Have you ever replaced someone at a new job who people liked? I mean, really liked?
I’m talking about the office goofball, or the golden boy everyone looked up to. The type that causes people’s faces to light up when they’re name gets mentioned. The kind of person who leads your new coworkers to keep saying things like, Well, you have some BIG shoes to fill!
Well, if you’ve never found yourself in that situation, I’ll let you know now that it kinda sucks. It’s a lot easier replacing the guy everyone didn’t like, or the guy who came after the guy everyone loved. It’s daunting stepping into those big shoes and hoping they’ll fit.
Well, I’m sorry, Theo Jackson, but:
BIG shoes to fill!
During his time in Minnesota, Cam Bynum quietly developed from an underrated fourth-round pick into an essential cog in the defense and a fan favorite. He was a really nice player in coverage, had a knack for breaking on the football, and was always in the right spot. Bynum was also the director of the most well-choreographed tributes to Disney Channel Original Movies in NFL history.
Cam Bynum always has the @Vikings ready with full choreography 🕺
(via @Cambeezy_) pic.twitter.com/92Bvkzkkja
— NFL (@NFL) December 30, 2024
Was he an elite all-around safety? Probably not. However, he excelled in his role in the Flores defense.
Everybody loved that guy!
Despite that, with the heavy investment in the lines of scrimmage this free agency and a looming Josh Metellus extension, the Vikings opted to let Bynum walk. He’d go on to sign a four-year, $60 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts as one of the top-of-the-market options at safety. Good for Bynum. We’ll all be eagerly awaiting whatever turnover celebrations he’s got cooking for the fans in Indianapolis.
That left Minnesota with a perceived hole at safety this offseason. There was speculation about possible free-agent fits or that the position could be a real need for them in the draft. The Vikings were a trendy pick to select either Nick Emmanwori or Malaki Starks at safety in the pre-draft process. Many analysts have circled safety as one of Minnesota’s roster holes. I was fascinated to see what move they’d make to address that spot.
And then they just… didn’t? The coaching staff and front office looked at their safety room and opted to use their limited capital on other needs. Specifically, they looked at Theo Jackson and decided he was ready for the next step.
Barring any summer roster surprises, Jackson is the presumed starter in the “Cam Bynum” role in this defense. It may be tempting to understate what that role will really be in 2025, considering Harrison Smith and Metellus will return, but I think that would be a big mistake. Jackson will likely be one of the load-bearing pillars of this defense next year.
So, what was Bynum’s role? In the Big Nickel base defense that Flores operated most of the year out of, the Vikings often had three safeties on the field. Harrison Smith and Bynum were mainstays and essentially never left the field, which freed Metellus up to play closer to the line of scrimmage in his signature “safety/linebacker/nickel defender/whatever the hell else you need him to do” position.
Metellus operated best closer to the line of scrimmage, and Smith would float back and forth depending on the play. Therefore, Bynum was the quintessential deep coverage player of the three. Things get pretty wild on the back end for Flores. He sometimes had corners playing zones akin to what a safety would do and vice versa. Still, you could generally count on Bynum playing back as a last line of defense for this blitz-happy unit.
That’s a vital role. It’s often the difference between a blitz getting home and a breakaway touchdown. Bynum’s prowess allowed Flores the freedom and confidence to use Smith and Metellus closer to the line of scrimmage in unique and interesting ways. All the creative stuff with their safeties made the Vikings defense so unique. However, they can’t do any of that if they can’t be sure teams won’t burn them deep.
The rest of their roster moves don’t indicate they’ll have a diminished role for their third safety, either. Some teams operate with a different player as their fifth defensive back, such as a stud slot corner or a really athletic linebacker. However, the Vikings didn’t sign a bounty of cornerbacks this offseason. It’s arguably the biggest uncertainty still on the roster. Minnesota’s cornerback room will need to lean on the safeties to fill out the secondary again, because I’m not sure there are three corners I’d stake my livelihood on currently occupying roster spots. And in an NFL that’s shifting into a heavier personnel league, safeties are becoming the natural counter to that development.
The last point I’ll make is that we all love that Josh Metellus can play traditional safety or a Big Nickel pseudo-linebacker role. His versatility is what makes him so tantalizing. However, if your roster deficiencies force you to pigeonhole him into a single role, such as when they were short on bodies at linebacker last season and Metellus had to fill in there, the Vikings lose his versatility. What remains is a subpar player in a role he’s not perfectly suited for.
Metellus needs Theo Jackson to play well. If Jackson struggles and can’t live up to some facsimile of Bynum’s production on the backend, then they may have to slide Metellus back there more often. That makes him less versatile, which means he struggles more at that singular role, making the entire defense worse.
It’s an under-the-radar story to monitor headed into this season. If this defense fails to live up to expectations, I’d bet the secondary is the reason. The more glaring hole in the secondary is at corner, but Jackson coming up short would have a cascading effect down the roster. Jackson is a young player who’s flashed in his limited opportunities, and this coaching staff clearly thinks he’s ready for this. It’s not dissimilar to the jump Bynum himself made when the Vikings elevated him to full-time starter. Jackson has the potential to do the same and thrive in this role.
But, as they say, he’s got some big shoes to fill.