EAGAN — For first-round draft picks, the road to the NFL is a hectic one.
Minnesota Vikings top selection Lewis Cine played in the national championship game and then went directly went into NFL Combine preparation, then participated in the Combine, then worked out at Georgia’s pro day, then visited NFL teams who might draft him, then got picked by the Vikings and flew to Minnesota to be introduced, then on Friday got on the field in a No. 6 jersey for rookie minicamp.
On top of all that and learning his first NFL playbook, Cine is being asked to take on one extra task early in the Vikings’ offseason program: Lead.
“I told him today, ‘Hey, lead this group out here,'” head coach Kevin O’Connell said of his message to Cine. “There’s a reason why you were our first-round draft pick and he’s got that makeup and it comes naturally to him to lead by example. But I challenged him, take the rest of that DB group under your wing. You have Andrew [Booth Jr.] with you, you have Akayleb [Evans] and some guys there that we are going to count on to compete.”
The Vikings had a smaller group of rookies and tryout players than we have seen in the past and focused exclusively on drills and 7-on-7 passing. It gave Cine a chance to start familiarizing himself with the calls and checks required for the secondary.
“How I saw it was the ownership of the information, the calls back there,” O’Connell said. “Those safeties drive the ship in a lot of ways for where we’re rotating down, whether we’re playing shell coverage or single-high coverage, a lot of it from the same look, so any rep he can get out there with teammates and communicating, that’s a huge thing for him.”
Coming from college football’s best defense, Cine said he feels familiar with some of the basics of Ed Donatell’s scheme and must adapt the different terminology. Of course, he admitted that there is some learning curve required.
“I’d be lying if I told you I was on point with every check,” Cine said.
The Vikings’ young safety has a strategy for taking on the leading role that his coach tasked him with: Focus on the value of interpersonal relationships. He made it a goal to meet everybody he could inside TCO Performance Center, not just teammates and coaches.
“I think for one in terms of leadership you got to know everyone,” Cine said. “You got to know who you’re working with and you got to be respectful and courtesy to everybody so I’m starting to get to know everyone’s name from people serving food, people I just see walking in the hallways. I’m introducing myself and getting their names because it might look small but that goes a long way…that’s small thing that makes a big impact.”
Naturally, O’Connell is looking for much more than Cine getting to know his new co-workers. He’s looking for the intensity that he brought to college football’s best defense. The Vikings’ head coach noted that people shouldn’t conflate Cine’s personable nature with his attitude during practice.
“I think he’s got a calm demeanor to him… But then even though he’s just in a helmet and isn’t in shoulder pads and it’s not full contact, you watch him step over the white lines and the Lewis Cine from tape comes out,” O’Connell said.
The Vikings set up rookie minicamp to transition right into OTAs, which will include the entire roster and Cine’s accomplished new coworker Harrison Smith. Still, Cine plans to find his own way of leading despite his rookie status.
“I’m a natural leader, I know I don’t have to do much, just be myself,” Cine said.
