NFL Draft 2012

Rams Have Decided To Trade #2 Pick

February 27, 2012, by No comments yet

Not that this should surprise anybody, but “sources” reported today that the St. Louis Rams have already decided to trade the 2nd pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. According to those same “sources,” they have had discussions with the Browns, Redskins and Dolphins (again, big surprise). Robert Griffin III’s stellar performance at the combine over the weekend pretty much sealed the deal that someone would move up into the Ram’s position to take the speedy quarterback from Baylor.

(Note: Take this with a grain of salt. Nothing is certain or official… And these pesky “sources” seem to jump the gun quite often. But ESPN’s Adam Schefter has even said the Rams will be trading the pick and he is almost always accurate in his reporting.)

What does this mean for our Vikings? Well, it means that we can have whoever our little hearts desire (that is, as long as their name doesn’t end in “Luck” or roman numerals). Moreover, it means Matt Kalil will almost definitely be in purple next year, protecting quarterback Christian Ponder’s blindside from Lions, Packers and Bears for many years to come. As we reported a couple days ago, Kalil had a good showing this past weekend at the combine and solidified his status as the best offensive tackle in this year’s draft class.

While they are unlikely, here are some other directions the Vikings could take on draft day now that we know what will be happening with the #2 pick.

  1. Trade the pick. (Very unlikely, though.. After Griffin, there really isn’t anyone good enough to trade up to the #3 spot for. But, who knows? Anything’s possible.)
  2. Select wide receiver Justin Blackmon.
  3. Select cornerback Morris Claiborne.
  4. Surprise (infuriate) everyone and do something completely unexpected.

A lot can happen in the next 58 days leading up to the draft and free agency will undoubtedly affect the Vikings draft strategy. But, with every passing day, it seems more and more likely that the Vikings will finally address a need that the team seemingly has had forever with Matt Kalil. Eventually, we’ll move past the third pick and begin to speculate more heavily about what the Vikings will do in the rest of the draft.

Some Names Surface

February 27, 2012, by 2 comments

Just like at the Senior Bowl, the Vikings are going to use the NFL Scouting Combine as an opportunity to meet and interview as many of the prospects as possible.  While we will probably never know the entire list of whom they have met with, a few have been uncovered and I’ll discuss them here.

Chris Rainey, RB, Florida

The Vikings reportedly interviewed the speedy pass catching back this weekend at some point.  It really shouldn’t be too much of a surprise as his skill set matches up exactly with the type of third down scat back the Vikings offense has been missing for years now.  I singled out Rainey in my Offseason Preview of running backs as a potential target for the Vikings in the later rounds of the Draft.

Rainey did not have a great showing in Indianapolis as his 4.37 second dash was less impressive than anticipated and he dropped a number of passes during the drills portion.  He has an injury history combined with some off the field issues that could keep him from being drafted at all.  Still, outside of Percy Harvin, this Vikings offense lacks breakaway speed and Rainey could bring a homerun potential from the backfield, out of the slot position, or even in the return game.  He might be worth a late round flier if the Vikings liked what they saw in his interview.

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Stephen Hill: Future Viking?

February 27, 2012, by 3 comments
Stephen Hill - WR, Georgia Tech

Today, the 2012 NFL Combine featured Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin. Yeah, there were some other guys there, too. You know, those other quarterbacks, wide receivers and running backs (whatever those guys do in this “passing league”). Primarily, though, it was just a love fest for Luck and Griffin – this year’s two top quarterback prospects. Griffin wowed everyone with his great 40 time and athleticism. Luck wowed everyone with his great 40 time and athleticism. There was another guy though that managed to break into the spotlight meant solely Luck and Griffin. Someone who could very likely still be on the board when the Vikings have their second pick in the second round – Stephen Hill, a wide receiver out of Georgia Tech.

Stephen Hill, at 6’4”, 215 lbs., ran a blazing [official] 4.36 in the 40 yard dash today at the combine, very likely making him one of the most legitimate deep threat wide outs in this draft class. Hill averaged 29.3 yards per reception this year (more than any other receiver in college football) for a total of 820 yards. He has long arms, a huge catch radius and consistently blows by coverages on deep routes. Hill is also an above average blocker who comes from an offense that requires that skill set.

Sound like something the Vikings may need? I think so. Continue reading as we look a little closer at Hill.

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OFFSEASON PREVIEW: Last Line Of Defense

February 26, 2012, by No comments yet
Abdullah

[NOTE FROM ADAM:  This is the second-to-last installation of my position-by-position breakdown of the Vikings offseason.  The specialists will be the final segment, coming up soon.  You can click the links to view previous installments:  The Passers, The Runners, The Wide Outs, The Tight Ends, The Offensive Line, The Defensive Tackles, The Defensive Ends, The Linebackers, and The Cornerbacks.]

Members of the Vikings coaching staff and front office have made a habit of defending their safeties as fans and the media often pick on them for a lack of production.

This offseason, however, the team faces a crossroads at the position and we will find out just how much they really think of their current group of safeties. 

Let’s take a closer look.

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Cost Of McNabb Disaster Cut In Half

February 25, 2012, by 1 comment

Donovan McNabb was sent to Minnesota by Washington in exchange for a 2012 sixth round pick and a conditional 2013 sixth round pick.

The conditional pick was reportedly based around playing time, and according to Tom Pelissero of 1500 ESPN, McNabb did not play enough snaps to trigger the condition.  McNabb played 348 of the team’s 1,037 snaps which is 33.6% and thought to be just under the amount needed to trigger the condition.

So, while the Vikings are one sixth rounder shy this offseason due to the McNabb trade, 2013 will not be affected.  This year, the Vikings have six of their regular picks (rounds 1-5 and round 7) and two extra picks (rounds 6 & 7) that came via the Sage Rosenfels and Jayme Mitchell trades.

Pelissero predicts the Vikings will get two fourth round conditional picks for losing Ray Edwards and Sidney Rice to free agency last offseason.  I have long been predicting a slightly less optimistic scenario for the compensatory picks in which the team nets one pick from the fourth, sixth and seventh rounds each.

Kalil Looks The Part

February 25, 2012, by No comments yet

Speculation surrounding the Vikings first round pick has been mostly centered around USC left tackle Matt Kalil ever since it became obvious their 2011 season was going nowhere.

Fans tuning into the combine this weekend were treated to a display of strength and athleticism that should confirm Kalil’s status as the top left tackle of this Draft prospect, ahead of Iowa’s Riley Reiff and Stanford’s Jonathan Martin.

Kalil had the second fastest 40-time of all the offensive linemen with a 4.99 official time.  He had 30 reps on the bench press, which is plenty respectable for an outside lineman.  He (and guard David DeCastro) blazed through the 3-cone drill posting a time of 7.33 seconds. 

He did post some disappointing results on the high jump and broad jump, which could lead to some worries about his burst off the line, but overall Kalil should have solidified his status as the top tackle in Indy.

It remains to be seen if the Vikings will draft Kalil, somebody else, or trade out of the three spot, but it is comforting to know that there will be such a talented option available in the top three this April.

NFL COMBINE: DAY ONE RUMORS

February 24, 2012, by 3 comments

Am I alone in thinking the first day of this year’s NFL Scouting Combine in Indy was uncharacteristically short on the unsubstantiated rumors we all crave?  To be honest, I am kind of disappointed.

Still, I found some items for you guys (and gals) to chew on this morning:

  • Click here to read Paul Allen’s humorous encounters with Matt Kalil and Darrell Bevell at the Combine.  Further down, you get to the real interesting stuff, where Allen claims everyone in Indy is talking and acting like the Rams trading out of the number two spot is already a done deal.  Both St. Louis and Minnesota have publically admitted they are open to trading backwards for the right deal.  Spielman wants to be “very active” in trading to “accumulate picks” on Draft Day (which scares the Tarvaris Jackson out of me).
  • At 6’ 4” and 240 pounds, UCLA’s Cory Harkey was the biggest blocking tight end to weigh in on Thursday.  For those of you that would love to see the Vikings find a suitable replacement for Jim Kleinsasser via a late round pick, keep an on this guy.
  • When the NFC North Champions re-signed tight end Jermichael Finley to a two year deal this week, it opened up the possibility of them franchising (and then trading) backup quarterback Matt Flynn to the highest bidder.  The Cleveland Browns, who are thought to be a prime Draft Day trade partner with the Vikings or Rams, are now rumored to have interest in making a play for Flynn instead of trading up to draft Robert Griffin III.
  • I don’t have a link to provide here, but it seems possible that the free agent wide receiver market could dry up pretty quick if the current abundance of “smoke” is any indications.  The Eagles like Desean Jackson.  The Chargers like Vincent Jackson.  The Steelers want Mike Wallace to be spend his whole career with them.  The Chiefs want “somewhere over Dwayne Bowe” back.  The Cowboys can’t re-sign Laurent Robinson until after free agency starts because of a technicality, but they want him to remain on the roster.  The Colts are really talking up Reggie Wayne.  Don’t believe everything you hear, folks, but I’m willing to bet a number of these guys don’t make it to free agency.  But, hey, there’s always Stevie Johnson.  Yay?

That’s about it for now.  Hopefully there will be some more items of interest produced on Friday.  Leslie Frazier will speak to the press on Friday, and Matt Kalil will be officially interviewed by the Vikings on Friday, so I’m sure we’ll have some interesting things to pass along.