Minnesota Vikings training camp battles: Replacing Chad Greenway

Candidate 2: Kentrell Brothers

The Minnesota Vikings drafted Kentrell Brothers out of Missouri in the 5th Round of the 2016 draft. In his rookie season Brothers was limited to special teams duty where he performed admirably, registering 9 tackles.

You may think that a 2nd year player with 0 defensive reps, per Football Outsiders, would be a long shot to fill Chad Grenway’s shoes but Brothers is out to prove you wrong.

If you were fortunate enough to catch a Missouri game in his final 2 years as a tiger you certainly would have noticed Brothers, he was a tackling machine. In his senior season Kentrell racked up an astonishing 152 tackles whilst flashing big play potential with 2.5 sacks and 3 turnovers. For those that saw him play there was no doubt he could stop the run, as Pro Football Focus attests ‘Brothers was one of the most impressive players against the run in the nation as a collegiate in 2015.’

Unfortunately for Brothers the biggest knock against him is the hardest one to overcome, his general lack of athleticism. In the pre-draft process there was no doubt Kentrell’s stock fell due to his physical attributes as summarized by NFL.com’s scouting report:

"“Stubby lower half with some tightness in his hips and short arms. Very average athlete and lacking quick-twitch expected from such a productive linebacker. Reactive athleticism near the line of scrimmage is just okay. Instincts have to be razor sharp because speed to the perimeter is below average. Feet don’t work as quickly as his mind does.”"

His lack of athletic ability may always prevent Brothers from being a 3 down linebacker in a pass happy NFL, luckily for Brothers with Barr and Kendricks the Vikings don’t need one. Brothers is currently taking second team reps and unfortunately was carted of the field on Friday with a suspected hamstring injury.

Hopefully for Brothers his injury isn’t as serious as it first appears. If he can bounce back quickly and put together a strong camp there is no reason he can’t challenge for a place in the lineup.