Posted on July 18, 2013 By Nik Edlund
The Vikings were highly expected to draft a middle linebacker of the future early in the 2013 NFL Draft. They opted not to do that and looked poised to head into the season with Erin Henderson taking over the middle and rookie Gerald Hodges starting on the outside. Then the Packers surprisingly released Bishop, and the Vikings swooped in and signed him to a one year deal, all but assuring he”ll be the Vikings starting Mike backer in 2013.
Why Bishop’s Performance is so Important
The Vikings middle linebacker position has been a sore spot on their defense since way back in the mid 2000′s when EJ Henderson was in his prime and still had two good legs. Sub par play in the middle has caused the Vikings to see their once staunch run defense fall back into the middle of the pack. Plus guys like Jasper Brinkley just haven’t been athletic enough to cover speedy backs and tight ends who come over the middle. Bishop is good enough to be a three down linebacker and has been very productive in his career, having racked up 292 tackles with 9 sacks. While his coverage skills aren’t elite, he’s still a step up from Jasper Brinkley in this department. If Bishop proves to be healthy, he basically improves two positions as he upgrades the middle linebacker spot and that would keep Erin Henderson at outside linebacker keeping an unproven rookie in Gerald Hodges on the sideline where he can learn and come along at his own pace. There is even talk that Bishop could play weakside backer with Henderson in the middle. Either way this situation is a much better plan than the Vikings had after the Draft.
Best Case
Bishop comes in 100% healthy and tallies over 100 tackles and 3 sacks, improving the Vikings run defense, and turning an area of weakness into a strength.
Worst Case
Bishop isn’t healthy and the Vikings find out why the Packers cut him. Erin Henderson moves into the middle, and Hodges takes over on the weakside and the Vikings defense suffers for it.
– See more at: http://draftseason.com/vikings-who-need-to-make-an-impact-in-2013-4-desmond-bishy-bishop/#sthash.7RktWKlt.dpuf
