Vikings stick with defense on Day 2 of draft, selecting Kendricks, Hunter
EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Norv Turner has enjoyed a prime viewing spot in the Minnesota Vikings' draft room and has watched six hours of the draft.
Minnesota general manager Rick Spielman confirmed Turner is doing well after the Vikings have spent the first two days of the draft adding to coach Mike Zimmer's defense. Turner's offense will have to wait until Day 3 on Saturday.
"Yeah, Norv's been sitting up there in the draft room," Spielman quipped. "He's doing fine."
Through the first three rounds of the draft, Minnesota has continued its overhaul on defense during Zimmer's regime. The Vikings drafted UCLA linebacker Eric Kendricks in the second round and opted for Louisiana State defensive end Danielle Hunter in the third a day after selecting Michigan State cornerback Trae Waynes with the 11th overall pick.
Minnesota has now drafted a defensive player with 10 of its 13 picks since coach Zimmer, the defensive-minded coach, took over last year.
"It was not the focus, at all," Spielman said of the team's defensive penchant the past two days. "The focus is getting the best football player. I think the first two picks we were able to definitely fill needs and get the best football player available. . . . It has nothing to do with offense, defense. I really believe in trying to follow your board and as guys come, go ahead and pick them."
The Vikings' board led to a possible immediate fill-in with Kendricks as Minnesota took a UCLA linebacker for the second straight year. Last year, the Vikings used the ninth-overall pick on Anthony Barr.
This year brought Barr's former college roommate.
"Stuff like this doesn't really happen," Barr said on a conference call after Kendricks was selected. "So, it's pretty special and I'm excited, selfishly for myself because we have a great relationship, and obviously for the team because I know that he's going to do great things for us."
Kendricks, 23, won the Butkus Award last season as the nation's top college linebacker. The first second-round pick for Minnesota since tight end Kyle Rudolph in 2011, Kendricks led the Bruins in tackles each of the past three seasons and finished his collegiate career with 481 tackles, the most by any UCLA player since 1975.
Spielman passed up opportunities to trade back when Kendricks was available with the 45th overall pick.
"We felt that he was the most instinctive linebacker in this draft," Spielman said. "He's very good in coverage. He's very instinctive against the run... He has great range from sideline to sideline. He has the athletic skill set to be a three-down backer and we were kind of surprised that he fell to us where we were at."
Spielman said Kendricks can play in the middle, where the Vikings have an opening after last year's starter Jasper Brinkley signed with the Dallas Cowboys in free agency, or at weakside linebacker, where longtime veteran Chad Greenway enters his final season under contract with Minnesota.
"When I got the call and they were just kind of going over it, it took me at least a minute to really realize what was really happening and where I was going and who I was playing with," Kendricks said. "I kind of felt a little disrespectful because I really wasn't saying much, but I was in complete shock.
"But once it finally clicked I got so happy and the rest just kind of took over from there."
While Kendricks is seen as a possible immediate contributor, Hunter could take time to develop.
Hunter, 20, was a two-year starter for LSU with 142 tackles, 21 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 38 games over three years.
At 6-foot-5 and 252 pounds, Hunter doesn't have prototypical size for a defensive end. But he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds and his other workout numbers stood out to the Vikings. Spielman said the team also was able to see his athleticism after watching him drop in coverage during pre-draft workouts.
"He's a physical specimen," Spielman said. "He's raw. He's a project I know that we're going to have to work with. . . . We feel he has tremendous upside to grow as a football player."
Spielman said Hunter figures in at right defensive end where Everson Griffen is the starter. Scott Crichton, a third-round pick last year, is likely to play left end behind starter Brian Robison.
"My expectations are to go out there and be a football player, take the coaching that I'm about to receive and go work my butt off," Hunter said. "I'm a hard worker, I don't have a bad head on my shoulders, so whatever coach tells me to do I'm going to just go out there and do it. The ultimate goal is to just aim for a starting position."
Hunter was selected after the Vikings traded back twice. In two trades with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Detroit Lions, Minnesota added fifth- and sixth-round picks for Saturday's final day of the draft and has six total selections in the final four rounds.
"We got a full boatload of picks going into the third day," Spielman said. "Looking at our draft board, as you see it unfold, we feel there's a lot of depth through that. One of the reasons we did that is because there's so much depth and we feel that we're going to be able to get some very good football players tomorrow to help this football team as well."
And maybe Turner will be a bit busier as the Vikings add some offense.
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