2012 draft discussion thread

[hermes]

so we have the third pick, probably won't get a qb with ponder and webb

so who should we be looking at? what are the most glaring needs that can be addressed with that top pick (OT, CB?)

some other teams might be looking to trade up for RG3, would it be good to trade down to get more picks?

[Worm Guts]

The three guys we should be looking at Kalil, Blackmon and Claiborne. Kalil and Claiborne play the positions of biggest need, but ultimately we need to take the best player.

[broseph]

I would hope for Kalil to fall to 3. if he's there take him, if not trade back in the first round to collect more picks. And take someone like jonathan Martin OT. or best player availible.

Then use rounds 2-7 on Defense.

In Free agency sign a big name WR like Dwayne Bowe.

Roll with Ponder as your starter in year 2.

[hermes]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/draft2012/story/ ... tight-ends

looks like kalil is the real deal perhaps?

[Chanse503]

McShay has one scenario he thinks could happen.

The ideal situation for the Vikings would be to get a blockbuster trade offer—likely from a team looking to get ahead of the Cleveland Browns and draft Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill—that keeps them in the top 10 and adds another first-round pick. That would allow them to get an offensive tackle such as Iowa's Riley Reiff or a receiver such as Notre Dame's Michael Floyd and address another need later in the first round.

Love it!

[hermes]

alright who do you guys want with #3?

kalil, claiborne or trade?

i can see the value of trading down but i think we should just take one of those two, probably leaning toward kalil

[Worm Guts]

If we can trade down within the top 6, I'll be very happy. I'm fine with any of Kalil, Claiborne or Blackmon and it would be great if we could get another pick.

[Chanse503]

I'm really divided on who I like more--Kalil or Claiborne.
I would say that 51% Claiborne 49% Kalil and really don't want to go the Blackmon route personally.

[hermes]

not really thrilled about blackmon, he's probably really good and all that- but i am not a fan of high picks on wrs

[Worm Guts]

If we stay at #3, I want either Kalil or Claiborne probably leaning towards Kalil, but I'd trade for Blackmon if it would net us another 2nd round pick.

[Chanse503]

I'm really starting to really pull for Claiborne now.
Anyone else swaying closer to Claiborne?

[hermes]

i guess it comes down to how badly do they think we need to protect ponder for a long time (the way things went last year he won't last very long if we don't do something) or how much better our secondary will be with claiborne considering the wr's in our division

[Worm Guts]

I thought this was interesting. Some reasons why we should take Claiborne:

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 14765.html

1. Despite a league-high 50 sacks, the Vikings allowed opponents to post a 107.6 passer rating. That's second-worst in NFL history behind only the 0-16 Detroit Lions of 2008 (110.9).

2. The Vikings tied a franchise record for fewest interceptions (eight) while setting an NFL record for consecutive games without a pick (nine). Opposing quarterbacks completed 72.1 percent of their passes (212 of 294) for 2,647 yards, 27 touchdowns and no interceptions between Oct. 9 and Christmas Eve.

3. Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers, Detroit's Matthew Stafford and Chicago's Jay Cutler went 5-0 against the Vikings while completing 72.3 percent of their passes for 1,457 yards, 13 touchdowns, no interceptions and an average passer rating of 125.3.

4. In a 42-20 victory at the Metrodome on Dec. 18, Saints quarterback Drew Brees became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for 400 yards (412) and five touchdowns while completing 80 percent of his passes (32 of 40). And he did it while sitting out the final 12 minutes.

5. In a 26-23 overtime victory at the Metrodome on Sept. 25, Stafford erased a 20-0 halftime deficit by completing 22 of 30 passes for 314 yards and two touchdowns.

6. In a 33-27 victory at the Metrodome on Oct. 23, Rodgers completed 17 of 20 passes in the first half. The only incompletions: two drops and one spike to stop the clock.

7. In a 35-32 victory at the Metrodome on Dec. 4, Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, of all imperfect passers, came within nine points of reaching the perfect passer rating of 158.3. He went 6-for-9 for 179 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. His targets were so ridiculously wide open, Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams told reporters after the game, "Shoot, you guys might have been able to hit those receivers

[hermes]

i know claiborne will be a big help, but there is still the rest of the secondary

also if we don't go kalil, can we still put together a decent enough line to give ap some room to run and lengthen ponder's nfl life span

[Worm Guts]

We need big time help on both the OL and in the secondary. I don't think there's an advantage for either in terms of need. Claiborne and Kalil are each just one guy, so no matter who we take we're still going to have a lot of holes to fill.

[hermes]

TRADE: we moved down one and picked up 3 more picks in the later rounds

i really like it for us, more picks and we'll still get who we want (browns probably taking richardson)

[Worm Guts]

Yep, great trade. I wouldn't mind trading again. Any of our top 3 are fine with me.

[hermes]

fine with kalil- i think he's who i wanted the most anyway

wonder if we'll be doing any more trading in the later rounds we've got quite a few picks now

[Esohny]

Interesting move up for Harrison. Seems like a love it or hate it move.

[Worm Guts]

Everything in the scouting reports sounds good, but it seems all the rubes who watched him play think he stinks. Some are also convinced that he would have been available at 35. Giving up a 4th isn't a big deal since we had 4 of them, but I think I would have rather stayed put.