Undrafted S Anthony Harris impresses Mike Zimmer in first NFL action

By foxsports
Published

With several injuries at the safety position, the Minnesota Vikings had to call up undrafted rookie Anthony Harris from the practice squad for the team's Week 14 matchup with the Arizona Cardinals. It was Harris' first appearance in a regular-season NFL game, and he was forced into the starting lineup.

Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer was impressed with Harris after just one showing.

Via Eric Oslund of Viking Update:

Zimmer trusted Harris in the starting lineup because of the young safety's intelligence, per Viking Update:

I think he did good for the most part. First time out, the game didn’t seem too big for him. He made some plays; it was a nice break on the one ball down the middle. He made some good tackles in the ballgame. He had some mistakes like everybody does, but I think he showed some good things.

Harris finished in a three-way tie with linebackers Chad Greenway and Eric Kendricks for the team lead in tackles last Thursday (eight). His highlight of the game came on a well-defended deep pass from Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer to wide receiver John Brown. On the next play, however, he was bowled over by a blocker while Arizona's Michael Floyd sprinted down the sideline for a 42-yard score.

The good thing for him is he’s a very smart kid. He understands concepts and understands things. He’s been sitting in meetings, so it’s not like we got him off of the street; he’s been in meetings. He wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but he did some natural things out there. Considering he didn’t get a lot of time in the preseason because of an injury as well, it was good to see.

It wasn't a flawless debut for the undrafted rookie, but the Vikings now know they have a capable reserve at the safety position in Harris.