MANKATO, Minn. -- The Minnesota Vikings' last long-term fixture at the middle linebacker position is still in the team's building. E.J. Henderson, who played nine seasons for the Vikings and returned from a broken leg to make the Pro Bowl in 2010, now works as the Vikings' youth football manager, overseeing community relations initiatives a floor above the locker room where his permanent successor has yet to be found.

The Vikings have tried in vain to replace Henderson since he departed following the 2011 season, using Jasper Brinkley in 2012 and bringing him back last yseason after off-field troubles scuttled the experiment with Henderson's brother Erin in 2013.

The player who might start there this season -- second-round pick Eric Kendricks -- could eventually wind up as a weak-side linebacker. But it says plenty about what the Vikings think of the UCLA product that they're considering putting him in the middle of their defense as a rookie.

Rookie linebacker Eric Kendricks is picking things up quickly for the Vikings. AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt

Of any player in the Vikings' draft class, Kendricks might have the most immediate impact on the 2015 season. He impressed coaches during organized team activities and minicamp with his speed and instincts, and if he fares as well in pass coverage as he did in college, he could shore up a weakness in the second level of the Vikings' defense. The younger brother of Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Mychal Kendricks has every intention of jumping in right away.

"Obviously, that's the goal," Kendricks said of starting on Sept. 14 in San Francisco. "If that wasn't the goal, I don't know why I'd be playing football. I'm just going to work hard every day in the film room and get better every day on the practice field. That's all I can do."

The former college roommate of Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr, Kendricks won the Butkus Award last year as the nation's outstanding linebacker, and caught the Vikings' eye in part because of his ability to run with tight ends in pass coverage. He played everywhere from quarterback and running back to linebacker and kicker in high school, and excelled at UCLA when he was asked to drop into coverage. He stands just six feet tall, but ran a 4.61-second 40-yard dash at the NFL scouting combine and intercepted three passes as a senior, in addition to leading the Bruins in tackles.

"The competition within covering someone man-to-man, and just wanting the ball -- that's what drives me," Kendricks said. "A lot of it's natural, I guess."

Kendricks said he's been in close contact with his brother, whom he calls a role model and credits with helping speed his transition to the NFL. "He tells me little things that took him three years to find out," Eric Kendricks said. "We're both our own players, but he helps me out a lot."

Having Barr nearby has helped, too; the Bruins ran both 3-4 and 4-3 sets, but the system shares some terminology with the Vikings' defense. But it's still incumbent upon Kendricks to distill that knowledge into production on the field. Coach Mike Zimmer said Kendricks was ahead of most rookies during minicamp, and while the linebacker has split first-team snaps with Audie Cole during the first two days of training camp, he's also received some work in the Vikings' top nickel package.

If he can prove he's a complete linebacker, the Vikings aren't likely to hold him back. They've been looking for someone like him for quite a while.

"I don't ever want to leave the field," he said. "I want to help my team out, no matter what."