When thinking of some of the NFL’s greatest safeties, names like Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu come to mind immediately.

Minnesota Viking’s safety Harrison Smith can join that class when it comes to New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. The Patriots host the Vikings in Week 13, and Belichick showed his respect for Smith in a Wednesday press conference.

“Harrison Smith does a great job with pre-snap disguise. He’s one of the best – you know, Smith, Ed Reed, Polamalu,” Belichick told reporters. “Those guys are, I’d say, among the best. He’s certainly right there. He’s a hard guy to read. He does an excellent job of timing his movement based on either the quarterback’s cadence, the offensive formation, motion, the play clock, all those combination of things. He does an excellent job of using some or all of them to put the offense in a difficult position to account for them or to not account for them when he’s blitzing and so forth. He’s really good.”

Smith is a seven-year veteran that has been reliable, and has already racked up 20 interceptions in his career. He has three interceptions in 11 games so far this season, while tacking on six tackles for a loss.

Smith will have his hands full against the Patriots who have one of the most explosive offenses in the league that includes pass-catchers like Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, Rob Gronkowski, and James White. The Vikings have the third ranked defense in terms of yards per game, fourth ranked in rushing yards per game, and the fifth ranked in passing yards per game.

The Vikings have a record of 6-4-1 and hope to gain some momentum towards the playoffs with a win against the Patriots — and Smith will be a key component in order to get that done.