We are doing things a little different this year, trying an alternative from our normal live chat format, and have installed a chat room for readers to gravitate towards as the evening wears on.
The link to the chat is on the menu at the top of the screen or you can access it by clicking right here.
What hasn’t changed is our request that users keep the discussion at PG-13 rating (at the worst) for the sake of our younger fanbase.
What has changed:
The format is much more bare-bones. It won’t look as pretty. We know it, we understand it, and we hope you are as ok with that as we are.
Brett and I will pop in and out, but this new format allows us to let you all have free reign of the place, while we focus on content for the blog.
You will have to select a username and log in to participate.
The chat will begin when you log in, so you will not be able to see what has been previously said in the chat. Make sure not to close out of your screen if you want to take in the entire conversation.
If you have any problems please us the “Contact Us” page to let us know and we’ll get back to you ASAP.
I would just like to say “Thank You” to our super awesome MVP-reader “Harvest” for setting this up for us all even though he won’t even be able to participate tonight. He volunteered a lot of time to make sure you all enjoy yourselves this weekend and I would appreciate you all giving him a big “thanks” in the comments sections, as well.
If Michael David Smith of PFT gets this wrong then he will never, ever, ever be able to live it down.
According to Smith, the Chiefs have already decided their first selection (and our VT mock drafts) will be Central Michigan tackle Eric Fisher. The Chiefs inability to trade left tackle Branden Albert makes Fisher a candidate to start at the right tackle spot which normally wouldn’t be considered with the top overall pick, so this really is a surprising rise to the top of the Draft class for Fisher.
Of course, the Chiefs could still trade Albert and move Fisher to the left side, or simply put Albert on the left side, but this is obviously a significant development in what was already a very unpredictable Draft.
The Vikings would prefer to see offensive tackles go like hot cakes at the top of this Draft, because that would allow more value at positions of need to fall to them at their respective spots later on in the round.
If the Vikings draft Manti Te’o tonight it might not be the only Draft-related move that we’ve been calling for months now.
When profiling punter Ryan Allen, and then later Brad Wing, I outlined all of the various reasons the Vikings might send special teams coordinator Mike Priefer on the road to find a new punter this offseason. Kluwe’s $1.4 million salary chews up significant space (for a punter) in the last year of his current deal. He’s getting older and seems to be, at least slightly, regressing. There is some incredible talent and depth at the punter position available this year. Priefer also expressed last season that Kluwe’s off-field endeavours have been exhausting.
With the success Priefer had last year in sneaking in some visits with kicker Blair Walsh, who they then selected to replace Ryan Longwell, I felt that the timing made sense to attempt the same type of transition at punter.
And the signs are pointing to that being a very real possibility.
1500 ESPN reports that Priefer conducted at least three private visits with prospective punters prior to tonight. LSU’s Brad Wing, Arizona State’s Josh Hubner and UCLA’s Jeff Locke have all been worked out privately by Priefer, according to the report. These visits are unlikely to be a result of anything less than strong interest, because the Vikings already have a “camp leg” in the form of T.J. Conley on the roster.
Kluwe’s job is safe for one more day, but it appears he could be looking for work as soon as Sunday.
I’m going to be honest with you, I’ve just about thrown in the towel on the whole mock draft thing this year.
It isn’t for a lack of preparation. It isn’t a lack of confidence in my evaluations. It isn’t for a lack of reading “this will 100% happen” or “there is no way that happens” from various media outlets or from fans. It certainly isn’t for a lack of caring.
I just find this draft class to be so incredibly unpredictable. The lack of quarterback talent will test teams with the need for a new one. The incredible depth at the defensive line and secondary positions makes it very hard to stack the talent with any conviction. With the Vikings now having two first round picks to work with, and a roster with plenty of needs, their draft possibilities seem even more endless than usual.
Setting all that aside, however, I now present you with my final 2013 NFL Mock Draft with just hours to go until the real thing goes down tonight.
Here we are less than 48 hours away from the greatest stretch of three days throughout the entire offseason and I can’t sleep. Obviously, I’m referring to the 2013 NFL Draft which takes place this Thursday evening. And unfortunately, the absence of sleep isn’t due to excitement regarding our two first round picks… It’s due to a nasty case of bronchitis and a sinus infection that leaves me coughing throughout the night. So, bear with me as I walk you through my third and final mock draft of the offseason and attempt to explain some of the decisions I’ve made (of which are bound to make at least a few Vikings fans squirm).
First, yes, I still do have Geno Smith going in the top 5. In fact, I have two quarterbacks being taken in the top 10. Here’s why and I’ve said it before: People can say anything they want about the lack of talent and a true franchise QB in this year’s draft but the truth is that teams over and over again have showed us that, on draft day, they are more than willing to reach on a quarterback that they think even has a remote chance of righting the ship (regardless of how delusional that thought may be).
Geno Smith to the Eagles isn’t that crazy. Their is a new head coach there who is going to be looking for someone that can run his new, fast-pace offense. Michael Vick is past his prime and has become a turnover machine. The Eagles selecting Smith and having the two face off in camp seems to make sense to me (and a few other people).
The next quarterback I have being taken (by the Buffalo Bills) also makes sense. The obvious connection with Nassib and coach Doug Marone is there from their time together at Syracuse. But, more than that, the Bills need to create competition at the quarterback position and it’s not a guarantee their guy (assumedly Nassib) will be there when they select in the second round. It’s possible, yes. But, unless they can somehow trade down, would not be surprised at all with this pick.
Alright, let’s get on to the important part, shall we? Our selections.
The NFL Draft has the same allure as a record Powerball jackpot.
Men (and some women) from around the globe converge onto the internet for about 11 and a half months to try an predict, analyze, and grade the next year of fresh prospects. We follow their every move, chart their plays, scour police blotters, and argue about their potential all the way up until their names are called… and then some more.
I’m not going to say that analysts, bloggers, or fans know nothing about these prospects. They know quite a bit, actually, and it really is impressive how much more the common man knows about Tyrann Mathieu’s pee than he knows about… oh, we’ll go with Darfur here in order to maintain my long and proud tradition of being completely cliche.
While we know quite a bit about these prospects, and know even more about the rosters that make up our favorite teams, the truth is that the ultimate reality show that is the NFL Draft process gets it’s appeal from the fact that it is almost completely, utterly, 100 percent unpredictable. Outside of some obvious top three picks, the only thing that is predictable about the NFL Draft is that it will be unpredictable (see, cliche after cliche, I can’t help myself).
Now, I have been predicting all offseason long that the Vikings would aim to select Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o in the first round of this week’s Draft, and wavered on that prediction only momentarily between Percy Harvin’s departure from Minnesota and Greg Jennings’ arrival.
That is why I was shocked to see someone much older, much more experienced, and someone that is supposed to be much wiser than me make a bold and perhaps foolish statement.
[Note: Want to see a list of every player featured in our "Draft Target" segment? Click here to visit the Offseason Tracker where there will be a list of all these players. Check back often as there are plenty more to come!]
Alabama defensive tackle Jesse Williams has become one of the more divisive prospects in this class that doesn’t have any known drug test fails, arrests, or fake girlfriends. Many draftniks consider Williams to be a top 20 talent while others view him as an average talent, such as NFL Network draft guru Mike Mayock who ranks Williams at #97 on his big board.
I’m more in the middle of these two sets of opinions, with Williams currently #64 on our VT Big Board, and Williams certainly possesses some traits that should be desirable to the Vikings front office.
Williams is a mammoth of a man at 6′ 3″ and 323 pounds and displays incredible strength, posting 30 bench press reps at the Combine and also reportedly capable of benching 600 pounds. He uses his brute strength on the field to manhandle opposing blockers, play two gaps at a time, and fairly consistently pushes the pocket in a disruptive manner. With some NFL coaching helping to clean up his fundamentals, he may end up having one of the most feared bull rushes in the NFL. He has the versatility to play multiple positions in just about any defensive scheme and has experience to prove it.
Despite his versatility, my main concern with Williams is that he seems very one dimensional and will be strictly a two-down player. He lacks the speed, range, and pass rushing arsenal to be much more than that. He wasn’t even an every-down player in college, and seemed to get very quiet for Alabama as games wore on, which suggests that conditioning could be a significant issue especially since motivation and hustle do not seem to be the problem.
Pat Williams is someone the Vikings have yet to adequately replace, and a lot of that has to do with just how unique of a player Pat was, and I don’t see Williams being of a similar ilk. He could eat up space and double teams on running downs, and his strength could cause him to make the occasional splash play, but he would certainly be part of a rotation as more of a role player. That role, however, is one that is very important to the Vikings defense and one he will surely succeed at playing.
The Australian-born Williams started out by playing for a junior college in Arizona before deciding to jump to Alabama in 2011. He then started all 13 games as a five-technique defensive end and notched 24 total tackles, four of which were for a loss.
Last season he moved to the full-time starting position at nose tackle where he started all but one game, having to sit one out because of concussion symptoms, which of course is a concern in this modern-day era of the NFL. He was more productive in this role, however, and managed 37 tackles, 2.5 for a loss, two half sacks, a blocked kick, and numerous reps as the lead blocker in Alabama’s goalline plays.
I see Williams as a run stuffing rotational player that is both physically limited and in possession of untapped potential at the same time. He still has room to improve on the things he is proficient at, as his football experience isn’t as extensive as American-born prospects, and the Vikings could certainly stand to benefit from him falling to them in the second or third rounds.
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