For a second straight year, the Vikings have used one of their top picks on a linebacker from UCLA.

With the 45th pick in the draft, the Vikings selected UCLA inside linebacker Eric Kendricks. He is a former teammate of outside linebacker Anthony Barr, the team's first pick last year.

A three-year starter at UCLA, Kendricks led the Pac-12 with 150 tackles in 2012. He made 106 tackles in 2013 and made 149 in 2014, third in the nation. For that he just won the Butkus Award.

A little on the short side at 6-foot and tipping the scales at 232 pounds, Kendricks makes up for his smaller frame with speed — he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.61 seconds in Indy — and the ability to cover in space. He could end up being the three-down middle linebacker the Vikings are looking for.

The Kendricks pick is the first time the Vikings have selected a player in the second round since General Manager Rick Spielman gained final say in the team's draft room before the 2012 draft.

In the third round, Spielman finally got busy on the trade front. He added a sixth-round pick (No. 193 overall) from the Chiefs by trading down from the 76th pick to the 80th pick. He then traded the 80th pick to the Lions for the 88th overall pick in the third round and a fifth-rounder (No. 143).

When Spielman finally picked a player in the third, he went with LSU defensive end Danielle Hunter.

Hunter, a junior, had just 1.5 sacks this past season. But he led LSU with 13 tackles for a loss and recorded 73 tackles. He was a two-year starter at LSU. At 252 pounds, Hunter will probably need to put some weight on over time, but he is 6-foot-5 with arms longer than 34 inches. He is explosive, too, having run the 40-yard dash in 4.57 seconds at the combine, tops among all defensive linemen.

The Vikings will enter the final day of the draft with six picks. They have one fourth-rounder (No. 110 overall), two fifths (Nos. 137 and 143), one sixth (No. 193) and two sevenths (Nos. 228 and 232).

Despite showing great improvement defensively under head coach Mike Zimmer, the Vikings have used their top three picks on defenders after selecting cornerback Trae Waynes in the first round.