MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Vikings used their first draft pick of the Mike Zimmer regime on Anthony Barr, and there remain few players more vital to the team's defensive success than the linebacker whom the Vikings targeted with the ninth overall pick in 2014.
Barr has been on the field for all but seven of the Vikings' defensive snaps this season, playing 869 of a possible 876, as he's been healthy enough to start every game for the first time in his career. His is the one defender's helmet outfitted with a communication device for receiving plays from the sideline.