Chad Greenway

Greenway will start at weak-side linebacker as the defensive stalwart returns for his ninth season with Minnesota. He started to break down last year, missing four games due to hand and rib fractures and a knee injury. He says he's completely healthy after suffering a strained MCL injury in the second to last game of the season. Greenway will still have a prominent role at linebacker, but the Vikings may look to reduce his snap count at age 32 to keep him fresh this season.

Although Greenway's real football effectiveness may be waning at this point, his IDP value remains near the top of his position. He has four straight years with at least 130 tackles, including three over 140. His interception production is hit-or-miss – he had three in 2013 but just one in the three years prior – but Greenway does a good job of finding the quarterback a few times a year, posting eight sacks over the last three seasons. Aside from a torn ACL during his rookie year in 2006, Greenway has offered unmatched durability, as he hasn't missed any of the 112 games since. The Vikings are thin at linebacker, with the underwhelming Jasper Brinkley being the most proven player besides Greenway, so he will continue getting all the snaps he can handle. Since Brinkley has never been much of a tackle source, Greenway will likely secure a high percentage of those tackle opportunities as well.

Greenway has been an absolute IDP monster the last three seasons, and if there's any real distinction between him and the players ranked ahead of him, it's probably not a big one. Since 2010 Greenway has respectively posted 143, 154 and 148 tackles in each season. One downside to Greenway is that he doesn't make an impact outside of his tackle numbers, as he has only one interception in the last three years. Another is that it took an enormous snap count for him to make the impact he did in 2012, and he'll have trouble seeing 1,128 defensive snaps again in 2013.

Greenway has always been a good NFL linebacker, but his IDP production has skyrocketed the last two years. After averaging 106 tackles per year his first three NFL seasons (excluding his 2006 rookie season, which was wiped out by a preseason ACL tear), Greenway averaged 149 tackles (99 solo) in 2010 and 2011. His production surge likely is due in part to the recent struggles of the Minnesota offense, which gave the Vikings defense more snaps on the field, as his two big seasons coincided with the drastic decline of Brett Favre (2010) and the arrival of rookie Christian Ponder (2011). Fortunately for Greenway’s IDP prospects, the Minnesota offense should be far from stellar in 2012, as Ponder remains unproven and injury prone, and Adrian Peterson’s early-season availability (and all-season effectiveness) is up in the air due to a Christmas Eve ACL and MCL tear.

While he was always known as a good player, Greenway nonetheless had somewhat of a breakout season in 2010. After averaging about 106 tackles per season in the three years prior, Greenway totaled 144 tackles last year, with 109 being solo stops. Greenway needs to show more well-rounded numbers to take the next step as an IDP – he flashes the ability to rush the passer (5.5 sacks in 2008) and make plays in coverage (three interceptions in 2009), but he’s yet to put it all together in the same season.

A dominant defensive line like Minnesota’s frees up linebackers to make a lot of plays, and Chad Greenway has taken advantage in recent years. In the last three seasons (he missed all of 2006 with a torn ACL) Greenway has averaged more than 100 tackles while making solid contributions to the pass rush (five sacks in 2008) and coverage (three INTs in 2009). As with all Viking defenders, watch for the status of defensive tackles Pat and Kevin Williams — who could face four-game PED suspensions — before drafting Greenway, as the loss of the two run-stuffers could really hurt his production.

Two years removed from a torn ACL, former first-round pick Greenway came into his own last season with 113 tackles and five sacks from the strong-side linebacker spot. Greenway uses plus speed and good size (6-4, 242) to shed blockers and catch up to ball carriers and quarterbacks. Greenway’s job could be more difficult this season if run stuffing tackles, Pat and Kevin Williams, are suspended for the season’s first four games.

Greenway will start as Minnesota's weak-side linebacker. He should rake in a good number of tackles and could add in a few interceptions, although his lack of involvement in Minnesota's blitz packages hurts his IDP value.

2006's first round draft pick didn't play in 2006 for the Vikings after tearing his ACL in the team's first preseason game. In his senior season at Iowa, he had 95 solo tackles and two sacks, so he could do some damage while starting on the weak side.

The second team all-American, and Minnesota's 2006 first-round draft pick, will likely start at weak-side linebacker and adds speed to Minnesota’s weakest position.