Categories: NFL Draft 2012 Speculation
| On 13 years ago

Day 2 Draft Predictions

By Brett Anderson

There will be a Vikings trade in Day 2.

I think Spielman showed yesterday that he his not afraid to move around and make risky moves to get the players he wants. While moving up to grab Harrison Smith at the end of the first round yesterday may have been made easier after acquiring extra picks through the trade with the Cleveland Browns, it is likely that Spielman would have still made that trade anyway. The Vikings still had 10 picks in the draft before this thing even got started. That’s plenty of ammo to wheel and deal.

When asked about the trades he orchestrated on Vikings announcer Paul Allen’s KFAN radio show this morning, Spielman (unprompted) suggested the team may move again in Day 2. “Don’t be surprised with that third round pick if we move back up in to the second round to get a player we covet.” Spielman also suggested that it’s possible the team could even move back again to collect more picks.

Headed into Day 2, the Vikings still have ten draft picks, seven eight of which can be traded. I expect that we will see the Vikings move around again before the day is over.

The Vikings will add a wide receiver to the roster in Day 2.

There are some great wide receivers that fell out of the first round which could mean great things for the Vikings in Day 2. Having already addressed two of our biggest needs (left tackle and safety) with great players, I expect the Vikings to use their next pick, wherever it may be, to add another weapon to the roster for Christian Ponder.

Spielman has publicly stated that the team wants to simply stick to their board and select the best player available when they’re on the clock. That may be true, but players at positions of need tend to move up on your board because your desire to fill that spot can tend to bolster how you evaluate them. I imagine there are quite a few wide receivers still available that could be pretty high up on the Vikings board. Whether the Vikings stay put or they move forward or backward, expect the next pick to be a receiver.

Players to watch.

If the Vikings stay where they are and select with the third pick in the third round, here are some names to keep an eye on at various positions of need that could be available.

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Wide Receiver:

Mohamed Sanu
Juron Criner
Marvin Jones
(It would be amazing if someone like Stephen Hill, Reuben Randle or Alshon Jeffery somehow fell, but that is highly unlikely)

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Cornerback:

Janoris Jenkins
Alfonzo Dennard
Jayron Hosley
Josh Robinson

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Defensive Tackle:

Kendall Reyes
Alameda Ta’amu
Jared Crick

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[one_half_last]

Safety:

Antonio Allen

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The first three picks of the second round.

The credibility of my mock draft was absolutely destroyed yesterday after all of the trades. Granted, you can’t predict all the trades, especially when they take place at the magnitude they did yesterday. But typically, there are one to two trades and you have a fair chance of hitting on the other selections. Not my mock draft! I only had four selections correct… And two of them were the obvious Luck and Griffin picks. (Which, honestly, shouldn’t even count). With that being said, here’s my prediction for the first three picks of the second round. I am 90% sure that this is 65% likely to happen.

St. Louis Rams – Stephen Hill, WR, Georgia Tech

The Rams missed out on Justin Blackmon when the Jaguars moved ahead of them through their trade with the Buccaneers. They won’t miss out this time on a potential #1 receiver who will provide an aerial threat for Sam Bradford. Personally, I would have loved to add Stephen Hill. Luckily though, this draft is ripe with talent at that position and we will have plenty of opportunities with our plethora of picks to address the need. They could also take Jonathan Martin to provide some protection for Bradford’s blind side.

Indianapolis Colts – Coby Fleener, TE, Stanford

A tight end is a young, rookie quarterback’s best friend. The fact that Andrew Luck and Coby Fleener already have a strong connection through playing together at Stanford only sweetens the deal.

Baltimore Ravens – Jonathan Martin, LT, Stanford

This is the hardest to predict of the first three selections and it will be interesting to see what the Ravens do with the pick they got from us. My gut feeling is that the Ravens choose to take Jonathan Martin, who I never thought would fall out of the first round. We have Martin as the second best offensive tackle on our Vikings Territory board and the Ravens need somebody who can replace the aging, record label CEO Bryant McKinnie. My “Plan B” here is that the Ravens take the best center in the draft, Peter Konz, to replace ex-Viking Matt Birk after he retires.

Make sure to join us today for our Day 2 Live Chat. Yesterday was a blast and today should be just as exciting. Plus, if you hang out in the chat, you can make fun of me when I’m inevitably wrong about all of the above.

Brett Anderson

Brett Anderson (Founder) is a passionate Viking fan hailing from Sin City, Las Vegas. He can remember, as a child, scraping his knee on the playground and his friends being completely shocked by the purple blood trickling from the wound. When Brett isn't scouring the Internet for some semblance of Vikings news, he enjoys blindly putting money on them to beat whoever their opponent may be, and daydreams about being their next Tight End. Brett graduated from UNLV with a degree in Architecture and specializes in web/graphic design; he hopes to provide this site’s visitors with the best Vikings experience on the net.

View Comments

  • Freds agrees, Ricky Ricardo will make a trade today.

    No one should ever listen to a darn thing Ricky says regarding his intentions before the draft, his mouth may be moving, but no information is coming out.

    "Spielman has publicly stated that the team wants to simply stick to their board and select the best player available when they’re on the clock."

    A perfect example of what slick Rick will say during his pre draft media discussions:

    1) Stick to our board
    2) Take the best player available
    3) Give 110%
    4) There is no "I" in team
    5) It's gut check time
    6) We expect all of the guys we draft to be contributors this year
    7) We are surprised he was still on the board when we picked at number....

    I hope you're right Brett and Ricky does make a move. Freds hopes he bundles and moves up.

    Good article Brett!

  • I don't mind if he trades up and gets a good player that we need and doesn't give up the farm. I was looking at the picks we have left and was stunned by how close they are together. The Vikes own the 4th and top of the 5th round. Check it out:

    Picks left:

    Round Pick#
    3rd 66
    4th 118
    4th 128
    4th 134
    5th 138
    5th 139
    6th 175
    7th 210
    7th 211
    7th 223

    We have 5 picks in 21 slots 118-139.

    • Hello, Spaceclown. Thanks for the comment.

      In my opinion, there are no MLBs available that our worth our next pick. Any names you like?

      • Hi Brett (sorry my English, but i from Italy)

        Naaa, i don't have prospects. Maybe Zack Brown but i want CB (Jenkins or Robinnson) or WR (Jeffery or Sanu).
        We can draft a lb in the fourth round

        PS: Congratulations for the blog,
        it's my preferred

        • That's great to hear, SpaceClown, thanks! Every blog needs somebody with a scary avatar, haha.

          • Good afternoon Adam!! Hope you got some rest from a busy day one. I think these next 2 days are gonna be much busier, Hope ya got your beer cooler still stocked.

          • Ha, yeah... was up late last night working on all those articles, but got spend a nice morning "hiking" in the sunshine with my boy and I am ready to roll! Beer cooler fully stocked :)

          • Great to hear. Just wanna say all of you at Vikings Territory are doing a great job!! Looking forward to next couple of days to see what other gifts the football gods bestow on us.

    • Thanks for the comment, Norse. Umm... I would say McNutt is a day 3 possibility, personally. He may not be there at the top of the fourth though, so I guess it's not impossible. I wouldn't be upset with McNutt at 65, but it is a slight reach.

      Adam, I guess they could go Martin, but in my opinion, Smith and Martin are very similar safeties.

  • "Beer cooler fully stocked." That explains some of your comments as the evening went on last night, Adam. I hope you are not suggesting here that we are going to stop at ONE o-lineman. That would be a disappointing draft in and of itself.

    • Coach, would it make you have more or less respect for me if I told I hadn't had a drop to drink yesterday?

      And as far as the lack of linemen, you'll have to take that one up with Brett... his post :)

      I will say this however:

      LT 1. Kalil 2. Love
      LG 1. C. Johnson 2. Fusco
      C 1. J. Sullivan 2. Fusco
      RG 1. Schwartz 2. Fusco
      RT 1. Loadholt 2. Love

      That is our 7 guys. Not sure I would like to see any of them replaced and not sure there will be much talent that are particularly threatening from here on out, coach. Perhaps a late round center to bring on board just in case Fusco wins a starting gig and the Vikings need a bew backup to Sullivan. Or if Massie or Glenn or Martin show slide to our third rounder.

    • Hey Coach.

      With the addition of Kalil, I think the line is pretty darn solid. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't address it again until the end of the draft (if at all).

      • Yeah, you don't see that many mistakes too often. Looks like a Fragile Freds post (don't tell him I said that.) BTW, I've seen Kalil's picture a few times lately, and of course now some film as well. Sure makes me think of Tim Irwin, who took on his man with an attitude, caring more about results than technique. I've seen Kalil throw guys around in whatever way worked best to get him out of the way and on the ground, and I like that about him. He's got a lot to learn, and I think he will do just that.

  • I have to apologize to Mo Claiborne for my comment in the live chat yesterday where I had him asking "Minnesota, which state is that in?"

    Matt Kalil, today, was quoted as saying "The great City of Minnesota."

    Doh.

  • First, my apologies to Brett for not acknowledging his authorship. A good summary of the situation, sir, and a bad play on my part. Adam, I'm not one to respect someone more or less for choices like that. So long as choices don't negatively impact others, your beverage decision last night is fine with me either way. (For obvious reasons, however, I would be partial to a Bud as the brewski of choice.)

    As far as the o-line, I'm not at the comfort level you guys are at. Competition breeds improvement, and you never know when an injury leaves you short. We're not deep enough to ignore the position for the remainder of the draft, but I know other needs exist. Maybe in that group of picks we have in rapid fire there exists a guard or center worthy of our selection. Finally, I'm guessing that Matt was perhaps referring to Minnesota City, which is down near Winona. Yeah... yeah, that must have been it.

    • Well done, never one to shy away from any question, are ya :)

      Remember, there is still competition that I didn't list in my "penciled" depth chart. Brown can be competition for Love at tackle, and Berger looked like a solid interior lineman last season.

      I do think, however, if Massie or Martin fall far enough the Vikings must consider giving Loadholt some SERIOUS competition for his job.

  • Good point. This is Phil's third year, and its time to show or go. So far, he's pretty much had the job by default. Not saying he's been bad, but I think everyone expects much better, especially in terms of consistency.

  • That's interesting, WTF, didn't know that. That wasn't by Sid Hartman was it? No question Phil has the skills. He looks good on a lot of plays. I just thought he would get beat a little less last year, and I still think this is an important year for him.