Written by Chris Schad
Last May, the Minnesota Vikings were on the clock with the ninth overall pick in the NFL Draft. There was tons of public pressure for general manager Rick Spielman to find his quarterback of the future and there was even more pressure on him to select Johnny Manziel to be that franchise cornerstone.
Despite that, Spielman turned his attention to the defensive side of the ball. After hemorrhaging 498 points the previous season, he knew he had to get a piece that could make an impact. Besides, the current face of the defense was Chad Greenway, a player who could make the routine play, but rarely made the ones that could change the fortunes of a game.
That train of thought lead to the Vikings taking UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr. The immediate reaction was anger from the fan base as Barr had only been playing linebacker for two seasons and came with the interesting scenario of being the first player taken that wasn’t in attendance at Radio City Music Hall.
Fast forward to Sunday and the Vikings defense was in a pressure spot against the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers. After being thrown on defense in overtime, Barr stripped Austin Seferian-Jenkins and returned it for a walk-off touchdown in a 19-13 victory.
It was one of those impact plays that swayed the Vikings into selecting Barr with that pick and generated excitement for what type of player he could become.
“My expectations are high.” Barr told reporters on Monday. “They’re going to continue to be so and I just have to make plays and help the team win.”
Even head coach Mike Zimmer has been high on the rookie as during his Monday press conference he mentioned Barr in the same breath as future Hall of Famer Demarcus Ware but didn’t want to compare the two.
“He’s very talented.” Zimmer said of Barr. “The thing I love the most about him is the way he studies when we’re in meetings. He takes a lot of notes. He’s prideful about not making the same mistake twice and he continues to get better.
Getting better is something that had been expected coming out of the draft as his rawness was seen as a knock on his draft stock. However, he’s shown a knack for getting to the quarterback and according to Pro Football Focus, he’s second among 4-3 outside linebackers with 12 quarterback pressures. Only Von Miller has put more of an impact on rushing the passer with 39 QB pressures this season.
If there is one thing that could use improvement, it’s Barr’s pass coverage. He allowed a go-ahead touchdown with two minutes left in regulation to Seferian-Jenkins on Sunday, but Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller believes that once he figures that out, he could be similar to former Tampa Bay Buccaneer and Hall of Famer Derrick Brooks.
“I’m a lot more comfortable dropping back into coverage,” Barr said when asked about his biggest area of improvement. “Just understanding concepts and routes…how the offense is going to attack us…I’m feeling more comfortable each week.”
Barr seems destined for stardom in many people’s eyes, but there’s still a long way to go. As Zimmer put it, people should “hold their Canton votes” for now, but Barr is looking like a great piece that could be a leader of the Vikings defense in the near future.
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Chris Schad contributes to 105 The Ticket and has had his work featured on the Bleacher Report and Yahoo Contributor Network. He serves as the Vikings Lead Writerfor Pro Football Spot. Find him on Twitter @crishad. |