NFL Spin Zone
Fansided

Minnesota Vikings Robert Blanton appears to have won starting job

By Kevin Parvizi

facebooktwitterreddit

The Minnesota Vikings free safety position is locked up, as third-year pro Harrison Smith is the star of the team’s defensive backfield and is one of the league’s better all-round safeties. He missed plenty of time last season with a turf toe, but he’ll be back as the lynchpin of a secondary that will, hopefully, be a much-improved unit under first-year head coach Mike Zimmer. While the FS position was an easy one to pencil in, the strong safety position was the subject of an all-out position battle.

Live Feed

Vikings Cuts Tracker: Who did not make the final 53-man roster for 2023?
Vikings Cuts Tracker: Who did not make the final 53-man roster for 2023? /

The Viking Age

  • Vikings Rumors: Trey Lance aversion, trade target, Jalen Reagor’s fateFanSided
  • 10 best backup quarterbacks in Minnesota Vikings historyThe Viking Age
  • Should the Vikings pursue Colts RB Jonathan Taylor?The Viking Age
  • Final Vikings 53-man roster prediction before the 2023 regular seasonThe Viking Age
  • 5 Vikings who deserve to be cut before the 2023 seasonThe Viking Age

    • Per the St. Paul Pioneer Press’s Chris Tomasson, it “looks like” Robert Blanton has won the Vikings SS job, and this isn’t a surprise considering he was the projected starter. Both he and Jamarca Sanford dealt with injuries this offseason, but Blanton prevailed after missing a few preseason games with a hamstring injury.

    Blanton is just 24, and he and Smith are familiar Notre Dame products with good tackling ability. In order to lock up the gig, Blanton had to beat out Sanford, Andrew Sendejo, Chris Crocker, and Kurt Coleman (rookie Antone Exum is very underrated, but he didn’t have a realistic chance at starting this year). Last season, he recorded 62 tackles but no passes defended, so we’ll see if the top run-support SS can avoid being a liability in coverage.

    Home/Minnesota Vikings