in love with coaching special teams because you get to coach all the positions, especially the young and hungry guys."

This is Priefer's seventh season with the Vikings and 16th season of coaching NFL special teams. One more season and he'll match his father and coaching hero, Chuck, who coached NFL special teams for 17 seasons before retiring after the 2006 season.

Since Mike joined the NFL, his units have scored 26 times, including a league-high 14 since the Vikings hired him in 2011.

"The bar is high because guys take special teams seriously around here," said Marcus Sherels, who has rewritten the team's punt return records since 2011. "That's a testament to Coach Priefer. He pays attention to detail, he's honest, he's got good schemes and we play hard for him."

Sherels owns the franchise's top two single-season punt-return averages (15.2 yards in 2013, 13.9 last season), the career mark of 10.6 and the records for most punt returns for touchdowns (five) and 50 or more yards (seven).

Meanwhile, Cordarrelle Patterson became the first player ever to lead the NFL in kickoff return average three times. But then he departed via free agency after last season, leaving Priefer with the familiar task of starting over again.

Jerick McKinnon more than likely won that job with his 108-yard return for a touchdown against the 49ers in the third preseason game. The running back would join punter Ryan Quigley and kicker Kai Forbath as the victors in the three most hotly contested special teams battles this summer.

Other rookies and young veterans will be stepping into some of the more unsung special teams roles while the veterans watch closely.

"We have older guys in the locker room who have played special teams and now preach their importance to the younger guys," Priefer said. "Andrew Sendejo was a great special teams player. He still leads our players-only special teams meeting every week. ... It's a great culture."

Priefer credited General Manager Rick Spielman for bringing in guys who "love the game of football."

"And I always tell them if they don't love the game of football, they won't like playing special teams," Priefer said. "It's not easy. It's what the Navy SEALs call violence of action. The violence of your action is going to cause you to do damage to the opponent, but it's also going to cause you a little bit of pain and suffering, too. To me, this is a special group."

Anthony Harris has gone from undrafted rookie long shot in 2015 to the Vikings' most versatile, most unsung special teams player heading into the 2017 season.

"Man, he's awesome," said special teams coordinator Mike Priefer. "Anywhere I need a guy I can trust is going to get the job done, I put Anthony there."

The 6-1, 192-pound safety from Virginia isn't, as Priefer puts it, "the fastest guy in the world or the biggest guy in the world."

But …

"Guys who might be faster than Anthony will be a step slower because they don't have the instinct to play special teams like Anthony does," Priefer added.

Harris sets the protection as the fullback on the punt team. He's also on punt return, kickoff and kick return.

"He's probably the most versatile guy I have," Priefer said. "For example, on kick return, he starts on the front line wherever I need him. I look at the opponent's best matchup and put Anthony on that guy." Harris said he's always loved special teams.

"I came in my freshman year of college wanting to play special teams," said Harris, who had 11 interceptions while starting 35 games in college. "To be a good special teams player, it's taking coaching and having the will to want to do it."

There isn't a smaller guy on the Vikings' roster than Marcus Sherels. Nor is there anyone who has made a bigger impact on special teams going all the way back to 2011.

So what makes this 5-10, 175-pound ex-Gopher a record-setting punt returner, comforting backup kick returner and elite cover guy as the gunner on punts and outside safety spot on kickoffs?

"He does exactly what you want him to do 99 percent of the time," special teams coordinator Mike Priefer said. "And I mean exactly how he's coached to do it. And then he uses his God-given ability and talent level.

He's a film junkie, works very hard to take care of his body and plays fast all the time. Even in practice."

Only two current Vikings, Brian Robison and Everson Griffen, were on the roster when Sherels landed on the practice squad after surviving a rookie minicamp tryout in 2010. Today, Sherels owns the franchise's top two single-season punt return averages (15.2, 13.9), the career mark of 10.6, and the records for most career punt return touchdowns (five) and punt returns of 50 yards or more (seven).

"It's just doing your fundamentals, taking coaching and improving every day," Sherels said. "That's pretty much it."

Mark Craig

Kicker/Punter: 2.
Need to see more from punter Ryan Quigley and kicker Kai Forbath under pressure situations. Both won open competitions in training camp but must show consistency to keep their jobs.

Kick returner/Punt returner: 4.
Marcus Sherels is Mr. Reliable as one of the NFL's top punt returners. Jerick McKinnon won the kickoff returner job with a 108-yard touchdown against San Francisco in the third preseason game.

Chip Scoggins

Super Bowl bound?

All four phases — kicking, punting, coverage and return — play extraordinary complementary football to counter weaknesses on offense with advantageous field position that allows the defense to consistently control the game.

Mark Craig