Who should the Vikes draft?

[LMITOUT]

Why are you arguing with the winning formula of today's NFL and defending the ways of a team that went 3-13 this year and probably not a whole lot better next year? Stay entrenched in the ways of the old and you'll get more of the same with your Vikings club. Do you know what the definition of insanity is? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, AKA the Vikings.

[james_walleye]

There is a difference between making the playoffs and winning the championship. Certainly you need an offense. We will agree to disagree on how important the defense is. I'm not quite sure how anyone could have watched this superbowl and then try to say defense is irrelevant in todays NFL. I mean plain and simple the giants road through the playoffs and to the SB win was on the defense. What is the difference between this years packers and last years? The play of the defense. New Orleans couldn't stop Alex Smith. How did lack of defense not play a role in ending these teams seasons. With your logic I guess its a foregone conclusion that the patriots, saints, and packers will use their first round picks trying to further upgrade those offenses.....

[LMITOUT]

Giants were 3rd in total offense during the playoffs.

I'm not saying or have ever said that defense is irrelevant, but the emphasis of today's game is offense and it isn't even close. It is an arms race and the team with the most firepower is more often then not going to be the winner.

[simple1]

The arms race is to get a franchise QB on offense and DEs that can get to that QB on defense. The rules have changed a lot that put more pressure on stopping the offense. Rules like no contact after 5 yards whether the ball is in the air or not is a rule that gives the offense a huge advantage. Teams pay QBs so much, its hard to load up at other positions.

[B. Amish]

all i know is there were about a dozen plays during the last half of the 4th quarter of the superbowl that could've changed the outcome.

if welker caught that pass where he was wide open and collinsworth said he would've caught 100 times out of 100, then the patriots would've won and this whole conversation would be different.

you need to have a good team, but in no other sport is luck such a factor in getting it done as it is in the nfl.

[amateurfishing]

offense sells tix, defense wins championships

[Musky Buck]

If it's just luck then I want Brees, a Manning, Brady, Rodgers or Big Ben under center, they're the ones with the luck. I realize luck separates the close games, like in high school wrestling, you know 75% of the matches the outcome before you hit the mat, 25% or less are where a lucky thing can decide the outcome, so an 0-16 Lion's team went unlucky for 16 games. They would've went 0-100 I think that year. If luck was the thing the vikes wouldn't be 0-4 career super B's. Luck has very little to do with high school football 8 games 6 are decided before the season starts, 2 could go either way, that's the way it is.

[soldoncass]

The question is :who should the Vikings draft? Seems to have gotten off track.....I say Kalil, if he is gone take Reiff (could move down 2-3 spots maybe to take him). I see some mocks with other positions taken in rd 1, that would put the Vikes without a left tackle (all the other tackles are projected to be RT or Guards in the NFL). Rd 2 I hope we can get a big DT , run stuffer/penetrator. In rd 3&4 we take BPA at DB and WR (good depth those positions). We should have 4 picks in those 2 rds, to strengthen depth 2-3 positions. Rd 5-7 BPA wherever they fall.

I don't think they specifically target DE, special teams, RB....but look for developmental /practice squad guys at QB/ WR. McKnight and Stephen Hill (wr) are 2 guys I'm intrigued with later rounds or UDFA.

[PierBridge]

LOL..

Quote:

Wonder where pier is hiding these days now that its pretty clear you DO need a defense to win a championship. Name the last team that won a Superbowl that had a rotten defense? Answer.....its never happened

.

Not that I needed it because James is so proficient in burying himself but that's a 2nd round TKO. Nice one LMIT!!!

Hopefully James learned something here....

What you guys think about trading up in the draft and taking the best available "shutdown" corner-back... LOLOLOL.

[Scott K]

If RG3 is still available at 3, we should take him and keep him for ourselves. I am not sold on Ponder, I thought he was a mistake last season when we drafted him, and he didnt show me much during the season to pass on RG3. Unless some team is willing to break the bank, and give us several 1st's we just keep him. If RG3 is gone, we could trade down a couple spots, if anyone is interested, then draft Kahlil, Blackmon, the safety ?? and pick up a late round first, we should do that. Then load the team with new players from FA. We just have so many huge holes, they just need to start filling them with the best players available, and not mediocre players.

[james_walleye]

Pier you still reading that book Matt Millen wrote?..."How to run a franchise into the ground and keep it there". Drafting your Osu reciever would fit right up that alley. Just keep ignoring the fact that the team that won the superbowl played defense in the playoffs along with scoring points. They got their ring by holding down Tom Brady and A rod. The difference between last years packers and this years? Defense.

Maybe I need to go back and quote your post from about a month ago that stated the packers n patriots proved you can win without a defense. Or just feel free to go ahead and tell us all what those 2 teams really proved. That winning games and winning championships are 2 different things. You want to win games.....proceed with your garbage defense. You want a championship, you better build some form of defense. Not sure why I'm even taking the time to acknowledge someone who still believes junkson is a good NFL qb. The constant garbage you spew about junkson leaves you with about as much credibility as a grapefruit. I guess I'm just bored waiting for the wife n kids to get home.

[LMITOUT]

Another 50 years of failure? No problem, served hot and fresh in Minnesota every day.

Hilarious...

[PierBridge]

Quote:

Maybe I need to go back and quote your post from about a month ago that stated the packers n patriots proved you can win without a defense.

Among-st other things that LMIT has clearly pointed out to you..... I'd call 52-8 and playing in the last 2 super Bowls WINNING but hey to each is to own I guess... LOL

What part of, the 2 worst defenses in the ENTIRE NFL just played for the Super Bowl did you not understand...

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

[james_walleye]

Check your stats Millen, that is not fact. And by the way you clearly didn't watch the giants in the playoffs if your going to sit and tell anyone that the giants defense wasn't reason #1 for their playoff run. What part of allowing only 14 points a game through 4 playoff games do you not get?? Lol. Look at the final 4 teams left. Just beaming with prolific passing offenses with all 4 teams. Now Mr. Millen.....count how many pro bowl recievers were on those teams and then tell me how desperately the vikings need to take a WR at #3. Off the top of my head I believe Cruz is the only one and he was undrafted. Complete garbage taking a WR.....

52-8 is winning. But just keep avoiding why the packers won the superbowl last year and lost their first playoff game this year. Why did neither team win the superbowl this year? Seems to me they both lost to a team that shut them down offensively. But you clearly watched different games than I did. You don't make superbowl runs by playing garbage defense. Yeah you see games won by teams playing bad defense. But not a stretch of 3 or 4 bad games. But yet you want to ignore the defense and OL and do things the Matt Millen way Haha.

Junkson lol. Nuf said. Credibility dead.

[TR21HP]

Agreed jameswalleye especially with Blackmon falling down the draft a bit- supposedly not as quick as some thought. You throw away regular season stats when the playoffs begin, give credit to the Giants and Patriots for that matter for making those adjustments ,that the Vikings are so terrible at, enabling them to string some post season wins together.

[LMITOUT]

What part of, the 2 worst defenses in the ENTIRE NFL just played for the Super Bowl did you not understand...

Evidently all of it.

[bucketmouth64]

I read on espn that Spielmann is shopping our pick. I guess I can understand the move to get more picks, but if Kalil is available that would solve our LT for years.

[zepman]

The Giants held the Pats to @ 31-32 points COMBINED in their two SB victories. In two superbowl games, the Pats couldn't score what they average all year long in one.

That being said...I liked the post awhile back that said put 19 different positions on a dart board and throw the dart. Draft BPA where it ends up.

[zepman]

I will say one thing though. I think Ponder will be a very similiar q-back to that of San Frans Alex Smith. As we all know, Smith stuggled terribly in his first 4 years in the league. Enter a few first round O-Lineman in the past couple of years for the 49'ers and he's a completely different q-back.

If Ponder is the guy...take Kalil. If he isn't...get RGIII anyway you can.

[zamboni]

99% of the mocks I have seen so far have us going Blackmon at #3. I sure hope not. This years free agent WR class is so deep and so good, sign one of them and go O-line or secondary with the pick.

[soldoncass]

I've been thinking about some things Spielman said recently....."Kalil looks great", "if you have playmakers, you can get by with serviceable LT'S", he has come up with some "doozy" options, etc.. The point is : he doesn't even know who he'll draft yet....too many different possibilities. Teams will be moving up, offering trades, feeling other teams out, for possibilities, for 2 months. I don't envy him at all...I wouldn't be able to sleep, afraid I'd miss some option...or forget what we decided to do if that option happened. While he isn't perfect...I think he does a good job thinking "outside the box".

[LMITOUT]

If anybody is watching the NFL combine on NFLN right now, you're seeing about 100 offensive players that the Vikings need but won't be taking in the draft.

On second thought, don't watch because it'll just make you sick to know you'll never see any of them in purple.

[thatoneguy]

99% of the mocks I have seen so far have us going Blackmon at #3. I sure hope not. This years free agent WR class is so deep and so good, sign one of them and go O-line or secondary with the pick.

99% of them? I've seen 25-30 mock drafts, and only one had Blackmon going to the Vikes. I guess that speaks to how ridiculously many people out there have an opinion on the draft! Nearly all of the ones I've seen have the Vikes wither taking Kalil or trading down - eaither of which would be fine.

[james_walleye]

Are you talking Lmit?

Oneguy I've seen the same thing with almost everyone saying Kalil.

[goblueM]

Just beaming with prolific passing offenses with all 4 teams. Now Mr. Millen.....count how many pro bowl recievers were on those teams and then tell me how desperately the vikings need to take a WR at #3. Off the top of my head I believe Cruz is the only one and he was undrafted. Complete garbage taking a WR.....

I'm not quite sure where you are going with this... Pats and Giants have incredibly prolific passing offenses with some absolutely fantastic wideouts... Welker, Nicks, Cruz?

I'm not arguing for the Vikings to take a WR at #3, it would be silly to take Blackmon over Kalil, IMO. But to say that the teams that went deep in the playoffs didn't have good WRs is just plain wrong.

Also, you might want to check out this article: http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/02/03/f...ionship-cliche/

http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/01/20/does-defense-really-win-championships/

[james_walleye]

I'm not saying they don't have good recievers. But look at where these guys were drafted. And again, how many pro bowl recievers on the rosters of the final 4 teams? The 49ers tried that game a couple years ago taking the last "can't miss" reciever in Crabtree. They finally got it right and with 2 first round picks, they built their front up. I wonder when the last time was that a reciever drafted in the top 10 got a ring in his career. Blackmon would just plain be a bonehead pick.

[zamboni]

Thatoneguy-

The mocks I have seen have Kalil going #2 to the Rams. A WR pick to me this year doesn't make any sense due to the excellent FA WR's available.

[zamboni]

I'm not quite sure where you are going with this... Pats and Giants have incredibly prolific passing offenses with some absolutely fantastic wideouts... Welker, Nicks, Cruz

Actually, the Pats have horrible wideouts. They do have the best TE's currently in the NFL, and Welker is the best slot reciever the NFL has ever seen. But wideout wise, Branch was excellent in his prime (years ago) and OchoCinco was horrible this year.

[Scott M]

Vikings should take Kalil at No. 3

by Ben Fawkes, ESPN Insider

INDIANAPOLIS -- To say the 2011 season didn't go exactly as planned for the Minnesota Vikings would be a vast understatement. A more accurate assessment would be that it continued the sharp downward spiral the franchise has been in since Brett Favre threw an untimely interception in the 2009 NFC Championship Game.

After opening the season blowing double-digit halftime leads in three straight games, Minnesota ended up 3-13, tied for the worst record in the franchise's 51-year history. Add in the fact that the Vikings' best player, Adrian Peterson, tore his ACL and MCL in Week 16 against Washington, the defense surrendered more than 28 points a game, Donovan McNabb and first-round quarterback Christian Ponder both struggled and … well, you get the picture.

If there is any silver lining to such an awful season, it's that Minnesota holds the extremely valuable No. 3 pick in the upcoming 2012 NFL draft.

So, to the (multi)million-dollar question: Who should they take?

While there are multiple permutations of how the top three picks will go, it seems more likely than not that two things will happen:

1. The Indianapolis Colts will draft Andrew Luck No. 1.

2. The St. Louis Rams will trade down from No. 2 with a team that wants to take Robert Griffin III.

If those two things occur, the Vikings should stand pat at No. 3 and take USC left tackle Matt Kalil -- barring a Julio Jones-esque deal for a team that wants Kalil.

A strong combine

Kalil entered the combine as the consensus top left tackle among draft experts, and he's been extremely impressive here in Indianapolis. Measuring out at 6-foot-6 5/8 and 306 pounds, not only did he run the second-fastest 40-yard dash time (4.99 seconds) among offensive linemen on Saturday, "he went 1.70 [in the 10-yard split], which is phenomenal," NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said.

Kalil also expressed the confidence you want in a franchise player by saying, "I would definitely say I am the best tackle in the draft. Especially at my position … confidence is definitely a big part of your game. And I think they want to hear that you do think you're the best tackle. And I think I am."

While Kalil is an extremely polished prospect, colleague Todd McShay told me, "I think he lacks great strength, that's his one weakness and that's really something that he can improve upon."

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Kalil acknowledged that weakness and admitted that he spent time before the combine "getting bigger, getting stronger." On Saturday he let his body do the talking, putting up a solid 30 repetitions at 225 pounds on the bench press.

He'd be the most beneficial and safest pick

Kalil would serve as a cornerstone for an offensive line that was simply atrocious last year. With Steve Hutchinson declining and Charlie Johnson signed late to replace the released Bryant McKinnie at left tackle, Minnesota gave up 49 sacks and ranked last in Football Outsiders' adjusted sack rate at a staggering 9.8 percent. The Vikings also ranked 28th in the NFL in runs around the left end.

Kalil would not only give Ponder more time to throw and Peterson and Toby Gerhart better running lanes, but he could allow Johnson to move inside if Hutchinson is released as a cap casualty.

The strong track record for offensive tackles in the first round is another reason that Kalil makes sense for Minnesota. Since 2002, there have been 38 offensive tackles taken in the first round, including 14 in the top 10. Of those 38 players, nine have made the Pro Bowl -- and six of those players were drafted in the top 10, including recent standouts Joe Thomas (No. 3, 2007) and Jake Long (No. 1, 2008).

The team isn't currently a playoff contender

The Vikings aren't close to being a championship-caliber team with their current roster. As Jeremy Fowler of the St. Paul Pioneer-Press noted, "They need help at wide receiver and corner, but you could argue that left tackle may be their most pressing need. It's not just that they're one piece away … they're two, three pieces away at those positions."

The many holes the Vikings have could be filled more quickly by acquiring more first-round picks, something that GM Rick Spielman is clearly open to. This week he said, "Is the left tackle that important or is it more important to have playmakers on offense? Because as your quarterback evolves, he learns the system, he gets the ball quicker out of his hand and all of a sudden that left tackle doesn't need to be a Pro Bowl left tackle. He can be a functional left tackle because the quarterback evolves and he's got playmakers."

Though Spielman could truly feel this way, it's tough to disagree with colleague Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com that Spielman is merely trying to create public doubt about his true intentions. Drafting Justin Blackmon or Morris Claiborne at No. 3 would certainly help out the Vikings with one need, but having an elite wide receiver doesn't help if Ponder has no time to throw the ball nor does having a shutdown corner cover up the lack of playmakers at safety.

With a strong wide receiver and cornerback class, one area of need could also be addressed in free agency, Fowler believes. "I would envision them taking one swing at a top-20 guy. I don't think they'll be major players [in free agency]. They'll go after one big fish at corner or wideout and the one that they don't fill in free agency, they'll try to fill in the second round at No. 35."

If the Rams end up taking Kalil at No. 2 and Minnesota can get a solid package from a team trying to trade up for RG3, the Vikings should do it. They are committed to Ponder and grabbing another first-round pick would help to expedite the rebuilding process. But if Kalil is there at No. 3, as John Clayton tweeted on Saturday, "You have to think Matt Kalil will end up with the Minnesota Vikings with the third pick." The pick would also follow Spielman's recent draft history of selecting the best available player in the first round (Peterson, Percy Harvin) regardless of need.

For a potential franchise player with strong bloodlines (his brother Ryan Kalil is a Pro Bowl center for the Carolina Panthers) and as Spielman put it, a "nasty demeanor," Kalil is the best pick for the Vikings at No. 3.

[PurpleFloyd]

If they want to make the biggest impact with the 3rd pick they will take Claiborne and then take one of the LT's in the second. They can get the guy who protected Luck in college later in the draft but there is no position that can make an immediate impact on the team like having an eliet CB to go against the rest of the offenses in the division.

LT is a need but it is a need that can be addressed later in the draft. However you will not find a lock down cover corner with out second pick.