UCLA’s Anthony Barr drafted by Minnesota Vikings as No. 9 pick

This post was updated at 9:25 p.m.

On Thursday night, former UCLA outside linebacker Anthony Barr was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 2014 NFL draft.

Reports of the outside linebacker’s demise down NFL draft boards were indeed greatly exaggerated as Barr became the highest UCLA player to be drafted since former tackle Jonathan Ogden was selected fourth overall by the Baltimore Ravens in 1996.

Despite some pundits predicting the former Bruin to fall outside of the top 10 picks, the Vikings clearly felt Barr worthy of the pick. Barr was rated as one of the top outside linebackers and pass rushers in the draft as he possesses tremendous athleticism but was described as a “work in progress” by ESPN’s Mel Kiper.

In Minnesota, Barr figures to be a main component in a defense getting a major overhaul, as former Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer steps in as head coach and former Miami Dolphins linebackers coach George Edwards takes over as defensive coordinator. Barr should contribute immediately to a Minnesota defense that recorded 41 sacks as a team a season ago and allowed the second-most yards per game of any team in the league.

Much will be expected out of the now-rookie pass rusher as former Pro Bowl defensive end Jared Allen – who totaled 85.5 sacks in his six seasons in Minnesota – left in free agency. Barr appears certainly capable – in his two years at linebacker for UCLA, he wracked up 22.5 sacks and was a force off the edge for the Bruins.

While primarily a 3-4 outside linebacker with UCLA, Barr may play with his hand in the ground in Minnesota, lining up at defensive end in Zimmer’s 4-3 defense.

Barr was rarely matched with the Vikings prior to the draft, as some didn’t see him as a fit in a 4-3 defense and projected Barr to a team that runs a 3-4 defense to play the outside linebacker spot he manned in college. However, Zimmer has experience coaching both the 3-4 and 4-3 defenses and favors smaller, lighter defensive ends, which Barr seems to fit.

Denver addressed its defense instead with its selection of Ohio State cornerback Bradley Roby, while Seattle traded away the pick that eventually became Minnesota Viking quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

Several draft analysts, including Mel Kiper and Todd McShay of ESPN, regard Su’a-Filo as the best guard in this year’s draft class. No guard heard his name called within the first 32 picks, a fact in line with the general trend of interior linemen not being common selections during the first night of a three-day draft.

Compiled by Jordan Lee and Emilio Ronquillo, Bruin Sports senior staff.