Insight into the Vikings‘ draft decision-making process via Steve Aschburner, who participated in SI.com’s live blog:
"Vikings head coach Brad Childress got a lot of attention for his travel itinerary this week, heading to Gainesville to spend more time with, and personally address, character issues the organization had with Percy Harvin. Sounds like he wasn’t the only one racking up the frequent-flyer miles. Someone from Foxboro squeezed in a quickie trip to Florida as well.In explaining why Minnesota passed up Mississippi lineman Michael Oher — the Vikings made up for that by grabbing Oklahoma’s Phil Loadholt in the second round, with the 52nd overall pick — Childress made it clear the competition for Harvin’s services had heated up. “When you’ve got the New Englands of the world sitting right behind you, that contacted him and, really, I think, got in there after I got in there …,” Childress said. “He wasn’t supposed to give that up. I got him to give that up to me, being a good soldier, now that he’s one of us. You come to find out those things.”"
So it might’ve been in someone’s mind at Winter Park to take Oher, then try to trade back into the first round or early second round and get Harvin, but they worried about New England snatching Harvin up. Once again, Chilly finds himself in a chess game with His Hoodiness. There’s no way of knowing whether Chilly won this one, cause we don’t know if the Pats really wanted Harvin, or if that alleged visit to him was smoke. I do think it’s interesting that the Patriots traded out of their pick right after the Vikes took Harvin. Maybe there’s something to it.