Only 2 more days of draft guesses….
By author
Pioneer Press had an interesting article [link] on why Ponder would be a good fit for the Vikings. I have heard nothing but good things about Ponder, it seems like the 2 questions are injury prone and arm strength. If the Vikings either trade back in the last 1st/early 2nd round, I could see them taking Ponder. I think the focus needs to be on a college QB who has ran a pro-style offense , if we take Colin Kaepernick I don’t see the difference between him and Joe Webb, both need to spend time behind a veteran learning the system, both are athletic QB’s who have the intangibles to be successful in the NFL, but not immediately. I already wrote about why I’m impressed with Mallett and see him being a perfect fit [link], but I would also like Ponder in the 2nd, regardless if we had to move up to get him.
Multiple sources are putting the Vikings as a team willing to move around, and I could easily see them moving down in the first, acquiring more picks, and then using those picks to move up in the 2nd round. With this we could easily draft Pouncey, and then draft Ponder/Mallett in the 2nd. Late rounds are important in this draft with an aging roster, but I think it’s hard to pinpoint who the Vikings are targeting, however I don’t see them taking a QB in the late rounds as we already have Webb and Bomar who both seem to have high upside.
On Jake Locker : “Kiper says Locker is the best option for the Vikings if they want to select a quarterback at No. 12. “The accuracy, that is something a team can work on with him,” Kiper said. “He still has plenty of value, a talented kid with a strong arm and plenty of intangibles.”
On Ryan Mallett: “A team can convince itself that a player (Mallett) can mature with them,” Billick said.
On Andy Dalton: “With Minnesota’s offensive line, it can be kind of a struggle on the edge,” said Broaddus, a former TCU assistant director of football operations. “Dalton is mobile enough to handle it. Dalton’s accuracy, touch on the ball, good feet, quick throws and preparedness make him the next-best QB in my book. He’s a proven winner. He’s better than a game manager.”
I have no hopes or dreams with this draft, other than I don’t want them to take a DE with the 12th pick, I would love to see Robison and Griffin step up if Ray Edwards leaves in free agency and/or sends too many sexting pictures. Oh, and apparently the lockout is/isn’t over as my colleague reference in: The Lockout is Either Over or it Isn’t
Other things….
- I briefly caught the end of a Fox 9 interview on TV with Governor Dayton. He wants the Vikings to contribute more than a 1/3 of the total cost, and he flat out said that if a stadium is not done he thinks the Vikings will move, either the Wilf’s will move the team, or sell the team to someone who will move to L.A. Interesting and straight forward comments from our governor. I hope something gets done, I was told when a bill is introduced, that it will include provisions for a racino and that Mystic Lake employees would be on hand to protest it in large force. Dayton said he is not opposed to a racino, but it needs to benefit other things, mainly education. According to my source (that makes me feel important) Mystic Lake Casino is making their employees call to oppose any possible Racino action, so they are making them call legislatures to oppose this.
- I found it interesting that in essentially ending the lockout Judge Nelson referenced the Vikings pursuit of WR Vincent Jackson last year. The Braintrust that was Childress and Company had an agreement for a 2 year contract, worth $8 million in 2010, and $11 million in 2011. Imagine how things could’ve been different if we had him last year (and this year). The allusion of this trade scenario was to show how some parts of what goes behind closed doors can be considered “irreparable harm” to the player.