Who should the Vikes draft?

[EBass]

Guess it depends on what the Rams do, but it's always fun to speculate. For the third overall pick the MN Vikings select Justin Blackmon form Oklahoma State.

[Rick]

They will likely be in the market to trade that pick if Griffen is still available

[james_walleye]

If they stay at 3 and Kalil is there I think he is a no brainer. By far a huge need and a much safer selection than Blackmon. If Kalil is gone and they stay at 3 I would look to Morris Claiborne from Lsu.

[simple1]

Way to early to be talking about picks until some draft grades come in and we have something to look at. I would say that the Vikes really should think about dropping down a few places to take some more draft picks. They are so far away and need all the help they can get. They may be in position to trade down a couple of times and obtain a lot of picks.

[koonie]

Way to early to be talking about picks until some draft grades come in and we have something to look at. I would say that the Vikes really should think about dropping down a few places to take some more draft picks. They are so far away and need all the help they can get. They may be in position to trade down a couple of times and obtain a lot of picks.

If only it was that easy to trade down. It would be ideal though.

[ted4887]

If they stay at 3 and Kalil is there I think he is a no brainer. By far a huge need and a much safer selection than Blackmon. If Kalil is gone and they stay at 3 I would look to Morris Claiborne from Lsu.

I agree with the Kalil pick. With the rookie QB, you have GOT to get some talent on that line to be able to keep Ponder upright. I would love to get Blackmon, and think he will be a stud NFL WR, but we have other needs that should be addressed first. If they can't get Kalil, I would also see about trading down. But who knows if they will get what they want if it comes to that.

[amateurfishing]

it is MUCH easier to trade down now after the new CBA and rookie wage scale, no team has to break the bank anymore guessing & rookie guaranteed contracts have been shortened by one year.

[BuckSutherland]

it is MUCH easier to trade down now after the new CBA and rookie wage scale, no team has to break the bank anymore guessing & rookie guaranteed contracts have been shortened by one year.

Yes, there are going to be a lot of moves on draft day.

Our best scenario would be that the Colts take Luck and the Rams take Blackmon or Kalil. Then we better hope that RG3 declares and does awesome in the combine. There going to be several teams that need a QB and are going to bid hard to get him. Most apparent is Clevland, Washington, Miami and possibly AZ. Clevland has the 4th, 22nd, and 37th pick. I think it is possible that we trade our #3 pick to them for 4, 22, and 37 so that they can assure they get him. If they dont want to pay, we all know that washington will. Hopefully the Rams draft and dont trade. It would set it up perfect for us.

If the Rams were to take Blackmon, and we trade with Clevland then we could get Kalil at #4, take WR Mohammad Sanu at 22, a CB at 35, and some more OL at 37. If Kalil is gone we take Riley Rieff or Johnathan Martin Both OTs. OT has to be our top priority.

If none of that works with RG3 we should still be trying to trade down to get more picks, but definetly not out of the top 8-10.

[amateurfishing]

there is no incentive for cleveland to trade with us if RG3 is still on board cause no way we take qb, only reason they would would be to outbid another team trying to jump in ahead of them & Vikings "auctioning" spot to highest bidder, other problem is depends on talent dop off from Khalil to next 2-3 tackles. If u could add another first and second round pick without dropping too low may be a great chance for Vikings, but with new rookie wage scale its easier to get incredible value at the top, especially if it will solidify a need postion for 5-8 years. I think they have to take Khalil if they cannot get at least 2-3 more picks for the spot, look at what Atlanta gave up last year to cleveland to move up & this spot would be higher. Since rookie wage scale is under control, it may be a buyers market to move up fast for a coveted player though. Hopefully Khalil or they add 2-3 very high picks.

[Scott K]

I think the Vikes would be crazy to pass up either of the offensive weapons that will be available to them in either Kalil, or Blackmon. Either one of these guys will make Ponder a better QB. Unless they can get 3 first picks for the spot, they keep the pick, and draft the future stud of the offense. With our second pick, I am hoping we go secondary.

[Scott M]

Bama stayed away from Claiborne last night.

#1 Luck

#2 Blackmon? Rams need help a lot of places including WR.

#3 Kalil?

[Musky Buck]

Let's just do the Tice and let the clock expire.

[RiverFish]

Let's just do the Tice and let the clock expire.

Did Tice do that 2 years in a row? Tice had a great off the field run when he was coach.

[Musky Buck]

lol he's now the Bears offensive coordinator I believe Bet that pencil above his ear will be chewed like a beaver with his new assignment, got a Jay Cutler who doesn't seem to want to or care to or whatever take that next step to being sorta elite, matters not as GB and Detroit will give the Bears 3-4 losses anyway next year. It's nearing the end of Lovie time in Chitown and Urlacher time. Tice is why the word Oaf is still used.

[BuckSutherland]

there is no incentive for cleveland to trade with us if RG3 is still on board cause no way we take qb, only reason they would would be to outbid another team trying to jump in ahead of them & Vikings "auctioning" spot to highest bidder.

Are you kidding me? If he slips to third because he didnt get picked in a trade at #2 we will be in the drivers seat. If Clevland wants him they are going to have to outbid Washington(notorious for buying players), Seatle (Tjunk sucks), Miami(enough said) and possibly AZ if they dont target Manning. These teams are going to be jumping all over each other to get him. IMHO he is going to be worth two first round and a second round pick. I think if St. Louis doesnt try to do it they are making a huge mistake.

Teams like us and St. Louis are in complete rebuild mode and you can get back to the top faster by taking multiple good prospects instead of one great one. No matter what happens our first pick should go O-line. You can have all the offensive weapons you want, but if nobody can block so you can throw and run they are useless. Look what our stellar line play did for us this year. Peterson suffered one of the worst injuries for a RB, Ponder got knocked out 3 times, and Gerhardt got rocked too.

The game of football has always been won at the line of scrimmage. It always will be. If you are a big Vikes fan you should be praying for RG3 and Blackmon to have awesome workouts for the combine. If that happens the chips might just fall our way.

[james_walleye]

Ur nuts if you think they will give up that much to move up 1 spot.....

[PierBridge]

For the third overall pick the MN Vikings select Justin Blackmon form Oklahoma State.

Nobrainer and the obvious pick if you ask me! It's all about QB's and Receivers these days. And yes I know we have gaping holes everywhere including our O-line and D-Backfield.

I fully expect the Vikes to take him!

[james_walleye]

All kinds of good recievers available in FA. There is 1 tackle. Safe pick at 3 is OL and the vikings HAVE to hit on that pick. Kalil anchoring the line for the next 12 years is what I'm hoping for. I don't want to see the vikings draft the next Michael Crabtree. That is a chance they CANNOT take imo.

[amateurfishing]

vikings will have no choice but to take Khalil if he grades super high. plenty of wr's in mid rounds of this draft, & hopefully a brand new secondary via free agency.

[LMITOUT]

If RGIII is available you take him.

One of these years the tactic of taking "the best available" is bound to payoff for the Vikings. It just has to...

[BuckSutherland]

Ur nuts if you think they will give up that much to move up 1 spot.....

They (Clevland) have sucked so bad for so long (like the Queens) that if they think RG3 is the answer and want to assure that Washington or somebody else doesnt get him in a trade with us they might give up everything to get him. If I were Spielman I would be floating stories and putting feelers out there to start the process of these teams bidding against each other. Here is what Atlanta gave up last year to get Julio Jones at number six and he sucks.

In exchange for getting the sixth pick, Atlanta gave the Browns five -- five! -- draft picks: their 1st- (27th overall), second- (59th) and fourth-round (124th) picks this year and their first- and fourth-round picks in 2012.

They would only really be giving us a late first round pick and an early second round pick. Now two first rounders doesnt seem that out of the question. There wasnt near the hype for Jones that there has been for RG3.

If nobody wants to give us good value for our pick then bleep them. We draft RG3 if he is there and trade Ponder for some used jock straps and Gatorade cups because that is what he is worth with no line.

And any rube that thinks it is all about QBs and recievers is sorely mistaken. Look at what Matt Flynn did for GB at QB behind the best line in the league. He only had the best game of any QB all season. If you give the QB time to throw almost anyone can look good, except maybe tebow.

[solbes]

Gimme a dominant offensive line (or at least one side of the O-line) over a receiver now. Khalil would do much more good than Blackmon for this team.

I also agree that someone trading up to get RGIII would be ideal for Vikes. We need extra picks in a bad way.

[klecker]

If RGIII is available you take him.

One of these years the tactic of taking "the best available" is bound to payoff for the Vikings. It just has to...

Selecting RGIII as the best available will add another year of that tactic not working for the Queens. Its got my vote.

[amateurfishing]

your taking RGIII theories sadly make absolutely no sense, some of you clearly state Ponder wasnt all that with no help from oline or wr's other than harvin, so why would RGIII be any better? it same ole same ole, at some point the orgainization has to stop worrying bout the qb position (especially since so many failures in last 5 years) just stick with one (Ponder) build around him starting with Khalil....and you will NEVER win if you cannot STOP your opponents so after Khalil it must be Defense (anywhere) must be secondary. U can have best qb & wr combo in league eventually once in a while they will miss each other, but if u dont have a D that can stop your opponent in this pass happy league you are only treading water and are worthless. playmaking safeties that can blitz & shutdown corners r what they need after Khalil.

[thatoneguy]

It makes perfect sense to shop the third pick to see what they can get for it. I've no doubt that there will be teams with such a lust for RG3 that they will give more than they should for him. If they can land a ransom for the pick, by all means trade down. With so many holes to fill - there's no chance this will be a one-year turnaround - it makes sense to accumulate as much talent as possible.

If they don't get what they want for the pick, then take Kalil and have an anchor on the left side for a decade, move Johnson to guard, where most NFL wonks think he will be a very good player, and you will have upgraded 40% of your line in one swell foop.

I definitely think that defense needs to be the focus the rest of the draft. San Francisco, Baltimore et al have shown that you can be an elite team without a flashy offense, as long as you have a good defense and take care of the ball.

That said, when you're as desperately lacking talent at SO many position as the current Queens are, you need to worry less about specific positions and more about getting quality players. They have a long road ahead, especially with the gigantic question mark now hanging over Adrian Peterson's career.

@amateurfishing - I don't think comparing RG3 to Ponder makes sense in any way. I don't think you'll find a scout/personnel guy in the world who thinks that Ponder's skill set and talent level even comes close to Griffin's.

Griffin would immediately be the fastest player on the team (or close to it), he is very accurate and has a much stronger arm than Ponder, is equally smart on and off the field by all accounts I've read, and throws a gorgeous deep ball.

I do agree, however, that with Luck likely out of the picture (barring something crazy happening), it doesn't make sense to draft Griffen.

[PierBridge]

I agree with LMIT you take RGIII if available and then Blackmon if not.

So now we are guaranteeing a 15 year career on a O-Linemen selection...... another Bryant McKinnie eh?

[toughguy]

I'd be upset with RG3 or Blackmon. We need O line and D Back help the most. I'd be very happy with Kalil or Claiborne. The Vikings have made it clear that Ponder is their guy next year and there are a ton of quality free agent WRs out there. Trade down if we can to get more picks (not too far down I hope). We are short in so many areas that it's time to clear house. A rebuild in today's NFL doesn't take long. They've already shipped out a lot of the dead weight and there is more cutting to come. - Hutch, Henderson and Shiancoe are next + Berrian, McNabb, Kleinsasser, and McKinney's $ all gone leaves lots of cash next year. Let's face it we'll be lucky to get to the playoffs in 2013/2014. 2012/2013 is out of the question.

[amateurfishing]

i was not comparing Ponder to Griffen talent specifically, was just trying to state difft qb does not matter much if o-line does not get improved first...any qb/rb pretty much a sitting duck behind our o-line

[TR21HP]

Take a look at what Julio Jones did for Atlanta this year and see if Blackmon is the pick you want and Jones is much bigger and faster than Blackmon. If the Q.B. is running for his life like Ponder and Webb were doing this year it doesn't matter who you have out there. The line needs to be improved to give the Q.B. more time. Kalil or that tackle from Stanford would help to stabilize that line along with some guard help. The worst thing for a Q.B. is when the interior of the pocket collapses and the Q.B. can't step up to throw.

[PierBridge]

A lone linemen or DB will change nothing!!!!! A quality QB or Receiver can change an entire franchise quickly.

In todays NFL it's all about the QB and receivers without those key pieces you are nothing.

There is no chance they are taking a DB with the 3rd pick so get that out of your heads quickly! Personally I'll throw up if they take a line-men with the 3rd pick.

Only way either of the O-line or DB theory's work out is if we can trade the pick and get something else along with the linemen or DB.