Vikings Draft OL Garrett Bradbury; Twitter Celebrates on Kirk Cousins' Behalf

The Minnesota Vikings drafted former NC State Wolfpack offensive lineman Garrett Bradbury with the 18th overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft Thursday.

Bleacher Report draft expert Matt Miller had Bradbury as his second-rated center prospect ahead of the combine—and all he did was put on a show for teams in Indianapolis.

Here's how the 6'3", 306-pound center stacked up against all linemen at the combine:

• 40-yard dash: 4.92 seconds (third)
• 20-yard shuttle: 4.53 seconds (sixth)
• Three-cone drill time: 7.41 seconds (first)
• Vertical: 31 inches (seventh) 
• Bench press reps: 34 (second)

That performance should have gotten teams' attention if his solid career with the Wolfpack hadn't already done so.

Bradbury was a two-year starter at NC State, seeing time both at guard and at center. He received an honorable mention for the All-ACC squads as a redshirt junior in 2017 and earned first-team honors last year.

Not bad for someone who started his collegiate career at tight end.

Garrett Bradbury NFL Draft 2019: Scouting Report, Grade for Vikings Rookie

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Having already changed positions in his football career, Bradbury made it clear before the draft he was willing to play wherever a team asked him to line up, although he acknowledged he "love[s] the responsibility" of being a center.

"You have to have the versatility, especially when you're playing offensive line," Bradbury said in March, per Pro Football Focus' Austin Gayle. "I truly consider myself an interior offensive lineman. Whatever the team needs me to be; that's what I'm going to be."

Bradbury has been at his best at center, though.

The Wolfpack star was Pro Football Focus' third-rated center in the country for 2018 (84.4 overall grade), and his 83.3 run-blocking grade ranked third as well, per Gayle. The latter has been an area of focus for him.

"If you don't have pride in [your run-blocking], you're not going to be a very good offensive lineman," Bradbury said, per Gayle. "We had goals for ourselves as an offensive line, and the first thing was establish the run, establish the line of scrimmage. That's what we were all about."

After giving Kirk Cousins an NFL-record $84 million fully guaranteed last year, protecting its franchise quarterback is top priority in Minnesota.

And part of the way to do that is to establish the ground game.

The Vikings went from seventh in rushing in 2017 to 30th last year. With second-year back Dalvin Cook battling injuries, the offense had a hard time getting much consistency on the ground.

Now that Bradbury is in the mix, Cook and the rest of the running backs should have holes to run through moving forward.