Vikings Can Get More From Anthony Barr By Taking a Play From Packers

Getty With the addition of Dom Capers, the Vikings have the model on how to get Anthony Barr more involved.

Entering his sixth NFL season, Anthony Barr has been the most enigmatic piece to the Vikings defense.

His breakout rookie season coincided with coach Mike Zimmer’s first year with the team as his defense already began its transformation into one of the league’s top units. Barr was pro-ready starting in two games and totaling 70 tackles, six tackles for loss and added four sacks and a fumble-return TD against the Buccaneers.

But since then his numbers have been lacking. Barr has yet to reach four sacks in a season and has played three full seasons with one or fewer forced turnovers.

With the addition of defensive assistant Dom Capers, the Vikings are hoping to add more looks to the defense, which could mean Barr becoming more involved in the pass rush.

As the Packers defensive coordinator, Capers helped turn  Clay Matthews into a Pro Bowl pass-rusher — a model for how the Vikings could get Barr more involved.

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Barr’s Similar Skillset

GettyClay Matthews has many similar traits to Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr.

The mention of Clay Matthews conjures vivid memories of not only the six-time Pro Bowler’s golden locks but also his terrorizing of the Vikings backfield for the better half of a decade.

Matthews thrived in the Packers 3-4 scheme that placed him in coverage and had him rushing the quarterback. He totaled at least 7.5 sacks in seven of his 11 seasons in the NFL, including 13.5 sacks in his second season, which he went all All-Pro.

Barr has always had the athleticism to unlock Matthews-level production.

In his first two years at USC, he played running back, wide receiver and tight end before finally finding his positon an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme. Barr had a relatively fresh slate at the position as the Vikings and Zimmer helped him transition to a 4-3 defense in his rookie season — where Barr posted career-highs in sacks and tackles for loss.

Since then, Barr has quietly collected four Pro Bowl selections and signed to a five-year, $67.5 million contract, making him the fifth-highest paid outside linebacker in the NFL. But his contributions on the stat sheet haven’t lived up to his contract, totaling 5.5 sacks in his past three seasons.

His measurables coming out of the draft were starkly similar to Matthews in 2009.

Despite their similar physical gifts, Barr hasn’t proven to nearly the same force in the NFL that Matthews has been, averaging 50 pressures per season and 91.5 sacks with the Packers and Rams. Meanwhile, Barr has averaged 22.5 pressures per season and has 15 career sacks, per Zone Coverage.

The limited opportunity doesn’t mean Barr has forgotten how to get after the quarterback. In 2018, the last year Barr made the Pro Bowl, he had the highest pass-rusher productivity rating by Pro Football Focus.

Barr Could Run Free In 2020

GettyBarr could have more pass-rushing utility in 2020.

What’s hindered Barr the past few seasons was the lack of pass-coverage linebackers on the Vikings depth chart. With starting weakside linebacker Ben Gedeon on the physically-unable-to-perform-list, the Vikings have added depth to the linebacker position this season which should be better in coverage last season.

Eric Wilson is more likely to take over Gedeon’s role as a third-down linebacker and possibly be a relief for Barr at outside linebacker, while fourth-rounder Troy Dye could be another coverage linebacker the Vikings can use. Newly acquired linebacker Ryan Connelly also has dual-versatility.

Yannick Ngakoue mitigates the urgency to find other options at rushing the quarterback but the Vikings have made a point to offer different looks on defense this season. If the team wants a versatile edge rusher who can stop the run, play in coverage and proven lethal in the backfield, look no further than Barr playing that role this season.