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Just the other day, we started speculating about what the options were for the Minnesota Vikings at the middle linebacker position. One of the options we looked at was starting outside linebacker Erin Henderson moving to the middle of the Vikings' 4-3 defense.
Well, according to what he said in a radio interview this morning. . .if I can channel the spirit of another famous Henderson. . .Erin says Erin can play middle linebacker.
"They pretty much told me coming into OTAs (I'll be in the middle)." Erin Henderson #Vikings
— Aj Mansour(@AjKFAN) May 1, 2013
Henderson also said he's already bulked up to 248 in preparation for a move to the middle. #Vikings
— Aj Mansour(@AjKFAN) May 1, 2013
Henderson's weight on the team's website is listed at 244 pounds. I'm not sure what he actually played at during the season, but he's still bulking up.
As Henderson said, as of OTAs, he's going to be the Vikings' middle linebacker. That doesn't mean that the team has settled on him at that spot. . .it simply says that's where they're looking at the present time. If Henderson shows that he can handle the position, then that probably opens up the opportunity for fourth-round pick Gerald Hodges to start at the vacated weak-side linebacker spot. That would mean that the Vikings would have five immediate contributors from their 2013 draft class in Hodges, Sharrif Floyd, Xavier Rhodes, Cordarrelle Patterson, and (presumably) Jeff Locke.