SKOL Search: Who is Lewis Cine?

With the 32nd selection in the 2022 NFL draft, the Minnesota Vikings selected Lewis Cine, a 6-foot-2, 199-pound junior safety from the University of Georgia. He was a two-year starter that was the MVP of the national championship game.

The selection signals a shift in drafting philosophy. I spoke about it on The Real Forno Show on Monday that Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah prioritized two things across the board:

-Explosive 10-yard splits
-Played at a power-five school

Cine has both of those and a little bit more than that. Who is Cine the player? I’ll say this much: The Vikings got themselves a good one.

Background

A four-star prospect out of Texas, Cine was the 11th-ranked prospect in the state and the 66th-ranked prospect nationally. He started the final two games of his true freshman season and never relinquished it. Over the course of his time at Georgia, he was played everywhere but mostly at free safety. In 2021, he spent 534 snaps playing free safety with 155 in the box and 118 in the slot, per Pro Football Focus.

His grades this past season, per PFF, were both excellent and consistent. He came in with an overall grade of 81.6, a coverage grade of 81.4 and an even more impressive tackling grade of 84.9. He also saw an improvement with his ball production, accumulating an interception and seven pass break-ups this past year, while snagging only one interception and two pass break-ups over his first two years combined.

Cine understands football

The first thing that jumps out when you watch Cine is his play recognition.

He has a real knack for understanding what’s happening in front of him. His reaction time is quicker than a hiccup. He’s not only great when set but also in coverage.

He uses great vision to see what’s happening in front of him. Once Jefferson fakes the handoff in the above video, Cine immediately finds work to do on the second level in following the crosser.

Explosion is his game

The Vikings prioritized elite athletes in the draft, along with playing at a power-five school. Cine epitomized that and being one of the youngest players in the draft.

His 99.8th percentile 10-yard split for the safety position is littered all over his tape. There are things that he does that are completely abnormal for the position.

There are numerous examples of this all over his tape. He recognizes it early and the burst pops. He can roam sideline to sideline and play a deep middle or half.

The other element of his explosiveness is fitting in the running game. He sees the play and explodes with a perfect form tackle. So he thrives playing downhill and is a great asset in the running game.

Coverage skills

While Cine isn’t an elite cover guy, he knows how to play the position.

As I spoke about earlier, his ability to see what’s going on in front of him makes him special. As the free safety, he sees the deep crosser/corner route combo. He redirects the defender on the corner to double the crosser as he takes the corner route, essentailly creating a double team on both players and making a throw down the field nearly impossible.

While it isn’t his strongest point, Cine has good enough fluidity in his hips to overcome his high backpedal and play a true center field role. He gets himself in good position here to make a play on the ball, but luckily doesn’t have to, as its way off target.

Playing out of control

To go along with his high backpedal, Cine has an issue of playing a little bit out of control. What exactly does that mean? The clip below epitomizes it.

He hasn’t completely figured out how to hone in his athleticism and aggressiveness quite yet. He gets a little too “excited” and shoots without a steady hand. Once he learns how to better control his explosiveness, the sky is the limit.

Projection

Cine has the perfect mentor in Harrison Smith on the back end. He has the ability to do a little bit of everything in the same way Smith can. The biggest difference is that Cine is more explosive.

The intelligence and understanding that he has will be amplified by the presence of Smith, who is one of the smartest secondary players in the NFL.

His comp jumped out to me when watching his film, and this clip epitomizes it.

Cine is a smarter, more athletic Andrew Sendejo. He loves being a thumper in the running game and over the middle of the field. If he can clean some things up, he has the potential to be a top safety in the NFL. The baseline early on is that he will be a capable player doing a myriad of things for Vikings defensive coordinator Ed Donatell.

Grade: A-

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