Vikings Defense

Here's the Minnesota Vikings starting defense that took the field to start Training Camp 2015 on Sunday.

DE  Everson Griffen
DT  Sharrif Floyd
NT  Linval Joseph
DE  Brian Robison
LB  Anthony Barr
LB  Audie Cole
LB  Chad Greenway
CB  Xavier Rhodes
CB  Terence Newman
 S    Harrison Smith
 S    Robert Blanton

There really aren't any surprises here. The starting defensive line returns from last season. There was sure to be a new middle linebacker as the starter last year Jasper Brinkley is now in Dallas. Audie Cole is first up in the middle of the defense. Terence Newman is a newcomer to the Vikings but he's the player most experienced in Mike Zimmer's defense. He played for the head coach in Dallas and Cincinnati. He might be 37 by the time the 2015 NFL season starts but he plays much younger. Robert Blanton will face a lot of competition to keep the starting safety spot opposite standout Harrison Smith. Blanton's competition will come from second-year Antone Exum, Andrew Sendejo, Shaun Prater, and undrafted rookie Anthony Harris. That's stiff and numbered competition. Blanton was solid as the starter last season but the Vikings are looking for more than solid.

Anthony Barr isn't quite 100% after offseason knee surgery. He should be fine but his play in live scrimmages will be limited for a few days. Cole will have a tough time keeping the job from second-round pick Eric Kendricks. The rookie is too instinctive, too quick, too good against the pass to be kept on the bench. If he can't wrestle the middle linebacker spot from Cole he might even push veteran leader Chad Greenway to the bench at weak-side linebacker. The guess here is that Kendricks takes the middle linebacker job. The Vikings linebacker group of the future probably looks like this:

Anthony Barr
Eric Kendricks
Gerald Hodges

That's a fast, athletic group. Greenway's experience and leadership should be enough to keep the future from happening this year.

Newman will face a cornerback challenge from first-round pick Trae Waynes during training camp and into the season. Newman might be a placeholder for now but he's a really good one.

There's the Vikings defense. They were middle of the pack last year but that was a significant improvement from the often horrid defense of 2013. This year the Vikings defense should be top-10, maybe top-5.