Who should the Vikes draft?

[FutbolGuru]

Oline and Secondary are the vikings top needs, without question. That said, if the Vikes are smart they'll sign a good CB in free agency (there are several), which in turn would allow them more flexibility in this year's draft. For example: get a CB in FA and then draft Kalil in round 1 and then take an impact offensive player in round 2 (lamichael james - aka darren sproles 2.0, or the best wr available). Then you could go defense or oline the rest of the way... linebacking was gross last year - stuffing the run wasn't always easy and forget about asking any of these guys to blitz. I love EJ but he's done.

[collegepaul]

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.

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.

Not true...the best two CB's in the league over the past few years (arguably Revis and Asumugha) were drafted outside the top 10. The top two LT (Long and Thomas) in the league are top three picks. How many Ryan Cooks do the Vikings need to draft to prove tackles (either side) are not late picks? You can put a late pick in the LT position but they're going to get beat which solves nothing. I thought C. Cook (a second round pick I might add) had a good game against Calvin Johnson.

[thatoneguy]

Lots of WR and CB available in free agency. The smart play is to lock up the LT spot for a decade. The Vikes were near the bottom of the league in protecting the QB last year and in running efficiency on the left side. You don't pass up a Pro Bowl talent like Kalil at a key position like LT - especially when you're years away from being a contender anyway.

[goblueM]

I agree... in general highly picked OT's are a safer bet than CBs

[Nick Kuhn]

If Kalil is around take him. He's about as sure of a player as you can get at a position that helps the whole team. I'm still debating what we need most in the second round; I'd argue a playmaking safety might be better than a corner. Either way both of those need to be addressed. I also use a 4th or 5th round pick on a burner wideout.

[PurpleFloyd]

LOL.

You cherry picked your players pretty well there. Where did Patrick Peterson get drafted last year?

Also, how many of those top drafted LT's made their teams into playoff caliber teams? You don't need an elite LT in order to have a cohesive, functional line as is backed by the lack of elite LT's in the history of SB teams over the last 20 years. What you need is a front office that knows how to pick OL that compliment each other and can work as a group, coaches who can coach those players to work as a unit, and a scheme that works with that talent.

OTOH an elite CB can shut down a whole side of a field and since we set an NFL record for futility in our secondary last year that is my number 1 priority. Revis may have been drafted later but there is no Revis available with our second pick.

[PurpleFloyd]

I agree... in general highly picked OT's are a safer bet than CBs

I don't agree. I went over the last 10 drafts and in the first round there are more CB's taken in the first round that made an impact on their teams than OT and those teams went to more playoff games than the OT's teams.

If want to have a SB team then drafting a LT at a skill position slot is not a recipe for success.

[goblueM]

since you went over the last 10 drafts, care to list the 1st round OTs and CBs for comparison?

In particular, Top 10 picks, since that is what we're talking about, early 1st round picks?

I can name a few OT studs off the top of my head that were Top 10 picks: Jake Long, Joe Thomas, D'Brickishaw Ferguson, and solid guys like Jordan Gross

I am hard pressed to think of any Top 10 CB other than Patrick Peterson, and he's only been in the league for a year and made most of his mark returning punts last year

[james_walleye]

Kalil is a safer pick than claiborne, end of story. That being said I love claiborne and if somehow kalil isn't there I would like to see claiborne picked.

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

Purple Floyd- Couldnt agree with you more... Ive been saying that on here on the previous pages but no one will listen. I HATE the idea of taking an offensive lineman with the 3rd overall pick. Sure Khalil will help, but i dont see him making enough of an impact to lead to a bunch more wins. The third overall pick is a SKILL POSITION pick, I dont care if its offense or defense. I would rather take RG III then an O- lineman with the 3rd pick EVEN WITH Ponder and Webb.

I have no problem taking someone to help the o-line, cuz we surely need it, but if thats what we are going to do then we need to trade down or do it in the later rounds IMO.

And i dont wanna hear "ok millen"... There are plenty of WR's that have been homeruns taken in the first rd. Howd that Calvin Johnson guy work out for Millen?? Dont hear too many lions fans complaining about that one...

IF the vikes have any competant scouts or a competant gm(which im not sure they do) finding O-line help later in the draft SHOULDNT be a problem.

My vote is for a skill position on offense or defense if we dont trade down-

Go blue- u name some pretty good tackles, but how big of an impact did those guys really make? All their teams are still pretty much garbage except for maybe Fergusons...

[goblueM]

The third overall pick is a SKILL POSITION pick, I dont care if its offense or defense.

Last five #3 picks:

2011- Marcell Dareus, DT

2010 - Gerald McCoy, DT

2009 - Tyson Jackson, DE

2008- Matt Ryan, QB

2007 - Joe Thomas, OT

[thatoneguy]

zing!

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

GoBlu, u just proved my point more... 3 of those players are no counts. Matt Ryan is a skill position player and a good one. Joe Thomas is a great T, but how good has he really made the browns???? Last time I checked they are terrible and in need of all the skill positions!

By the way- what kind of fish is that in your avatar?? what a slob!

[PurpleFloyd]

since you went over the last 10 drafts, care to list the 1st round OTs and CBs for comparison?

In particular, Top 10 picks, since that is what we're talking about, early 1st round picks?

I can name a few OT studs off the top of my head that were Top 10 picks: Jake Long, Joe Thomas, D'Brickishaw Ferguson, and solid guys like Jordan Gross

I am hard pressed to think of any Top 10 CB other than Patrick Peterson, and he's only been in the league for a year and made most of his mark returning punts last year

Exactly. The elite CB is an even more rare commodity than the elite LT which makes it an even bigger reason to draft Claiborne. You just don't see as many shut down corners as you do high end LT's and when you get them they make a much bigger impact on their teams. If you would rather have Joe Thomas than Patrick Peterson then I guess we agree to disagree.

back to the first round picks there have also been disappointments at LT such as gallery, McKinney(The last elite LT we drafted to lock up the position for a decade plus)

Since you are so convinced a an elite top rated LT will shore up our line then why did the line look like dump for the years we had an elite, top 10 LT and a HOF left guard on our line?

The simple answer- When you tie up too much money on the blue chip OL you sacrifice the depth you need to be competitive over the long haul. We spent like 100 million on Mac and Hutch and had to settle for retreads on the rest of the line, cut Birk because there wasn't the cap room, and go with young, inexperienced players and no depth.

Lastly- and this is the most important thing- What the team needs more than a top 3 LT is a FO that knows how to assemble an OL with complimentary skill sets that can work together as a unit. Then they need coaches that can come up with blocking schemes that take advantage of the collective talents of the OL players. Without that you can draft every OL player in the first round, burn up every dollar of cap room and still not have the best line in the league.

I would have no problem taking an OT right outside the top 10. In fact last year that is what I was hoping they would do instead of Ponder, but the top of the draft you draft for QB, DE,WR and CB first and build on them because they are the core of the team.

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

Give the govenr' hrrrrumph!!!!!!!! Couldnt have said it better myself Purple...

[james_walleye]

Purple Floyd- Couldnt agree with you more... Ive been saying that on here on the previous pages but no one will listen. I HATE the idea of taking an offensive lineman with the 3rd overall pick. Sure Khalil will help, but i dont see him making enough of an impact to lead to a bunch more wins. The third overall pick is a SKILL POSITION pick, I dont care if its offense or defense. I would rather take RG III then an O- lineman with the 3rd pick EVEN WITH Ponder and Webb.

I have no problem taking someone to help the o-line, cuz we surely need it, but if thats what we are going to do then we need to trade down or do it in the later rounds IMO.

And i dont wanna hear "ok millen"... There are plenty of WR's that have been homeruns taken in the first rd. Howd that Calvin Johnson guy work out for Millen?? Dont hear too many lions fans complaining about that one...

IF the vikes have any competant scouts or a competant gm(which im not sure they do) finding O-line help later in the draft SHOULDNT be a problem.

My vote is for a skill position on offense or defense if we dont trade down-

Go blue- u name some pretty good tackles, but how big of an impact did those guys really make? All their teams are still pretty much garbage except for maybe Fergusons...

How many recievers did Millen pick before hitting on Johnson. And how exactly this far into johnsons career has that pick helped that franchise? They haven't won a playoff game. They seem to be on their way. But they didn't go anywhere until they shored up the front 7 of their defense.

[FutbolGuru]

Claiborne or Kalil are really the only picks we should consider at this point. Blackmon would be a fun pick, but he's not Randy Moss/T.O./Calvin/etc. I agree with everyone that drafting a LT at 3 overall is tough to swallow... but it's a good move for us at this juncture, given our needs, and who is available in this year's draft. We can get a good CB or Safety in Rd 2 (signing a good CB in FA would be huge, as we need more than 1 guy to plug into the secondary).

Bottom line - build the Defense back up and solidify the Oline. Get young where it counts... build a team that can compete for years. No more of this ALL-IN junk that time and time again doesnt work. We need stability. Drafting a QB last year was step 1. Hopefully he's the right guy, and hopefully he'll be ready when our team is ready in 2-3 yrs.

[collegepaul]

LOL. You cherry picked your players pretty well there. Where did Patrick Peterson get drafted last year?

Also, how many of those top drafted LT's made their teams into playoff caliber teams? You don't need an elite LT in order to have a cohesive, functional line as is backed by the lack of elite LT's in the history of SB teams over the last 20 years. What you need is a front office that knows how to pick OL that complement each other and can work as a group, coaches who can coach those players to work as a unit, and a scheme that works with that talent.

OTOH an elite CB can shut down a whole side of a field and since we set an NFL record for futility in our secondary last year that is my number 1 priority. Revis may have been drafted later but there is no Revis available with our second pick.

The two top players at LT and CB is cherry picking? You're obviously missing the point. Some of the best CB's right now can be drafted later in the first round....which the Vikings should do some other year when they don't have as high of a draft pick. IMO, if we went this route we wouldn't miss drafting Claiborne because we would have a better/more talented team for it.

Since you want to point out the top LT's not making the playoffs shows you don't understand that football is a team sport...they weren't the reason for not making it. There's only so much a coach can do for the Charlie Johnson's of the NFL at left tackle.

Patrick Peterson? Really? He made the pro bowl because of his kick/punt returning skills, not as a CB. Devon McCourty (Pats) is just as good or better CB than P. Peterson. If you watched the Vikes games, teams went after Cedric Griffin who was responsible for covering the #2 receiver. A first round pick to cover a teams #2 receiver is generally considered a waste of a first round pick in the NFL. Vikes should be able to find a 2nd round pick to cover guys like Jordy Nelson, Burleson, Colston, etc.

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

How many recievers did Millen pick before hitting on Johnson. And how exactly this far into johnsons career has that pick helped that franchise? They haven't won a playoff game. They seem to be on their way. But they didn't go anywhere until they shored up the front 7 of their defense.

[james_walleye]

Lol feel free to list the recievers these teams have as well. You must have forgotten that part. Go ahead, list the slots where these teams recievers were taken. You would think with what you have posted that all these teams have stud recievers taken early in the first round. Guess you didn't think about that before you decided to take that angle eh?

Ps you can stop dreaming about Blackmon at slot 3, its not going to happen.

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

Dont necessarily only want Blackmon, but hes going to be a stud, mark my words. Im just saying dont take a T with the 3rd overall pick! The quarterbacks on those teams make those recievers what they are, you know that..

[schmitty3]

Blackmon is NOT going to be a stud. He will be a solid receiver, but no star. He does not have speed to separate himself from the defenders. Everyone just expects him to be a star just cause he's the best wr in the draft.

[james_walleye]

So you just listed the best teams in the league. These upper class teams have "decent" reciever cores that are made to look much better than they are due to great qbs. They seem to have set the standard according to you when it comes to building a upper class team. But then you are all for using the 3 slot on a WR when its clear that isn't what these teams do. Yep, great logic there. You seem to be good at contradicting yourself.

I remember wishing that the vikings could grab the last can't miss WR to come out in the draft. I'm glad the 49ers got him.

[james_walleye]

.....and speaking of the 49ers, I find it amusing that you left them off your little list of teams earlier considering their draft strategy immediately upon "missing" on Crabtree.

[zepman]

Dont necessarily only want Blackmon, but hes going to be a stud, mark my words. Im just saying dont take a T with the 3rd overall pick! The quarterbacks on those teams make those recievers what they are, you know that..

That is correct and those QB's don't get touched in the pocket either.

[james_walleye]

One of the reasons I think Kalil is the obvious pick is because of what is available in FA. WR and CBs are loaded this year. I believe both will be addressed in part before the draft.

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

IF thats the case, then i would have no problem drafting Khalil. Not too many top end FA are gonna wanna come to a 3-13 squad unless we completely overpay for them though. The way the rules are set up now, its a passing league. Even if your o line is terrible, unless its a sack u cant touch the QB without drawing a flag. Its all about the big play passing game in the NFL now and defenses that cause turnovers, and that reeks of a skill position pick at 3 to me.

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

Blackmon is NOT going to be a stud. He will be a solid receiver, but no star. He does not have speed to separate himself from the defenders. Everyone just expects him to be a star just cause he's the best wr in the draft.

Blackmon doesnt have breakaway speed, but big deal... thats all anyone ever looks at anymore. What he DOES have is GREAT hands(the #1 thing i look at in someone that is paid to catch the ball) and the ability to run through tackles. He'll be more then solid.

Zepman- They dont get touched in the pocket because they get the ball out of their hands quickly and they know where its going and where their recievers are gonna be at all times. And if they do get hit its a flag anyway cuz the NFL wants them all upright and not on injured reserve. Can u even name an o lineman on one of their teams without googling it?

Im not saying we dont need oline help, just not with the 3rd overall pick!!!

Having said that, the vikes will probably end up taking Khalil which will take care of two spots on the O line(johnson to G). But ponder still wont have anyone to throw to except Harvin and Rudolph, which wont scare anyone or back defenses off the line of scrimmage for AP. AND our defense still wont have any playmakers.... we'll just continue to watch interceptions bounce off our worthless secondaries face masks and Cedrick griffin get scorched for long tds. Good luck with that

[MUSKY18]

Having said that, the vikes will probably end up taking Khalil which will take care of two spots on the O line(johnson to G). But ponder still wont have anyone to throw to except Harvin and Rudolph, which wont scare anyone or back defenses off the line of scrimmage for AP. AND our defense still wont have any playmakers.... we'll just continue to watch interceptions bounce off our worthless secondaries face masks and Cedrick griffin get scorched for long tds. Good luck with that

Which is exactly why they need to pick Khalil with that pick. Move Johnson inside to guard and all of a sudden you have an offensive line that is already 100 times better than last year. Open up some running lanes for AP. Let the defense walk 8 into the box to stop him and then when you decide to let Ponder throw, he actually has the time to find Rudolph or Harvin. You all talk about how getting the ball out quickly is the way to go, but how many "quick hitting" pass plays do the Vikings really throw? Not many, so that talk is just nonsense until the OC revamps the play calling. Take are of the O Line with Khalil and it opens up much more than drafting another Troy Williamson. Yeah, remember him? The big playmaker wide receiver the Vikings drafted to make an instant impace? Take care of the offensive side of the ball with the draft and pickup some D help through FA.

[FutbolGuru]

Agree, Musky18.

Taking Kalil is the smart move. It is our highest percentage chance to shore up our oline this year, not to mention, for many years to come. We can't put it off again, we have to do it now. Ponder got killed last year and Favre got killed the year before that... I was in awe of our picks last year when we made it out of the first 2 rounds without an olineman.

Also, I'm in the camp that doesn't like the idea of spending a top 3 pick on a LT... but in our situation, given the other players we have to chose from in this year's draft and FA, it's the smart move. We need to keep our quarterback healthy so he's around to play when we actually have a team 3 years from now. Don't be shortsighted people.

That said, I would love to hear Blackmon or Claiborne's names called on draft day lol.