EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - The Minnesota Vikings have selected UCLA linebacker Eric Kendricks with the 45th overall selection in the second round of the NFL draft.
Kendricks won the Butkus Award as college football's best linebacker last season. The 6-foot, 232-pound Kendricks led the Bruins in tackles and fills an immediate need for the Vikings.
Kendricks joins first-round cornerback Trae Waynes in the Vikings draft class. Waynes was drafted 11th overall on Thursday night.
He is the first second-round pick by the Vikings since tight end Kyle Rudolph in 2011. They traded their second-round pick in each of the previous two drafts to get back up into the first round.
The Vikings also had the 76th overall selection in the third round on Friday night.
The Vikings selected LSU defensive end Danielle Hunter in the third round with the 88th overall selection.
Hunter led the Tigers with 13 tackles for loss last season. The Vikings traded down twice before selecting Hunter, picking up a sixth round pick from Kansas City and a fifth-rounder from Detroit to drop from No. 76.
The Vikings have six draft picks on the final day on Saturday, one in the fourth and sixth rounds and two in the fifth and seventh rounds.
