Josh Metellus emerging as jack of all trades for Vikings on defense

The young safety getting reps with the starters during organized team activities might come as a surprise to some.

It's 2020 sixth-round draft pick Josh Metellus, not 2022 first-round pick Lewis Cine.

Though a lot can change for the Vikings in training camp next month, as of right now, it appears Metellus is ahead of Cine in the pecking order behind starting safeties Harrison Smith and Cam Bynum.

Maybe even more telling is how new defensive coordinator Brian Flores has been using Metellus over the past month.

On any given play in practice, Kirk Cousins might take a snap and have to worry about Metellus lining up in centerfield as a safety, in the slot as a cornerback, or in the box as a linebacker. He quickly is becoming a jack of all trades for the Vikings defense.

"I think a lot of it is Coach Flo's trust in me to learn multiple spots," Metellus said. "That's really what it comes down to."

That trust is something Metellus has been working to earn since he got drafted out of Michigan in the early days of the pandemic. He has spent the past couple of seasons playing almost exclusively on specials teams. He noted how much the selflessness associated with specials teams has helped him assimilate to getting more reps on defense.

"I think there's a lot of carryover," Metellus said. "Just doing things for the team. I’m learning all these positions on defense for the team, not for me."

Aside from making himself indispensable on defense, Metellus is also trying to challenge the offense every time he's out there.

"I want to help the team win," he said. "I want to be able to throw something in Kirk's head where he's like, ‘What is No. 44 doing? Is he at safety? Is he at linebacker? Is he at nickel?’ I want to be able to make the offense have to think about it."

No doubt the hardest part for Metellus so far this spring has been learning the intricacies of playing in the box. As a safety by trade, and someone who is capable of playing cornerback in a pinch, Metellus doesn't have much experience playing linebacker.

"That's what practice is for," he said with a smile. "Then by the time Sept. 10 rolls around, I’ll be flying."

No matter how much playing time he garners on defense moving forward, Metellus made it very clear he still plans on playing special teams as much as he can.

"I don't know what they’ve got planned for that," he said. "All I know is special teams is something I take very seriously. If we need somebody out there, I’m the first one to raise my hand. That's something I’m always going to have in the back of my head."

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