Harrison Smith's Extension Signals Long-Term Viability for the Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings continued to trend in the right direction by signing safety Harrison Smith to a contract extension Monday, per the team's official site. 

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, the deal is for five years with a total worth of $51.25 million. While those numbers currently make him the highest-paid safety in the NFL, the signing bonus is only $10 million with $15.27 million guaranteed. 

The 27-year-old defensive back is now signed through 2021, and this agreement points toward the bigger picture and speaks to the overall health of the Vikings organization. 

Building a competent and competitive NFL roster isn't as hard as it's often made out: Draft well, develop talent and sign young stars to long-term contracts. Obviously, there is plenty that goes into each one of those steps, but the concept is rather simple. 

For the Vikings, general manager Rick Spielman and head coach Mike Zimmer continue to build a strong roster that should be able to contend for NFC North crowns and/or playoff appearances for multiple seasons based on the strength and relative youth of the team's roster. 

Smith's extension is a massive step in the right direction. The Notre Dame product is now the fifth member of the 2012 NFL draft class to re-sign. 

After a disastrous 2011 draft that featured the selection of quarterback Christian Ponder in the first round, team chairman Zygi Wilf decided to move away from a collaborative management style and named Spielman the team's general manager. As a result, Spielman gained final say over the roster. 

Wilf re-evaluated the team's method at the time and decided to undergo a more proven approach, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com): 

"

It's a long-term solution for the franchise. We've been successful in the past, but we felt like for the long-term progress and success of the ballclub the model that exists pretty much throughout the league for those successful teams is a model we would follow. ... Speaking to other owners and learning from other teams and seeing how their systems have worked, we came to the conclusion that this is the way this has to work.

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A long-term vision blossomed into organizational success. 

In the two years prior to the change, the Vikings finished 9-23 overall. In the last four years, Minnesota won 33 games with two playoff appearances. The team also progressively improved since going 5-10-1 during the 2013 campaign. This poor record eventually led to the dismissal of former head coach Leslie Frazier and the hiring of Zimmer. 

But the heart of the team's improvement lies within its talent acquisition. 

After Spielman took over as general manager, he meticulously built a solid foundation of talent that should spur the Vikings to success for an elongated period. 

Some will immediately argue his first draft choice, left tackle Matt Kalil, hasn't lived up to expectations. The team could get the best of him this fall, though, because he's finally healthy. 

Kalil told ESPN.com's Ben Goessling:

"

This is the earliest I've worked out in a long time. As soon as February came around, I took a few weeks off after the season, and I was ready to go. That's obviously exciting—not having any scope or anything inside my knee. I'm getting stronger now every day, rather than going into camp and playing catch-up all the time.

"

Even if Kalil doesn't pan out and Minnesota eventually lets him walk in free agency after the upcoming season, the 2012 draft class can't be considered bust. Spielman also swung a deal to acquire another first-round selection that resulted in Smith becoming a Viking. 

The safety's production since becoming a professional remains unmatched, as the NFL's Director of NFC Football Communications Randall Liu noted: 

Smith's level of play has been recognized each of the last two years as a two-time First-Team All-Pro selection. 

The Seattle Seahawks' Earl Thomas is generally considered the prototype for the modern-day safety because of his ability to play sideline-to-sideline. Thomas' teammate Kam Chancellor has the tools other organizations look for in a strong safety. 

Yet neither of these highly regarded defensive backs are the triple threat Smith is. 

Last season, the Vikings safety became the only defender at his position to finish in the top 10 in Pro Football Focus' rankings for pass coverage, run defense and pass-rushing productivity. In fact, Smith graded as the NFL's second-best overall safety and only finished behind the Philadelphia Eagles' Malcolm Jenkins. 

While today's game is far more slanted toward passing offenses, a player of Smith's caliber and overall versatility obviously holds a very high value, as ESPN.com's Matt Bowen mentioned: 

Whether it's playing the deep third, in the box or covering tight ends, Smith can do it all. He serves as the catalyst within Zimmer's defense, and his consistent presence along the back line will help the Vikings take the next step as an organization. 

"Coming into the league, getting an opportunity, getting drafted by Rick and being able to stay around here and be a part of what we’re building here, what Coach Zim is building, it’s huge in every type of way I can think off, to be able to stay in this building and chase that championship," Smith said after signing the extension, per the team's official site. 

With Smith secured, the franchise can continue to build in other areas and have done exceptionally well in recent years. 

A young core is being built, and the group continues to grow together. Smith might be at the forefront of the conversation right now, but the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Matt Vensel pointed out the team's locker room is filled with similar personalities: 

During the 2013 draft, Spielman managed to obtain three first-round picks. While wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson looked like a potential star early in his career—particularly on special teams—the team's other two picks, Sharrif Floyd and Xavier Rhodes, emerged as key contributors to the defense. 

Rhodes, a lanky cornerback, led the defense in total snaps last year, while Floyd finished first among the team's defensive tackles. 

In the fifth round, the team also selected punter Jeff Locke, who held a spot on special teams for the last three seasons. 

The 2014 draft resulted in a real breakthrough with the first-round additions of linebacker Anthony Barr and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. Plus, the team added two projects in Jerick McKinnon and Antone Exum in the mid-rounds. McKinnon is versatile change-up to Adrian Peterson, while Exum started two games opposite Smith last season. 

But Barr and Bridgewater are pieces the franchise will build around for a long time. Barr graded the highest among all 4-3 outside linebackers last season, according to Pro Football Focus.

Bridgewater, meanwhile, quietly showed signs of becoming a legit franchise quarterback. The second-year signal-caller might not put up flashy numbers, but his accuracy, precision and, most importantly, toughness allows him to excel in Norv Turner's offense. As long as he continues this upward trend into his third season, the Vikings will become one of the league's toughest teams to defeat. 

Team	Passer	Runner	Receiver	Tackles	Sacks	Average Age
Cardinals	Palmer	Johnson	Fitzgerald	Bucannon	Freeney	31.4
Packers	Rodgers	Lacy	Jones	Clinton-Dix	Peppers	29.8
Panthers	Newton	Stewart	Olsen	Kuechly	Short	27.8
Redskins	Cousins	Morris	Reed	Goldson	Kerrigan	27.4
Seahawks	Wilson	Rawls	Baldwin	Wright	Bennett	26.4
Vikings	Bridgewater	Peterson	Diggs	Kendricks	Griffen	25.6

Last year, the team added multiple quality pieces in linebacker Eric Kendricks, defensive end Danielle Hunter, offensive tackle T.J. Clemmings and wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Kendricks led the team in tackles. Diggs led the team with 52 receptions for 720 yards. Clemmings started every game at every game at right tackle for the injured Phil Loadholt. And Hunter finished second on the team with six sacks. 

Each and every team would be ecstatic about so much production from its rookie class. While the incoming class might not be able to duplicate that success, Spielman's recent history shows a couple key contributors will be added from this year's draft, too. 

Overall, most still associate the Vikings with Peterson. After all, he's one of the greatest running backs in league history, but the Vikings are so much more now than being completely reliant on a singular transcendent talent. The average age of those players previously mentioned is 23.4 years old. 

Minnesota is a young team just coming into its own after being a missed kick away from reaching the divisional round of the playoffs. 

After capturing last year's NFC North crown, the Vikings are ahead of schedule. The team's young nucleus should be ready to take the next step, which would result in a deep playoff run. 

All of this became attainable once an owner reassessed his approach, hired the right general manager—who put together multiple solid drafts—and hired a competent coach. 

Smith embodies each of these steps, because he became one of Spielman's first draft picks, took his game to another level under Zimmer and signed long-term in order to help his team reach a championship level. 

Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter@brentsobleski.