Posts tagged: dre kirkpatrick

Kirkpatrick And Floyd To Visit Vikings

April 13, 2012, by 1 comment

According to Jeremy Fowler of the Pioneer Press, the Vikings will be bringing cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick as well as wide receiver Michael Floyd to Winter Park next week. We already reported that Floyd would be visiting a few days ago. Kirkpatrick’s visit is new news, though.

Realistically, the Vikings will not select either player come April 26th, barring some sort of trade to move further down. It’s good to see the Vikings doing their due diligence though and looking into some of this year’s best prospects at two positions of need.

Ironically, in #MockThree, a social media centric, online, community draft, our war room actually traded back up into the first round to select Dre Kirkpatrick.

 

Inside Our War Room – Round 4

April 11, 2012, by 15 comments

Alright, back to update you all again on our progress in the #MockThree online mock draft. I’ve touched on it a couple times already (so I won’t again here), but if you missed the first three rounds as well as the general background information on what the draft is all about, use the links below to catch up.

Round One

1.03 – LT Matt Kalil, USC
Trade – 2.03, 4.03 and 6.03 for Bengals 1.21
1.21 – CB Dre Kirkpatrick, Alabama

Rounds Two & Three

3.03 – S Markelle Martin, Oklahoma State

After making the Markelle Martin selection at the top of the third, we again had to wait almost two full rounds to make another pick (as a result of the Dre Kirkpatrick trade). And again, it was tough to watch so many players we were targeting fly off the board.

Before making the Martin selection at the beginning of the third, I was pushing for us to take a wide receiver. Let me rephrase that: I was pushing for us to reach on a wide receiver. I had done a ton of scouting on various later-round wide receivers and was convinced that we should take a certain Juron Criner. I really liked Criner’s size and physicality. In watching his tape, he always seemed to come down with the ball and get up the field quickly. Criner fought for extra yardage after the catch and had good hand-eye coordination. I thought it would have been a solid pick as well as address a need that the team had. The GM of our War Room mellowed me out a little bit and told me it would be a reach; that Criner would probably still be there for our compensatory picks at the end of the fourth round. So, we took the safety Martin instead and crossed our fingers that we’d have another shot at Criner with our 4.33 pick.

Juron Criner was selected at 4.25, capping off a frantic run for wide receivers during the fourth.

We were all a little disappointed that Criner didn’t fall just a few picks further. We would have (meaning Josh, our GM, would have…) looked like geniuses! But, alas, we were left without Criner and going back to our board to see what other wide receivers were available that would still fit that ‘BPA’ title and be a good value.

I proposed we take a wide receiver who had fallen a little bit and was still, in my eyes, a great value pick at that point. Somebody who had the size, speed and verticality to stretch the field. Our GM proposed we take a different receiver, one who was a little further down on our board and, while still very promising, didn’t fit the role of a receiver who could be a legitimate threat down field.

So, here it is:

With the 33rd pick (compensatory) of the fourth round of the 2012 #MockThree NFL draft…

Continue Reading →

Inside Our War Room – Rounds Two & Three

April 9, 2012, by 10 comments

For those that don’t already know here, over the past few days, I’ve been participating in an online community mock draft called #MockOne. It just so happens that this particular iteration is the third time it’s been done, making it #MockThree. And, of course, I am one of the lucky people representing the Minnesota Vikings. For a more in depth explanation of how the draft works, check out my previous post explaining what we did in the first round. Today, I will be reporting back the moves we made (or didn’t make) in the second and third rounds. The reason I am combining these two rounds is because, if you remember, we traded our second round pick to move up and grab Dre Kirkpatrick towards the end of the first round. Or, in other words, we didn’t have a second round pick. We did have a third round pick though, and in just a moment, I will tell you who we targeted and who we actually ended up selecting.

As you’ll remember from my previous post, I was partial to not trading picks to move up into the second round. It’s not that I don’t like Dre Kirkpatrick; I believe he would make a great addition to the team and immediately bolster our secondary. Rather, for a team with so many needs, I felt that we should be hanging on tightly to the large amount of picks we already had and potentially even trading down to amass more. Again, I don’t think it was a bad move, it just wasn’t the ideal move in my mind.

It hurt to watch so many great players go off the board in the second round – a round in which we didn’t have any picks. Granted, Dre Kirkpatrick was essentially our second pick, but still… Wide receiver Stephen Hill, a prospect I would have pushed hard for, didn’t make it to the pick we would have had in the second round which made me feel a tad bit better. Hill was acquired by the St. Louis Rams with the first pick of the second round. And Hill was just one of many wide receivers to come off the board. Alshon Jeffery, Mohamed Sanu, Brian Quick, Joe Adams and Marvin Jones were also selected in the second round, in that order.

So, by the time our third round pick rolled around, taking any of the remaining wide receivers in the draft would have been a huge reach. So, instead, we used the pick to address one of the Vikings other biggest needs (arguably the biggest, according to Adam), safety.

With the third pick in the third round of the 2012 #MockThree draft…

Continue Reading →

Inside Our War Room – Round One

April 6, 2012, by 16 comments

Over the past couple days, I have had the honor of representing Vikings Territory and the Minnesota Vikings in #MockThree. For those that don’t know, #MockThree is the best community mock draft online right now. It is all ran using Twitter and a great website created by Brandon Nall (@EmPuLSe). In this particular iteration of the draft (there have been two prior), each franchise has a “war room” with one General Manager and two Assistant Managers. From there, the mock draft acts almost identically to the real NFL draft. Each team has a certain amount of time on-the-clock to communicate within their war room and choose who they will select in the draft. Teams can communicate with each other throughout the draft (primarily through Twitter) to trade picks. The whole thing is incredibly creative and inventive and the amount of time the people responsible for #MockThree have put into the ‘game’ should be applauded.

I have to be completely honest – I was a little intimidated at first to be a part of this thing. The people involved are incredibly knowledgeable draftniks. Seriously, it’s what these guys do. And I’ll be upfront with you, I am not a draftnik. I’m not incredibly knowledgeable of all the college prospects (primarily the later round ones), I haven’t watched tons of tape and I’m not an expert scout. I do understand the Vikings, though. I know what they’ve done in past drafts, I know the teams’ needs and I have a good understanding of what the team could realistically do in this year’s draft. I’m also willing to work my butt off to do the research and make sure we make the right selections.

Currently, the second round of #MockThree is coming to an end. So, I thought it would be a good idea to recap for you all what we did in the first round, provide some analysis (via Adam Warwas) of what some other teams did and get your feedback on maybe where our war room should go from here.

Continue Reading →

Large, Speedy DB Johnson To Visit

March 25, 2012, by 9 comments

The Vikings just got back their young, lanky, talented cornerback with off-the-field issues when Chris Cook was acquitted of his most recent troubles.

As it turns out, the Vikings want to take a closer look at a young, lanky, talented cornerback with off-the-field issues prior to April’s NFL Draft.

Montana defensive back (he could end up at either corner or free safety) Trumaine Johnson will reportedly take part in a pre-Draft visit with the Vikings.

At 6’ 2” and 204 pounds, Johnson ran a 4.50 forty time at the Scouting Combine.  At the Combine, he also had to answer questions about an October incident in which he was tased by police and arrested.  He was charged with obstructing an officer, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.

In addition to his big frame, Johnson has solid instincts as a ballhawk, and is a very solid tackler.  It is expected that Johnson will be targeted around the second or third rounds of the Draft.

In addition to Johnson, so far we know that the Vikings will meet prior to the Draft with offensive tackle Jonathan Martin, cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, and safety D.J. Campbell.

Schwartz Continues Tour, Other Monday Notes

March 20, 2012, by No comments yet

I apologize for being absent most of Monday, but luckily for me it turned out to be a pretty slow day.  Let’s take a look at what did happen:

Abdullah Has An Offer:  Apparently the Vikings have made an offer to safety Husain Abdullah and he is “mulling it over.”  Abdullah has been a serviceable option at safety the last two years, but has struggled with concussions, and could be a possible starter into the future, as well.

Schwartz To Visit Niners:  “Awesome Visit with the Vikings!” tweeted offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz on Monday.  Schwartz left Minnesota without a contract but the Vikings knew that was the plan all along.  He has visits set up with the Chiefs and the 49ers over the next couple of days and Schwartz plans to honor those commitments.  “Just doing my due diligence,” Schwartz tweeted, and one can’t blame him for that.

Felton To Visit:  Fullback Jerome Felton is set to visit the Vikings on Tuesday, despite the recent signing of Lex Hilliard, not to mention the presence of Ryan D’Imerio and Matt Asiata at the position.  Felton was a fifth round pick by the Lions in 2008 and has also spent time with the Panthers and Colts.  The Vikings tried to claim Felton off of waivers last year, but the Panthers claimed him and had priority.  Felton is only 25 years old.

Pre-Draft Visit For Kirkpatrick:  The Vikings have a pre-Draft visit set up with Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick.  Kirkpatrick, known for his skill as a zone coverage player, and six foot two inches and widely regarded as the second best cornerback in this Draft class.  He would likely be a serious option if the Vikings were to trade backwards from the three spot.

More Claiborne Talk:  Bob Sansavere of the Pioneer Press discusses some first-hand conversations with General Manager Rick Spielman that could suggest he is serious about selecting LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne over USC left tackle Matt Kalil in April’s Draft.  More smokescreen?  You be the judge.

Community Mock: Day Eleven

March 18, 2012, by 4 comments

The VT community has spoken once again, and this time you all have decided that cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick will join the Bills defense that has also just acquired defensive end Mario Williams.

Now, it is the Kansas City Chiefs that are on the clock.  Please cast a vote and leave your analysis in the comments section.