Posts tagged: Matt Kalil

Trading Down Still A Possibility

April 6, 2012, by 11 comments

The public has narrowed down the Vikings options for the third overall selection in the upcoming Draft to essentially two:  Draft Matt Kalil or trade down.

Rick Spielman says he will be open to trading down, according to Pro Football Weekly, even when the team is actually on the clock.

“There are times we have been in (the war room) and we’ve done deals on the clock,” Spielman said.  “It’s an unknown, but you’re prepared for both ways. We’ll be ready and we’ll have a good idea of what we think the value of that third pick is.”

“If we want to get out of that pick, we’ll (determine) what it will take to get out of that pick,” he continued. “Plus you have to be careful of how far you would want to go back (down in the draft). You have to know what you’re looking at, depending on how far you go back. Are you getting yourself out of the (range of) the supposedly blue-chip type of players?”

“I think once we get through our draft meetings and get our board finalized and get the coaches involved, we’ll have a pretty good idea of what we want to do,” he said.

Trade partners could consist of either the Cleveland Browns or Miami Dolphins if either become smitten with quarterback prospect Ryan Tannehill.  However, other teams may be willing to move up and grab a blue chip player such as Matt Kalil or Morris Claiborne.

As much as I would like to see the Vikings turn the three pick into a gold mine of other picks, as we draw closer I am becoming increasingly convinced that they will simply make Kalil their selection and stay put.

Claiborne’s Red Flags Are Piling Up

April 3, 2012, by 7 comments

Over the last month or so Vikings G.M. Rick Spielman has used the media to suggest he is open to taking LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne with the third overall selection.

That notion has flown in the face of what almost every draftnik in the world thinks they will do: select USC left tackle Matt Kalil.

It may never be truly known whether or not Spielman’s professed love for Claiborne was a smokescreen or just him telling the truth (my money is on the former), but as we draw nearer to the NFL Draft it is becoming increasingly difficult to imagine Claiborne being the selection.

Two red flags have recently popped up that should prevent the Vikings from taking the risk at the three spot. 

First, at his Pro Day, it was revealed that Claiborne’s career in the NFL will start with a surgery.  A torn ligament in his left wrist needs to be repaired and it should give teams pause when considering the young corner.  However, Claiborne did continue to play through the injury in college, so maybe some teams will view his toughness as a plus that outweighs the negative that is the injury itself.  At third overall, however, it’d be a tough sell to select a player that immediately has medical questions.

Second, reports have emerged today that Claiborne bombed the Wonderlic Test with a shockingly low score of 4 (out of 50).  The weight scouts should put into Wonderlic scores, and the validity of the reports themselves, can be questioned and argued.  However, this information cannot be ignored by any front office.

So, while Morris Claiborne has accumulated a pair of troubling headlines over the last month, Kalil continues to be regarded as one of the safest selections in the upcoming Draft.

On Tuesday, offensive line coach Jeff Davidson was asked if he thought Kalil had a ceiling in the NFL.

“Do I think he has a ceiling? No,” he said in response.  “I think he’s a pretty good player. I’m going to leave it just at that.”

As I have been all offseason long, I am convinced the Vikings will select Kalil third overall if they stay put in that spot.

Links Of The Week: Draft Month Is Upon Us!

April 2, 2012, by 1 comment

Howdy, everybody. It’s been kind of slow as far as Vikings news goes the past couple days. Nevertheless, we wanted to supply everyone with some of our favorite articles of the week during this little dry spell. So, here we go:

First things first, Donovan McNabb is hilarious. First he proclaims that Robert Griffin III isn’t going to work out in Washington. Now, in response to the declaration that Tim Tebow is the most criticized quarterback in the NFL, McNabb vehemently insisted that, in fact, he [himself] is.

Chris Kluwe is getting his #5 jersey back.

Rick Spielman recently did a pretty lengthy, insightful interview with PFT Live. Check it out.

And then, for some analysis on Spielman’s various interviews and smokescreens, the Vikings Age has a nice little article wondering if Spielman maybe tipped his hand on Kalil.

Could someone really want to come up and take the Vikings #3 spot for Ryan Tannehill?! Some believe it is quite possible.

There were some rule changes decided upon at the recent Owner’s meeting. Still no 18 game season, though.

Ugh… Is this stadium issue ever going to end? I know you have heard it before, but it seems like it is closer than ever with things supposedly ramping up this week in the House of Representatives.

Check out who the Vikings have scheduled private workouts with so far. What, no receivers?

Much like we did a few days ago, The Vikings Age have put together their own report card of sorts for how the Vikings (and Spielman) have done so far this offseason.

I’m going to miss Visanthe on this team. Here’s a short video of him recently signing autographs for fans (a goodbye of sorts) and answering a few questions (including how he feels about Darren Sharper and the bounty scandal, if he “Twitters from the throne”, and more).

Now that we are officially in draft month, check out the most recent Mock Draft of Walter Football. It includes five full rounds so you can see more than the [inevitable] Kalil selection.

And finally, an official announcement: Vikings Territory will be participants in the best community Mock Draft on the internet right now representing the Minnesota Vikings along with two other “GMs”. You can check out the previous mocks (we’ll be #MockThree) at the #MockOne website. We’ll have more info and details on this as it starts up.

 

Mock Draft Update

March 22, 2012, by 9 comments

This is just a quick note to let you all know that I have updated my 2012 NFL Mock Draft.

There are some major changes that might interest you, but the Vikings third overall selection has not changed, despite Rick Spielman’s best efforts to convince us he wants to select Morris Claiborne.

Click here to check it out, and feel free to question/criticize/praise my choices in the comments section.

More Rumblings Regarding Vikings Third Overall Selection

March 18, 2012, by 11 comments

Whether by design or otherwise, the Vikings are suddenly in possession of the hottest pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

The third overall selection that the Vikings hold is suddenly the center of the most buzz.  There appears to possibly be a trade market growing for teams that think Ryan Tannehill could be a franchise quarterback.  Peter King mentioned it earlier in the week, and Matt Flynn’s signing in Seattle has seemingly left the Browns and the Dolphins out in the cold in regards to their quarterback situation.

I find it hard to believe that any team would be willing to select Tannehill third overall, let alone trade up to get him there, but stranger things have happened.

Also, I had previously passed along an article citing an unnamed source saying that the Vikings front office was somewhat split and the LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne could seriously be considered by the Vikings when they are on the clock.

The National Football Authority has a similar article today in which a source “close to the scouting ranks” who says the Vikings will indeed target Claiborne over tackle Matt Kalil and receiver Justin Blackmon.

Claiborne is a quality player worthy of consideration, but I find these unnamed sources stories hard to take seriously this time of year, as the Vikings or any other team could be sending out smokescreens for any number of reasons.

Regardless, the Vikings have successfully gone from “they will certainly take Kalil” to “they have lots of options” and that mystery can only help them in their quest to generate a trade partner in April.

REPORT: Claiborne Could Leapfrog Kalil

March 13, 2012, by 5 comments

It has been widely assumed that if the Vikings remained at the third spot in April’s Draft, they would select USC left tackle Matt Kalil.

Now, before I go any further, it would be a mistake for me not remind you that it is never too early to begin throwing smoke screens around, and the Vikings may be doing just that.

Still, it is worth noting that an unnamed Vikings official recently told The Sports Xchange that there is still heavy debate over which prospect would be the best available at the three spot.

The report singles out LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne as a player still in the mix to be selected third overall.

“But some people here love (Claiborne),” the official said. “I mean really love him.”

Obviously these two, and also Justin Blackmon, are prospects earning high praise and have the potential to help any team they are selected by.  Also, all three positions are major needs for this Vikings team that is, so far today, being very conservative in free agency.

Vikings Are Essentially On The Clock

March 10, 2012, by 4 comments

News broke late on Friday night, via Jay Glazer, that the St. Louis Rams have traded the second overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft to the Washington Redskins.

According to Glazer, the bounty (ha!) is quite plentiful.  The Rams will receive the sixth overall pick in this Draft, two future first round picks, and other multiple draft choices.  It is assumed, and for good reason, that Washington plans to use the second pick on Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III.

 It will be tough for some Vikings fans to think about how close this franchise could have been to netting such a profit had they not beat, coincidentally, the Redskins on Christmas Eve with Joe Webb and Toby Gerhart playing the roles of unlikely heroes, but not all is lost.

The deal cannot be finalized until the league year begins on Tuesday, but as I stated previously, the Vikings now find themselves in a pretty good situation.

They can now take the player they find to be the best non-quarterback addition to the roster whether it be Matt Kalil, Morris Claiborne, or Justin Blackmon.  They can also begin to entertain offers for teams, like perhaps the Bengals, that may be looking to move up and snag a player they covet.

The Vikings may not have the same leverage that St. Louis had, but they suddenly have a lot more of it than they did on Friday morning.

I hope Rick Spielman’s cell phone came with unlimited minutes.