Who should the Vikes draft?

[BuckSutherland]

Hey James walley- I wonder if the Saints, Packers and Patriots Qb's help make those late round recievers good????? Any reciever with a pulse looks good on those teams...

Give me Blackmon and he'll make the vikes QB (whoever that may be) better imo...

Did Brady's jersey even get dirty against the Broncos? Its all about protection. Blackmon will be a bust just like roy williams an all the other recievers drafted early. He will be the TO, ochocinco type that becomes a cancer to his team. Real smart. Lets not get Peterson and Ponder someone that can give them some time to even be successful. I mean we have only staked the futrure of the franchise on them.

And Speilman(i mean pierbridge) It may interest you to know that 2 of the top defenses this year are still alive and have a chance to go to the superbowl.

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

Read my earlier post guy... I said u SHOULD be able to get good O-lineman in rounds 2, 3, 4 ect... I dont know if i trust our scouting dept. to do that though. Blackmon WILL NOT be a bust, the guy is a freak... More like calvin johnson and AJ Green then Roy Williams. Top 5 picks shouldnt be wasted on O lineman, there are lots of great big farm boys to choose from, not a lot of freakish wide outs

[james_walleye]

Hey James walley- I wonder if the Saints, Packers and Patriots Qb's help make those late round recievers good????? Any reciever with a pulse looks good on those teams...

Give me Blackmon and he'll make the vikes QB (whoever that may be) better imo...

Not with the line the vikings have lol! A passing game is nothing without time to throw. This team goes NOWHERE without line help. No NFL team goes anywhere with a garbage OL. You just said yourself those 3 teams WRs look good because of their qbs. They have no standouts. So why in earth should the vikings want to start with that building block? It makes ZERO sense.

[james_walleye]

Read my earlier post guy... I said u SHOULD be able to get good O-lineman in rounds 2, 3, 4 ect... I dont know if i trust our scouting dept. to do that though. Blackmon WILL NOT be a bust, the guy is a freak... More like calvin johnson and AJ Green then Roy Williams. Top 5 picks shouldnt be wasted on O lineman, there are lots of great big farm boys to choose from, not a lot of freakish wide outs

Interesting, since the last can't miss reciever was Michael Crabtree lol.

[Scott K]

Chicken or the egg guys. To be honest, the team will improve regardless if we take Blockman, Luck, RG3, Kalil, or trade for a couple more 1st picks. We are in a position to improve 1 part of the team with a very good player, we should be happy with any of the mentioned. The fact is, it doesnt matter which player they pick, it wont make the team a contender, and they will either have to get really lucky in the later rounds, and, or spend a lot in free agency. The value of the 3rd pick is higher then it has ever been before, so we more then likely will be knocked off our feet with a bunch of picks, and trade out of the pick.

[gopher_nation]

Free agency will point towards what the team is planning to do in the draft.

[TR21HP]

Agree with free agency dictating what to do with the draft but free agency is just as much a gamble as the draft as the Eagles found out this year. The Vikings have to place a higher emphasis on player development, you just don't see the individual player growth on the Vikes as you see on other teams and that rests with the coaching staff.

[james_walleye]

I guess the main reason I'm on board with taking Kalil if they stay at 3 is because there is a whole load of good recievers available in FA. There is exactly 1 left tackle. It's going to be a whole lot easier to bring in a good WR via FA than that lone tackle. And we will know before the draft if a reciever is brought in or not. I believe this is the smartest path.

[BuckSutherland]

Agree with free agency dictating what to do with the draft but free agency is just as much a gamble as the draft as the Eagles found out this year. The Vikings have to place a higher emphasis on player development, you just don't see the individual player growth on the Vikes as you see on other teams and that rests with the coaching staff.

Right on. Agree 100%. Never been a fan of the huge free agent contracts.

[collegepaul]

Read my earlier post guy... I said u SHOULD be able to get good O-lineman in rounds 2, 3, 4 ect...Top 5 picks shouldnt be wasted on O lineman, there are lots of great big farm boys to choose from, not a lot of freakish wide outs

That's true except for left tackles; NFL teams put a premium on blindside blockers because it's very difficult to find "big farm boys" that are 300 pounds+ and athletic enough to defend against a speed rusher (see "Farmboy" McKinnie vs. Freeney, Peppers, Brett Favre's ankle after the Saints game, and others which he was too slow to block).

IMO, I'd rather see the Vikings draft Tommy Streeter (WR, 6'4", 215) from Miami in the 2nd or 3rd round. He's considered very talented but still raw and needs time to develop but he could (not saying he will) turn out to be just as good or better as Blackmon in a year or two.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/players/1630465/tommy-streeter

[Scott K]

I am thinking 2nd round we should be addressing our secondary, or lack there of.

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

Agreed, but is this USC tackle the ONLY good blindside blocker in the draft??? I find that VERY hard to believe. I just want the vikes to get better and I think they will be no matter what they do in the draft and free agency, cuz its pretty tough to be any worse!!!!!

[collegepaul]

Agreed, but is this USC tackle the ONLY good blindside blocker in the draft??? I find that VERY hard to believe. I just want the vikes to get better and I think they will be no matter what they do in the draft and free agency, cuz its pretty tough to be any worse!!!!!

After Reiff and Martin, I haven't heard of anyone that could step right in and start at left tackle. We all want to see the Vikings get better and there is more than one way of doing it. Learning from prior mistakes ('98 and '09) shouldn't be forgotten in the rebuilding process.

[thatoneguy]

The best thing the Vikes have going for them is who drafts after them - Cleveland, who would LOVE to get RG3.

In addition, you have Washington (#6) and Miami (#9) that definitely need an upgrade at QB, and possibly others like Seattle, creating the very real possibility of a mini-bidding war to trade up for the #3 pick.

MN is in a good spot because they can hold out for a great package and trade down a couple spots (still getting an impact player), or if they don't get what they like they can take Kalil or Claiborne and get an elite prospect at a crucial position of need.

FWIW Mel Kiper has Claiborne as his 4th best player overall (not that Kiper is the source of all knowledge, but he's a good evaluator). I don't think it can even be argued that MN needs more help in the defensive backfield than anywhere else. The more I think about it, the more I like Claiborne, especially if they trade down a pick or three.

I wouldn't be upset if they took Blackmon, but I think they can do a lot better. Heck, I wouldn't even be upset if they took RG3, though I don't think there's a chance in Hades that will happen.

[YiGGiN4SLoBS]

They had better be sure ponder or webb is the guy then, cuz from what ive seen, RG3 is gonna be a stud. Not only is he as athletic as anyone in the draft but he is very intelligent too. I like the idea of taking a tackle in the draft because you can solve two spots with one pick by moving Johnson to guard, just NOT with a top 5 pick. I like a skill position player with where we pick- WR, CB, or even RG3!

[collegepaul]

After Reiff and Martin, I haven't heard of anyone that could step right in and start at left tackle. We all want to see the Vikings get better and there is more than one way of doing it. Learning from prior mistakes ('98 and '09) shouldn't be forgotten in the rebuilding process.

I stand corrected...Reiff and Martin may not ready to start at left tackle.

http://www.twincities.com/vikings/ci_19785076

[frogtosser]

Joe Montana

[frogtosser]

I hear Brock Lesnar has a opening in his schedule

[Fish Head]

There has only been 1 DB drafted in the last 20 years early than the 5th pick. I like Claiborne, but #3 is too early for him. If we could trade back a few and get him around 5-8 and pick up another 3rd round pick, that would be great. I can't imagine Blackmon being available after pick #5, but you never know.

Things will change a fair amount after the combine.

[simple1]

Usually, and I stress usually the closest thing to a sure pick in the first round. If they take the best LT available, but I am a big believer in always taking the best player available no matter where you pick. But if I was the Vikings front office I would be looking to trade down in the draft a couple of times to get some extra picks. They have no secondary and playing against GB, Lions! and the Bears 2 times each.... Oh My!

[klecker]

Manning might be available in FA. That fits the Vikings mood of thought. Could be the best FA qb they ever signed. One bridge fixed while they fix the others.

[simple1]

This team has to stop bringing in aging QBs. Even if manning is still good, they have to stick with Ponder and develope him until they believe he can or cannot be a QB in the league.

[schmitty3]

It would be awesome to get Manning. He's not like the other aging qb's we've brought in. Yes there is a bit of risk with his neck, but this guy is tough and I don't see it affecting him much. He is still one of the best qb's in this league, and would be a great mentor for Ponder.

[simple1]

Good teams don't go out and get people's left overs. Ponder needs to keep playing because the Vikes will have to decide on his contract in a couple years, and to do that they need to see him play. If he's behind Manning and not playing, it's tough to figure his worth. If Manning is healthy, he is going to want some serious coin. That will come at a cost of fewer young FAs that you were previously in the market for. As I said earlier I am a giants fan, but would like to see the Vikes do well so I can go see them in the play offs. The Giants drafting has been good and steady. You don't always need the sexy player all the "fans" want. There are a lot of good players in every draft, the front office just has to find them.

[BuckSutherland]

Behind our O-line manning would be dead within a couple games. See Bret Farve, Adrian Peterson, Toby Gerhardt, Christian Ponder injuries.

We tried to bring in Mcnothing for 7 million last year. Look how well that worked. Its time to get young. We have to be one of the oldest teams in the league.