The Minnesota Vikings retooled their defense in the offense, adding several veterans who are expected to start or play key roles in 2024.
However, they could get the most significant additional contributions from one of their own.
Bleacher Report’s Matt Holder points to former fourth-round draft pick Camryn Bynum, who is entering his fourth NFL season. Holder predicts Bynum will be the Vikings’ “biggest breakout” of 2024.
“Bynum made a name for himself last year, setting career highs in tackles (137), passes defended (nine) and forced fumbles (three),” Holder wrote on July 20. “He’s gotten better every single year of his career and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Cal product finish his fourth season with a Pro Bowl and/or All-Pro bid.”
Bynum picks it off again to seal the W! #Skol
Bynum has not been shy about his goals for the team in 2024.
“I expect a Super Bowl,” Bynum told NFL Network’s Stacey Dales on “The Insiders” on June 20. “I know everybody says that, and everybody should say that. But you look at the guys on the team, you look at the locker room, all the experience that we have.
“Look how much depth we have, especially on the defense. So many guys it’s almost weird looking around because you’re like, ‘OK, how are we all going to get on the field?’ There’s just so many ballers. You look at the offense. There’s a baller at every position when you look across the whole board.”
Camryn Bynum Took Big Leap for Vikings in 2023
GettyCamryn Bynum #24 of the Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings would benefit greatly toward that end if he takes as big of a step in his development in 2024 as he did in 2023. Pro Football Focus’s Zoltan Buday named Bynum the Vikings’ “most improved player” in January. Bynum’s grade rose from 58.2 in 2022 to 73.2 in 2023.
Bynum led the Vikings in defensive snaps and earned the fourth-best grade on that side of the ball on the team in 2023, per Pro Football Focus.
He was the Vikings’ highest-graded safety ahead of Harrison Smith and Josh Metellus.
The converted college cornerback has also proven to be durable. He has started all 34 games in the 2022 and 2023 seasons, missing two games in his three-year career. Three current Vikings have appeared in more games, per Stathead.
Two of them – fullback C.J. Ham and long snapper Andrew DePaola – were Pro Bowlers in 2023. The third is Mettelus, who was a Pro Bowl hopeful.
Another leap could also mean an even bigger payday for Bynum.
Camryn Bynum Could Cash In in 2025
GettyCamryn Bynum #24 of the Minnesota Vikings.
He is in the final year of a four-year, $4.2 million contract. His $3.1 million cap hit in 2024 and is slated for unrestricted free agency in 2025. The Vikings could franchise tag Bynum if they do not agree to a long-term contract.
Over The Cap projects the franchise tag for safeties to come in at $18.8 million in 2025. Bynum would own the fifth-highest cap hit among safeties in 2025 if tagged.
Buday also ranked Bynum, Metellus, and Smith among the top 25 NFL safeties.
Smith ranked 16th in his 12th NFL season. Metellus, a sixth-round pick in the 2020 draft, checked in 19th. Bynum was 21st. He told Dales that he was not concerned with his contract situation.
“You get excited about it just because I know the work I put in to put myself in whatever position I have put myself in,” Bynum told Dales. “But at the end of the day, all I can do is play football, all I can do is prepare for season and leave it up to my agent, leave it up to the staff with the Vikings to figure that out. I know they’ll make the best decision.”
