Vikings CB Harrison Hand named Minnesota’s surprise minicamp player
In a small sample size of snaps this past season, Harrison Hand impressed. The Vikings rookie had an interception and three passes defended. He earned a PFF grade of 65.8 for his 146 snaps, which is decent.
The Vikings have now gone through OTAs and mandatory minicamp, and Hand has impressed in a small sample size yet again. In fact, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin tabbed Hand as Minnesota’s minicamp surprise. Cronin wrote:
“With Jeff Gladney absent amid legal issues and Cameron Dantzler sidelined with an apparent injury, Hand, a former fifth-round pick, got a lot of reps with the first-team defense in OTAs and minicamp. He came away with a couple of interceptions. The Vikings moved Hand around as an outside corner and even lined him up in the slot, which should help his chances for making the roster this fall. The secondary looks a lot different this year. While Dantzler (if healthy), Patrick Peterson and Bashaud Breeland will be the front-runners to earn starting jobs, Hand’s strong spring showing could put him in line to duke it out with Kris Boyd for one of the final spots on the depth chart.”
As Cronin pointed out, Hand actually has a chance at a starting job. He’s more of a dark horse, even with Gladney’s legal situation and Dantzler’s injury, but it’s not out of the question.
