Heading into in the draft, many expected the Vikings to take Notre Dame LB Manti Te’o in the first-round if he were to be available to them at either No. 23 or No. 25 overall. Not only did Minnesota pass on him with each of their two first-round picks, but they surprisingly traded back into round one and passed on him a third time when they drafted WR Cordarrelle Patterson.
The Vikings walked away from the draft with two linebackers in Gerald Hodges and Michael Mauti, but it appears as though they are prepared to give Erin Henderson the first shot at taking over as their starting middle linebacker.
Henderson told reporters on Wednesday that the Vikings coaching staff has informed him that they plan to have him open OTAs as their starting middle linebacker, per Tom Pelissaro.
Dan Wiederer of the Star Tribune writes that Henderson is the Vikings “most intriguing option” currently on their roster, but adds that 2012 seventh-round pick Audie Cole could be in the mix as well.
Despite the fact that there are still players in available in the free agent market like Brian Urlacher and Karlos Dansby, Wiederer believes the Vikings are unlikely to consider either player at this point in time.
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