Now that we got JENNINGS........NEXT STEP???

[dead_poet]

Audie Cole would be the starting MLB if the season started today. He is not experienced enough to be a starting linebacker.

Just for the sake of argument, he has as much or more NFL experience than a rookie would when the season starts.

He's a guy that's easy to root for, though. Everybody loves the underdog. Look no further than Victor Cruz and what he was able to do in preseasons before finally being given the chance. I'm not saying Cole is the next Ray Lewis, but I'd love it if that's what happened. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint) if we draft a rookie MLB in the first round, there's a good chance Cole is on the outside looking in, which is to be expected. Part of me can't help but wonder if John Randle was in a similar situation if Vikings' fans would be opposed to him starting in place of a first-rounder.

The cards are stacked against Cole. There's a chart out there that says something like <10% of players drafted outside of the first five rounds end up as productive starters. But it's not unheard of.

[Cliff]

I definitely want to see a higher round pick on a MLB prospect and let him and Cole fight it out in camp. Let it be a true competition. I'm not sure if I'd want any of the FAs on the market. Better off rolling the dice on a young guy ... but that strategy requires options.

[King James]

Just for the sake of argument, he has as much or more NFL experience than a rookie would when the season starts.

He's a guy that's easy to root for, though. Everybody loves the underdog. Look no further than Victor Cruz and what he was able to do in preseasons before finally being given the chance. I'm not saying Cole is the next Ray Lewis, but I'd love it if that's what happened. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your viewpoint) if we draft a rookie MLB in the first round, there's a good chance Cole is on the outside looking in, which is to be expected. Part of me can't help but wonder if John Randle was in a similar situation if Vikings' fans would be opposed to him starting in place of a first-rounder.

The cards are stacked against Cole. There's a chart out there that says something like <10% of players drafted outside of the first five rounds end up as productive starters. But it's not unheard of.

He still doesn't have much "experience." He was inactive most of the season, and was active for like 5 games but never got any playing time. But if you mean experience as in sitting on the sidelines and watching he has plenty of that. Now I do believe he can get better if given the chance. But the way I see it, the Vikings might look for somebody who can come in now and take over. That's why I have a feeling we might address the LB in the draft. I don't know if Cole was ever brought in to be a starter. He looks more like a depth player ro me. Though I could be wrong. Only time will tell.

[saint33]

One concern I have about Patterson is he's probably gonna have a learning curve and not be an immediate contributor. He only played 1 year of D-1 ball. He's still my top WR but IDK if he'll be a huge contributor in year one.

Look at last year to of the top WR taken AJ Jenkins and Brain Quick were extremely raw as well and basically redshirted their rookie years.

This is a fair point, but I think there is a distinct difference in the kind of WR that Patterson is vs. Quick or Jenkins which will actually allow him to have significant more impact then either of them had. Patterson has the instincts with the ball in his hands that make him a rare type of a player, something neither Quick nor Jenkins have. I foresee Patterson's rookie season being more similar to Harvin (who was also very a raw "WR" coming out of college) because from a pure talent perspective, they both were simply born with incredible agility, speed and instincts which make them so dangerous with the ball in their hands. That's not something that can be taught, nor is it something that takes time to transition from one level to the next.

IMO, Patterson will not come into the league as a starting, every down WR. However, he will be able to impact a team situationally as a returner, and gadget player. I think he'd be a very good fit for our offense as well, because he'd fill some of the roles that we've lost with Percy's departure. We wouldn't expect him to be a clean route runner, or for him to create openings for himself in the passing game. He would be the kind of player that you manufacture touches for and just let him do what he does best, and that's making people miss.

I highly doubt we'll get a shot at him without trading up (which I would be more than pumped if we did), but if he were to fall to us, I wouldn't think twice about scooping him up and I would not be concerned about his impact as a rookie.