Josh Metellus Emerges as Versatile Chess Piece in Vikings' Secondary

Josh Metellus is the Vikings' top returning special teams player and a locker room leader who was almost unanimously voted by his teammates to be added as a ninth team captain when Brian O'Neill got injured late last season. In 2023, he might also play a legitimately important role on Brian Flores' defense.

Metellus, a sixth-round pick out of Michigan in 2020, was a star safety in college who had to adjust his approach to stick around in the NFL. He played just 70 defensive snaps in his first two seasons but instantly became an invaluable special teams contributor, leading the Vikings in snaps in that phase as a rookie before finishing third in 2021.

Last season, under new coordinator Matt Daniels, Metellus played a whopping 399 special teams snaps between the regular season and playoffs, appearing on every coverage, return, and block unit. That total was second on the roster to Kris Boyd, who hit free agency and signed with the Cardinals this offseason. Metellus also got more opportunities on defense, earning an 85.1 PFF grade with five passes defended and his first NFL interception across three starts and 261 snaps. 

Metellus sealed a Week 3 win with his first INT, snuffed out a Dolphins fake punt in October, and blocked a punt in consecutive games towards the end of the season. He isn't a household name, but his versatility makes him an important player as he heads into the final year of his rookie contract.

In 2023, the Vikings' safety room isn't short on potential starters. Harrison Smith, the team's longest-tenured player, is locked into one spot. The logical top candidates for the other spot are Cam Bynum — the only Viking to play every single defensive snap last season — and 2022 first-round pick Lewis Cine, who is fully recovered from his major knee injury.

But the Vikings also want to find ways to get Metellus onto the field defensively, which may require being creative. During OTAs this spring, the fourth-year safety lined up all over the place. He split first-team reps with Bynum and also appeared in various looks with three safeties on the field at once. Metellus, who has played some nickel in the past, said he's comfortable doing whatever his coaches ask of him.

"I've played nickel and safety, I've moved around, I played dime (six defensive backs) last year a little bit, so it was already on tape that I can play those spots," Metellus said. "Just to trust in my ability to learn all of the system fast, get out there and help the team, that's really what it comes down to."

Flores and the Vikings are having players learn multiple positions in this new defense, which Metellus said he was planning on doing anyways.

"That's the good part about the game, there's always something to learn," Metellus said. "Even at safety, I still haven't figured that out (completely) yet. I'm learning things every day. The more I get to play in different spots, the more I'm just learning defense, how to play defense, and learning different tidbits to help us play faster, help us be more aggressive."

Putting the best 11 players on the field matters more than Bynum's 2022 playing time and Cine's draft pedigree. Metellus, while remaining a crucial special teams player, will have every opportunity to earn his way onto the field alongside — or instead of — those players in the Vikings' secondary.