The Vikings drafted Georgia safety Lewis Cine with the 32nd overall pick on Thursday night. Here are five things to know about the newest Vikings defender.
1. Cine, 22, was the last of the record-setting five Georgia Bulldogs defenders drafted in the first round on Thursday night. He earned second-team All-SEC honors as the leading tackler and pass deflector for the eventual national champions. As an aggressive hitter, Cine had 73 tackles, nine deflections and an interception in 15 starts last season.
2. Cine, listed at 6-2 and 199 pounds, was named the Defensive MVP after the Bulldogs' 33-18 victory over Alabama in the national championship game. He had seven tackles (one for a loss) and a pass deflection while the Bulldogs defense held the Crimson Tide to 18 points.
3. Cine's remarkable talents showed on the field at Georgia and during pre-draft workout testing. He needed just 4.37 seconds to run 40 yards at the NFL Scouting Combine, which ranked fifth among all safeties. His explosiveness showed in the broad jump, in which he led all safeties with a mark of 133 inches (11 feet 1 inch).
4. Cine helped lead Trinity Christian High School in Cedar Hill, Texas, to a state title in 2018, his first year after transferring from Everett High School just north of Boston. At Trinity, Cine was coached by Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders and played with Sanders' sons, Shilo and Shedeur. Cine was also a standout player at Everett, where he was named Massachusetts Defensive Player of the Year in 2017, when his team won a state title.
5. Cine was born in Haiti, where he lived until he was 4 years old before moving to Florida. He has a 5-year-old daughter named Bella. He wore the number 16 at Georgia, telling reporters he did so to honor his mother, Beatrice, who had him when she was 16 years old.
