Transitioning to a 3-4 defense?

Some have criticized the Cine pick because of the apparent depth at the position. If you like Bynum and don’t expect Smith to retire anytime soon, isn’t Cine a luxury rather than a need? Did Adofo-Mensah draft a backup safety in the first round?

Instead, let’s assess the situation using a modern perspective. Don’t think about this trio of safeties like you’re playing Madden and only have two starting safety spots to fill. Instead, imagine what their versatility could mean for Ed Donatell’s scheme.

Donatell’s defense asks a lot of their safeties and counts on them to be interchangeable at any given time. One player needs to look like he’s blitzing and back off, while another simultaneously does the opposite. This confuses starting quarterbacks and keeps offenses guessing.

Now imagine this scenario. Cine, Bynum, AND Smith are all on the field simultaneously.

You’ve got to diagnose which players will be in coverage, run support, or blitzing. All of a sudden, that’s not so easy. Bynum and Cine can interchangeably move about the defensive backfield and have the athleticism to cover the deep middle of the field. Cine and Smith are elite tacklers in space and can come up towards the line of scrimmage. Bynum and Smith can cover the slot receiver in man coverage. These overlapping capabilities are no longer superfluous but a tremendous asset.

Imagine studying these three guys on tape and trying to diagnose what they’re going to do on a given play.

Now, I’m not expecting the Vikings’ base defense to feature three-safety looks. But the point is that a creative defensive coordinator like Donatell must be salivating at the possibilities here. Not only is there depth in the case of an injury, but he has the pieces to be playing chess while others are playing checkers.

These ideas may take time to come to fruition, as all three will be adjusting to a new defensive scheme. They’ll need to learn to walk before they can run, especially in Bynum and Cine’s case.

But once this defense gets comfortable enough that Donatell can open up the playbook, then he can really unleash every player’s potential. And this trio of safeties might be the “secret sauce” that takes things to a new level.