MINNEAPOLIS -- After the Minnesota Vikings drafted linebacker Eric Kendricks in the second round last spring, coach Mike Zimmer said the UCLA product could eventually end up as a weak-side linebacker. He started the year playing in the Vikings' nickel defense, and became the Vikings' middle linebacker by October, after the team traded Gerald Hodges to the San Francisco 49ers.
It didn't sound at the NFL combine last week as though the Vikings had ruled out the possibility of Kendricks moving back outside, even though he played well enough in the middle to make several all-rookie teams.