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wtfvikesfan (449)If you have been reading my stuff for a while now, you know I am a fan of Mock Drafts despite the fact that they are pretty silly in nature.
Silly or not, my first mock is finally ready to be unveiled and ripped apart.
You can view it by clicking right here, and Brett has set up a comments section for you to leave me your feedback.
Alright folks, here it is: my first 2012 mock draft of the offseason! I take a look at each pick in the first round, predict trades, who teams will take and then offer my opinion/analysis/thoughts on the acquisition. Some of you may be surprised with how I have things panning out for the Vikings.
I would love to have everyone’s thoughts/comments/criticisms/etc… on what I’ve put together (comments are enabled at the end of the mock). Click the link below to check it out and enjoy!
It looks like Raheem Morris is not the only guy the Vikings are interested in talking to about their Defensive Coordinator position, according to this report from Clark Judge at CBS Sports.
The report goes on to say that Steve Spagnuolo, the recently fired head coach of the St. Louis Rams, appears to be the front runner at this point. Of course, Spagnuolo is well respected in the NFL as a defensive strategist, so it would not be surprising to see the Vikings getting stiff competition for his services. It is somewhat expected that he will rejoin Andy Reid and the Eagles.
Mel Tucker, the interim head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, is another name mentioned along with Mike Singletary.
Morris is the only guy that is really known for running the Tampa-2 defense that Frazier holds in high esteem. Both Singletary and Tucker could possibly be the first step towards a 3-4 defense, should one of them get the job.
Fred Pagac still is employed as the current Defensive Coordinator. It is unknown if he will rejoin the team in a lesser role.
Morris interviewed for the position on Friday, but left Minnesota without a contract.
Leslie Frazier will want to have his coaching staff solidified soon, as it is now official that they will be coaching the Senior Bowl’s North Team starting about January 23rd. The Redskins will coach the South team.
One month ago today, I discussed the impact that decisions from junior quarterbacks could have on the Vikings 2012 Draft, even though they are unlikely to be seeking one of them for themselves.
Yesterday, Landry Jones announced he will remain at Oklahoma for his senior season, which could impact the trade value the Vikings have at the #3 spot.
The first round quarterback prospects are expected to consist of Andrew Luck of Stanford and Robert Griffen III of Baylor, with a bit of a drop off to Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill who is currently projected as a late first round pick by most draftniks.
Assuming Andrew Luck is drafted first overall as widely anticipated, this could leave all other quarterback needy teams in a position in which they scramble to trade up with either the Rams or the Vikings to select the highly touted Griffen.
If a team doesn’t trade upwards, they will risk coming away from the first round empty handed at their most important position.
Of course, the Rams themselves could be interested in selecting Griffen since they have a new regime coming in and Sam Bradford’s ridiculous rookie contract is now a thing of the past.
A few posts down, I mentioned that Leslie Frazier is confident that his coaching staff will be coaching a squad at the Senior Bowl later in January.
In the comments, some of you had questions I couldn’t answer about how it is determined who gets to coach the game, which is viewed as an added advantage in terms of up-close scouting of a decent number of prospects.
That question appears to have been answered through various tweets by Vikings beat writers. It sounds like the option is given to teams based on the order of the upcoming NFL Draft, and teams are given the option to send their coaching staff if they like.
So with only two squads to coach, and the Vikings sitting at #3, why is Frazier so confident he’ll be asked to lead one of the teams?
Well, the game is only a couple of weeks away, and both Indianapolis and St. Louis are up in the air in terms of their G.M. and coaching positions, so it seems likely that at least one of those teams will opt out of the chance to coach a squad.
Hope that helps to clarify matters a little bit.
Here is an interesting tidbit buried in a recent article over at 1500ESPN:
While no official announcement has been made yet, Leslie Frazier is apparently convinced that he and his staff will be coaching one of the teams at this year’s Senior Bowl, an annual event held in Mobile, Alabama that draws just about every scout, coach, and personnel guy in the business.
The game will be played on January 23rd, so it is highly likely that any coaching changes will be made prior to that date to ensure Frazier’s real staff of the future are the ones taking advantage of an up-close look at these prospects.
Frazier is so certain the Vikings will be coaching one of the two teams that he asked offensive line coach Jeff Davidson to postpone his scheduled hip replacement until after the Senior Bowl.
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