First Round

[PurpleMustReign]

I still wonder if they don't try to trade up if they feel they need to. I would be ok with that.
I suppose the possibility is there that they could trade down as well... Spielman likes his draftpicks.
I would love to see a WR and a LB drafted in the first round.

[Delaqure]

Now That We have Jennings I think I would like to see a LB and a WR as well. However it seems that WR is thin this year and there may not be anyone worth a #1 pick at our draft point. If that is the case then I think LB and CB

[Texas Vike]

Schefter just said on twitter that he don't think Tavon Austin makes it to #23.

Fine by me, we need help on D anyways. WR is deep, w/ few first rd talent. I'd take a look at S, CB and LB with those first two picks. WR in the 2nd. Austin would fit well with our current offensive scheme though!

[Raptorman]

I think the first three will be, WR, DT, DB. Not in order. Maybe a trade back on 25 to pick up another pick.

[MrPurplenGold]

Schefter just said on twitter that he don't think Tavon Austin makes it to #23.

I don't think he makes it past St Louis at 16

[jackal]

DT than WR in the first MLB in second or DB

[Purple Domination]

I have heard a lot about talking a DT and MLB in the first round. What about a CB now that Winfield is gone (assuming we don't get him back)? That position seems like it is pretty bare to me.

[allday1991]

I'd go with a CB and WR, although I've herd lots of conversation about maybe waiting till the second or third round. I totally disagree, Greg Jennings was a great pick up but realistically we just replaced Harvin with Jennings and didn't do anything at all to the overall talent of our WR Corp. Baiscally what I am saying is next year, by week 8 Jennings could be in the top 5 for yards, catches, and yards after the catch (cough like harvin was cough)and we would still having one of the worst passing attacks in the NFL. Simply put we need WR bad.... also some food for thought, I know Harvin didn't take all of our kick returns, but he was the guy we turned to on special teams when we needed a big return or field postion, who fills this roll? Sherrels had a nice return last season, but it was perfectly blocked and anyone running a 4.60 or faster scores on that return.

[Mothman]

I have heard a lot about talking a DT and MLB in the first round. What about a CB now that Winfield is gone (assuming we don't get him back)? That position seems like it is pretty bare to me.

I think the best strategy would just be to take the highest-rated player on their board at any of these 4 positions: MLB, WR, DT or CB. They could use a good addition (or more) at each position. However, if the cupboard is still as bare at MLB as it is now, it might force their hand at that position in R1.

With 5 picks in the first 100, the Vikings should be able to address all 4 of those positions and possibly address one twice.

[Raptorman]

I also think it's possible that they trade back one of the first rounders for more picks, yet still get the guys they want. If you have a good idea that the guy you are going to pick at 23 will be there at 25 there is no reason you couldn't trade back to pick up more picks. Not sure how it would work by say would the 23 pick be worth San Frans 31st and 34? Or the 31st and 61st? Some one with a value chart would know more.

[PacificNorseWest]

I'm not being facetious here, but why do so many people want to use a 1st rounder on a DT? I'm confused as I don't think its an immediate position of need. I think there are quite a few positions where we need someone way before DT. Kevin Williams will retire but not anytime soon and I don't think his play declined this past season. If it did I didn't notice. Who else do we have Letroy Guion? was he that bad, I didn't pay that close attention but I didn't notice any issues. I thought our d-line in general was one of the more stable components of our team?

In my case, I feel because at the 23 spot some of the best players available overall will probably be DT's and with an aging Williams and only ok depth at the position, you can really shore up a very integral part of any Championship defense.

There's a good amount of 1st round/ early 2nd round talent for DT's this year, but beyond that there isn't much at all. WR you can get in rounds 2 and 3 and get the same relative value. And if you do your homework, DB's are always something you can grab after round 1 and find some real talent.

[dead_poet]

I'm not being facetious here, but why do so many people want to use a 1st rounder on a DT? I'm confused as I don't think its an immediate position of need. I think there are quite a few positions where we need someone way before DT. Kevin Williams will retire but not anytime soon and I don't think his play declined this past season. If it did I didn't notice. Who else do we have Letroy Guion? was he that bad, I didn't pay that close attention but I didn't notice any issues. I thought our d-line in general was one of the more stable components of our team?

Kevin has been declining the last few years. I believe he's entering a contract year as well. There's no legit option on the roster to replace him. This is a strong DT class.

Guion was out-played by Evans, and neither are really starting material (IMO) and neither commanded double-teams or applied much pressure. Same for Ballard, who at this point is "just a guy." Our rush defense has suffered after failing to find a competent replacement for Pat. There's a definite upgrade need here. In a draft with many talented defensive tackles, it's prudent to select one before you absolutely need to.

Plus, with Frazier's philosophy of stopping the run that starts up front, typically with high-round selections.

[mondry]

Kevin has been declining the last few years. I believe he's entering a contract year as well. There's no legit option on the roster to replace him. This is a strong DT class.

Guion was out-played by Evans, and neither are really starting material (IMO) and neither commanded double-teams or applied much pressure. Same for Ballard, who at this point is "just a guy." Our rush defense has suffered after failing to find a competent replacement for Pat. There's a definite upgrade need here. In a draft with many talented defensive tackles, it's prudent to select one before you absolutely need to.

Plus, with Frazier's philosophy of stopping the run that starts up front, typically with high-round selections.

While I don't agree he's been declining the "last few years" (he had Plantar fasciitis that really hurt his performance, was solid last year) I'll echo poet's thoughts. We may be able to "get by" with what we have at DT but there is plenty of room for improvement. So much so that I think upgrading the position is right up there with anything but MLB as far as need goes.

A stronger D-line even helps the secondary (say if we didn't take a CB) in that more pressure means the ball has to come out quicker. If teams are struggling with pass protection they have to keep an extra TE or RB in to block meaning one less receiving threat. Being better against the run with just the front 7 means everyone else can focus on coverage rather than peeking into the back field or creeping that extra safety into the box. In that case, a MLB and DT could really help improve our pass defense even though they aren't directly covering the WR's. At times I would even say we were more hurt by TE's over the middle as well as at other times, being gashed by the running game opened up the passing game even more for the other teams offense.

I think one of the controversial things about our defense is that we're actually kind of okay with teams being able to pass to their WR's some what IF we can take away the running game and the TE's. Eventually they will make a mistake or we'll get a sack or some other drive killer. What really sucks is when they can pass to their WR's, run the ball effective, AND the tight ends are killing us!

[mansquatch]

We’ve got a few years out of Kwill left assuming he resigns. (not a slam dunk he might leave to get a shot at a ring) NT is also a huge need and part of why our defense has become more run porous. Not sure what the NT class looks like this year. Adding talent there will only make us better.

A LB who can cover would be huge as would more CB talent.

This is an outside possibility, but I wonder if they’ll take a Safety. There was an article awhile back about how they are looking for a different kind of Safety and the Safety class this year is very deep. I wouldn’t say it is a huge position of need, but often times a team’s S will end up covering the TE depending on how prolific that player is. Just something to ponder…

Outside WR is an obvious need as well.

[Mercy Percy]

Too be honest this draft will be great as long as we stick along the lines of drafting the BPA in the position of WR, DT, LB, CB