With Blake Cashman still under contract for another year and Eric Wilson re-signing earlier this offseason, no one really expected the Minnesota Vikings to use a Day 2 draft pick on an off-ball linebacker.
But that's exactly what the Vikings did on Friday, when they used the 51st overall selection in the second round to pick former Cincinnati linebacker Jake Golday.
At first, the selection was a bit of a head-scratcher for Minnesota fans, given what we mentioned earlier about Cashman and Wilson.
However, former Vikings linebacker Ben Leber shared a comparison for Golday on X shortly after the pick that probably helped fans get more excited about the young defender.
"For those wondering, Golday is a new version of Anthony Barr."
New Minnesota Vikings LB Jake Golday compared to Anthony Barr
That's quite the comparison for Leber to make since Anthony Barr is one of the best linebackers to suit up in a Minnesota uniform in the last two decades. If Golday can have an NFL career that is anything close to what Barr was able to do during his time in the league, most would view that as a success.
The Vikings' newest linebacker is also already in good company when it comes to his new team, as he joined Barr, Eric Kendricks, and Chad Greenway as the only linebackers to be drafted with a top 51 pick by Minnesota since 2006.
All three of those former Vikings went on to have impressive careers in purple and gold, and the team is hoping the same can eventually be true for Golday.
When exactly he'll get a chance to make that happen is yet to be known, since, once again, Cashman is under contract for next season, and Minnesota just re-signed Wilson.
But even if Golday doesn't get on the field right away as a rookie, he probably won't have to wait very long before getting to prove why he was worth the second-round pick the Vikings used on him on Friday.
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