NFL Minnesota Vikings

Anthony Barr Has Become Favorite For NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

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By @bradberreman24

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The Minnesota Vikings needed plenty of help defensively after a particularly poor showing on that side of the ball in 2013, so it was not surprising that Mike Zimmer was hired as head coach due to his success as defensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals in recent years. It was also not surprising that the team’s first-round pick in May was used on a defensive player, and UCLA linebacker Anthony Barr was the guy with the ninth overall pick.

I was openly critical of the Vikings drafting Barr, due mostly to his limitations in coverage and the fact he had a lot of work to do in order to become a complete linebacker at the next level. The Vikings needed to add an immediate all-around contributor with a top-10 pick, particularly with a lack of proven commodities at linebacker, and Barr clearly did not fit that bill in my opinion.

But I also thought that Zimmer and new defensive coordinator George Edwards had to have seen Barr as a fit for their defense during the pre-draft vetting of prospects, and I knew players would be put in a position to succeed under the new coaching staff in a way they hadn’t been under the previous regime led by Leslie Frazier.

Barr has been better than most people expected through the first eight games of his career, and an argument can be made he has been the best player on a much-improved Vikings’ defense so far this season. There is no argument, however, that Barr is the front runner for Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Barr forced a fumble and returned it for a touchdown Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which gave the Vikings a 19-13 victory on the first play of overtime. But he also had eight solo tackles and a sack in the game, which gives him 25 total tackles over the last three games and he now has three sacks this season.

Barr was thrust into a key role fairly quickly this season, as he was given the sideline communication device in his helmet during the three games Chad Greenway missed with a broken hand and broken ribs. The defense’s results were not very good in the first two of those games, as the Vikings allowed 63 offensive points, but Barr had already become an every-down player and the coaching staff clearly felt confident he could communicate the defensive call to his teammates in an efficient manor.

Barr has acknowledged his need to continue to improve in coverage, and he had a couple of noteworthy moments in that area on Sunday. Buccaneers’ rookie tight Austin Seferian-Jenkins beat him cleanly for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, and Zimmer said he thought Barr was out of position on the game’s final play before recovering to force the fumble. Barr himself acknowledged that he reacted late, but making the game’s decisive play surely saved him from ridicule during film review this coming week.

The rookie leads the Vikings with 54 total tackles (11 assists) through eight games, and his three sacks is now good for third on the team thus far. The pass rushing prowess was expected to some degree, with 23.5 sacks over his final two seasons at UCLA, but the overall impact he has made so quickly could not have been expected by any outside observer (myself obviously included).

With only two years of experience at linebacker prior to being drafted, Barr definitely has room to grow as he learns the intricacies of playing the position in the NFL. Add in the transition from being in a 3-4 defensive scheme at UCLA to playing in a 4-3 with the Vikings, and the differences in duties and responsibilities for an outside linebacker in those defenses, and we clearly haven’t seen the best Barr has to offer yet.

Barr’s immense athletic ability has helped him make up for any small mistakes he has made, including Sunday’s final play, and once his instincts catch up to his talent, he has a good chance to become one of the best linebackers in the entire league and a perennial Pro Bowler. He has probably put himself in the conversation to be a Pro Bowler this year, all things considered, and the notable nature of his touchdown on Sunday will certainly put him on the national radar with multiple replays on multiple highlight shows.

Baltimore Ravens linebacker C.J. Mosley entered this week’s action with 63 total tackles, and Chicago Bears cornerback Kyle Fuller had three interceptions. But outside of that there are not many other notable candidates for Defensive Rookie of the Year right now, and No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney has a lot of catching up to do after being sidelined for most of the first half of the season with a knee injury.

Barr has to be considered the clear front runner for Defensive Rookie of the Year, with the significant improvement of Minnesota’s defense as a whole standing out as a point in his corner. Only a significant injury that keeps him out for multiple games, or a complete downturn in his level of play between now and the end of the season, will prevent Barr from becoming NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year for 2014.

Brad Berreman is a Columnist at Rant Sports.com. Connect with him on Twitter or Google +.

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