New FanSided.com Mock Draft Has Vikings Taking Matt Barkley

Feb 22, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Southern California quarterback Matt Barkley speaks at a press conference during the 2013 NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

We’re in that part of the draft speculation season where things start getting a little silly. The mock drafters are tired of writing the same names over and over so they start shaking things up. They start going off on wild flights of fancy. Case in point: The new mock over at FanSided.com. This week Josh Sanchez has the Vikings taking USC quarterback Matt Barkley. Oh really? Here’s the argument:

"Linebacker could be an interesting way to go for the Vikings with this pick, but they have to strongly consider Matt Barkley in this scenario. Ponder hasn’t shown any reason to believe he is a long-term answer for the team and they can afford to look at other options and think outside the box with their second of two first-round picks. Barkley is the No. 2 rated signal-caller in this year’s draft and has shown more potential throughout his career than Ponder."

Like I said, wild flight of fancy. We all know the Vikings will not be taking a quarterback. You can argue they probably should take a quarterback but that’s a separate thing. They’re not going to take one. They’ve got their starter in Christian Ponder. Their #2 in Matt Cassel. Their developmental guy in McLeod Bethel-Thompson. And they still have Joe Webb at least for now. Their QB cupboard is full. If they do take a QB it would only be a late round shot-in-the-dark thing.

So all you Christian Ponder fans can just relax. We know the Vikings aren’t drafting a QB. Guys like Paul Charchian who keep talking about that, they’re just trying to get you riled. You should really lighten up about your guy. You seem kind of insecure about the whole issue frankly. It’s almost like, deep down, you know he sucks but you don’t want to admit it.

Kidding. Relax.

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