And With The Third Pick Of The 2012 NFL Draft, The Minnesota Vikings Select…

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Jan 2, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys wide receiver Justin Blackmon (81) walks along the sidelines after scoring a touchdown in the fourth quarter of a game against the Stanford Cardinals in the 2012 Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Cowboys won 41-38 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Chris Morrison-US PRESSWIRE

Okay, let’s talk Draft! As we all know by now, our beloved Vikings have the number three overall pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. The big question is what will they do with it? Will they draft that can’t-miss offensive lineman we need so desperately, to protect our QB Christian Ponder? Will the Vikes use that precious pick to take the big play, deep threat wide receiver the team needs so badly? Or will we see our team draft a lock down defensive back at the number three slot in the first round? Might we even see a trade down to some team looking to land Robert Griffin III? Whatever the Minnesota Vikings do in the upcoming Draft, it all really hinges on what the St. Louis Rams do with their number two overall pick. That’s right the St. Louis Rams could very well determine the future of the Minnesota Vikings!

Most of the Mock Drafts have the Rams taking outstanding Oklahoma State University Wide Receiver, Justin Blackmon. If St. Louis does indeed draft Blackmon the most obvious pick for our Vikings would be USC Offensive Tackle, Matt Kalil. Kalil seems to be a LOCK as a starter right off the bat, and should definitely give Ponder more time to make things happen with the offense. I’m sure Adrian Peterson wouldn’t mind having the young Kalil’s 6’7”, 295 lb., frame on the line either! So that’s the SURE bet…Rams go Blackmon, Vikings go Kalil. Done and done! Unless…the Rams pass on Blackmon and take our boy Kalil at number two. Then what do we do??

If the Rams do actually draft Kalil at number two overall and Justin Blackmon is still on the board, can we really afford to pass up on such a talent? NFL Network’s Steve Mariucci doesn’t think so, as he has the Vikings drafting Blackmon after the Rams select Kalil at number two. I know we need offensive blocking in the worst way, but we do also need a deep threat wide receiver, for our QB to be able to stretch the field out some more. Don’t get me wrong! Percy Harvin and Michael Jenkins are great, but if we could run Percy more in the slot where he’s DEADLY, and put Jenkins as our number three with Justin Blackmon as our number one deep ball receiver…that could really create some problems for defenses. It might even keep defenses from blitzing so much, and therefore make life easier on our sub-par offensive line. I know drafting a wide-out so high in the draft is risky business, but if ever there has been a wide receiver that probably isn’t a risk, it’s Justin Blackmon. The guy is a pure athlete with GREAT hands and big-play ability. I’m talking Terrell Owens kind of hands and ability here (younger, not washed up T.O.). But maybe the Vikings do believe it’s just too high of a pick to use on a receiver. No Blackmon, Kalil is gone…what to do now?

We draft Morris Claiborne, the 6’1” tall, 185 lb. Cornerback from LSU, that’s what! With our defense allowing 251.2 yards in the air this past season (26^th in the NFL), we could definitely use a defensive back as talented as Claiborne on the team. But then again, maybe we could get more than just Claiborne out of this number three draft pick. Maybe we do work out a deal with another team and trade our draft pick to gain more draft picks. Our newly named GM Rick Spielman has actually even said that he would listen to offers for the pick. Who knows, we could possibly still land a great offensive lineman like Iowa’s Riley Reiff, just a few picks later, AND collect more draft picks along the way! Wouldn’t that be nice!? Personally, I would prefer the Rams just do what almost everyone says they will do and draft Blackmon, so we can take our young, “beast-mode” offensive lineman Matt Kalil to protect our boy Ponder before he gets killed. Unfortunately we won’t know anything for sure until April 26^th. Until then it’s all just dreaming…

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