Minnesota Vikings: Identifying the Perfect Draft Replacement for Jasper Brinkley

The Minnesota Vikings haven't had a dominant middle linebacker for far too long. When the Dallas Cowboys signed Jasper Brinkley, Minnesota's starter at the position in 2014, on March 12, there was nothing more than a collective shrug of the shoulders from the Vikings fanbase.

E.J. Henderson was solid, if never spectacular, for the Vikings for several years, but you have to go all the way back to 1987-1988 to find a Minnesota middle linebacker who was All-Pro in back-to-back seasons, when Scott Studwell was manning the center of The Purple's defense.

Since then Minnesota has basically gone with plug-ins and afterthoughts at middle linebacker. 

One would think that defensive guru Mike Zimmer would like to change that in his second season as the man in charge in Minnesota.

With Brinkley gone (and the Cowboys were so enthused with the signing that they re-upped with Rolando McClain on Tuesday, according to Rainer Sabin of The Dallas Morning News), the Vikings will have a new starting middle linebacker in 2015.

There are certainly a couple of in-house candidates for the job, including veteran Chad Greenway, who recently agreed to a pay cut to stay with the Vikings, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com. Greenway is 32 years old, though, and isn't a three-down answer in the middle that the Vikings would like to have.

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Third-year man Audie Cole has been impressive every time he's been given an opportunity to play and will almost assuredly be given a shot at the job come training camp. 

The Vikings used a first-round pick on outside linebacker Anthony Barr in 2014, and he's got superstar written all over him. You can bet that Zimmer and his defensive staff would love to add another difference-maker at middle linebacker who can line up with Barr for years to come.

How about a player who's already lined up next to Barr for a couple of seasons?

There has been much talk of the Vikings possibly drafting wide receiver DeVante Parker in the first round. Parker has the look of a No. 1 receiver about him, and the fact that he played with Minnesota quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in college is an added bonus.

The Vikings' starting safeties for the majority of 2014 were Harrison Smith and Robert Blanton, who played in the same secondary at Notre Dame.

With really no significance other than coincidental chance, the perfect draft replacement for Jasper Brinkley would be to pair Barr up with his former UCLA teammate Eric Kendricks. 

At 6'0", 232 pounds, Kendricks is perhaps a little undersized for the middle, but his college resume is spectacular, and he projects as another tackling machine at linebacker along the lines of C.J. Mosley out of Alabama last year and Lavonte David out of Nebraska in 2012.

Mosley and David both put up amazing numbers for tackles in college, and Kendricks is right there with them.

David recorded 285 tackles at Nebraska in just two years, which ranks fourth all time for the Cornhuskers. He was deemed undersized heading into the draft, but he has been among the league leaders in tackles since stepping on the field for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was certainly a draft-day steal in the third round.

Mosley hit the 2014 draft after racking up 215 tackles and leading Alabama in tackles for two straight seasons. After a phenomenal rookie season, Mosley, who was the runner-up for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, also looks like a draft-day steal after going to Baltimore with the 17th pick.

Kendricks leaves UCLA as the school's all-time leading tackler, with an amazing 480 stops to his credit. He led all FBS players with 149 solo tackles and was awarded the Butkus award as the nation's top linebacker.

What Kendricks didn't do was light up the combine with astonishing athleticism. He certainly didn't embarrass himself, though, and he's a player who has four years of great tape to promote drafting him. The kid is a football player through and through.

He would be a phenomenal get for the Vikings with their second-round selection, the 45th overall choice in the draft.

Here's a look at some linebackers who've been drafted in similar spots in recent years and carry similar attributes as Kendricks (high football IQ, toughness, college productivity):

Player	Team	Draft Rd/Yr	Overall	Ht/Wt	Tackles	Sacks
Chris Borland	SF	3/2014	77	5'11"/248	107	1
Kiko Alonso	PHI	2/2013	46	6'3"/238	159	2
J. Bostic	CHI	2/2013	50	6'1"/245	140	2
M. Kendricks	PHI	2/2012	46	6'0"/240	264	9
B. Wagner	SEA	2/2012	47	6'0"/241	364	9

Now that sampling of linebackers comes with different situations for each player obviously. Borland retired after a tremendous rookie season. Alonso had a huge rookie season for the Buffalo Bills before missing his second year with a knee injury and was recently traded to Philadelphia.

Bostic settled in pretty nicely for the Chicago Bears in his second season and looks to have a bright future.

It's Kendricks' brother Mychal and Bobby Wagner of the Seattle Seahawks who might project the most similarly to Eric Kendricks. Eric has the same build as both his brother and Wagner, and although Wagner had a more successful rookie season than Mychal, they are two of the best young middle linebackers in the NFL.

Harry How/Getty Images

Kendricks has the potential to be a three-down middle linebacker in the NFL, and if the Vikings are able to draft him, he could have the highest ceiling of any Minnesota middle linebacker in two decades.

While their familiarity wouldn't be enough to tip the scales in Kendricks favor, the fact that he's played with Barr in college would be an asset. With Kendricks locking down the middle, the Vikings could continue to move Barr around the field to best utilize all of his talents.

Kendricks may not be around when pick No. 45 rolls around, but Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman has proved he's pretty savvy when he has a player in his cross hairs.

Bleacher Report draft guru Matt Miller has Kendricks ranked as his 25th-best player available:

"

Do the @49ers draft an ILB at No. 15? I don't have a linebacker graded that high currently. Eric Kendricks top ILB at No. 25

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) March 17, 2015"

NFL.com has Kendricks ranked as the third-best inside linebacker in the 2015 draft, and none of them might go in the first round.

If Spielman is able to come up with a way to get Kendricks in a Vikings uniform in 2015, he'll have found the perfect replacement for Jasper Brinkley.