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Minnesota Vikings defensive back seen as breakout candidate for 2025 season

Minnesota Vikings defensive back seen as breakout candidate for 2025 season

USA Today5 hours ago

Minnesota Vikings defensive back seen as breakout candidate for 2025 season
The Minnesota Vikings defense is loaded with talent across the board, which allows Brian Flores to be so aggressive with his schemes and playcalling.
In 2024, the Vikings' defense reached a level it had not seen in decades when it became a game-wrecker unit. They were led by their aggressive edge rushers and their dynamic duo at safety, but they went beyond that. One of the players deep in their bullpen is Theo Jackson, and PFF is predicting him to have a big 2024 season.
That is why they named him to their 2025 All-Breakout Team.
Bradley Locker wrote up the selections of the team. When it comes to Jackson, he writes, ". . .safety is a position worth keeping an eye on this season. Jackson is poised to help ease those concerns. On only 79 defensive snaps last season, Jackson shined with a 79.2 overall PFF grade and a stringent 77.1 PFF coverage grade. In his three years with the Vikings, the former sixth-round pick has only played 222 total defensive snaps but has finished above a 69.0 PFF coverage grade in every season."
Jackson will have a chance to play more than the 79 snaps mentioned above in part due to the departure of Camryn Bynum in free agency.
While Josh Metellus and Harrison Smith will be the two leading the starting group, Jackson will be utilized as Flores's Swiss army knife of the defense.

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