When Minnesota strong safety Mistral Raymond grabbed an interception in practice this week, it brought back fond memories of his first professional one in 2011, which broke the Vikings’ NFL record streak of nine games without picking off a pass.
But for the second-year safety, who has risen to the top of the depth chart, it’s something he plans to do more of this season.
“[The quarterback] pretty much threw it right to me -- let’s be honest,” Raymond said. “It’s good to come out and get one -- but those are the kinds of things we need on defense, to create turnovers. That’s something that we are focusing on.”
Due to numerous injuries in the secondary last season, Raymond, a former cornerback turned safety, was forced into late-season starting duty. He made some mistakes and made some plays -- enough to get first-team reps in training camp. But coach Leslie Frazier said early on that the safety positions are wide open, and Raymond is working hard to grab the starting strong safety spot.
“It’s been exciting,” Raymond said of the position battle. “We’ve got a bunch of guys who are hungry and ready to play football. We’ve been getting familiar with each other because we know we have to work together. And it’s been good every day to come out here and make progress.”
Though Raymond is listed atop the strong safety depth chart, defensive coordinator Alan Williams said the battle is ongoing.
“He’s an athletic safety who still has cover skills that have not diminished since we put him at safety from the time that he was playing corner,” Williams said. “He is still learning on the go, though, as he's a young safety. We’re looking to put him in as many situations as we can so that when it comes to play on Sundays, it’s not the first time that he has done it or seen it. He still has a ways to go, but we like his potential.”
Raymond said his goal is for continuous improvement and he's focused more on the next practice than the first preseason game on Friday.
“I would hope [we would push each other], but it shouldn’t have to take that for somebody else to get you started or motivate you to be the best player you can be to try to help this team win,” Raymond said. “I am not the kind of guy to sit around and wait for someone to push me. I know what I have to do, and I know that people are counting on me. I have to step up every day and work hard, and that’s what I am trying to do.”
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