Vikings Message Board.Com

I think we should draft a WR in the first round, but if we have a shot at a superstar LB, I think we should draft them and since there are so many great WR's in this draft I think we should be able to hold off until the second round to still get a decent WR.

I'm hoping the Vikings go with a WR but I'm' fine with a LB.

Actually, I'm probably fine with BPA, regardless what position he plays.

I'd like a top notch linebacker that can cover, I think Henderson and Brinkley are neck and neck for biggest weakness on the team, though raymond isn't far behind them. That position worries me FAR more than WR because an offense sporting PETERSON, harvin, (yes pay him) Rudolph, a healthy simpson / carlson, and more experienced wright / ellison is beyond serviceable.

That's assuming BPA is a choice between the two positions, obviously you always go BPA.

top notch DL would be my pick, second choice LB, 3rd WR.

This is a passing league. Sign a free agent receiver. Draft another one, then fill the holes. Cut Webb. Sign a veteren QB to back up Ponder. Cut Jenkins. This team is not far from the top.

Voted WR but am more in the camp of BPA this year.

BPA at either WR, LB, or Safety.

It's impossible to say without knowing how the 22 picks in front play out and who is left on the board. The Vikings should be looking to add an impact player with their first round pick. Not just a decent prospect, but a guy who can immediately, or with minimal development, get on the field and become the sort of player other teams really have to worry about.

Of the guys who are likely to be there at #23, there are only 2 I think fit into that category of player. One is Tavon Austin, who reminds me very much of Percy Harvin, and the other is Alec Ogletree, the somewhat troubled LB out of Georgia. Austin's speed and versatility would give Musgrave a wealth of options if paired with Harvin and Jarius Wright, plus Austin could be a very effective returner right out of the gate. Olgetree is a guy who probably shot his chances of going in the 1st round in the foot with his DWI arrest before the Combine, but is still the type of player that could transform how the Vikings play defense in a pass-happy division. If the go with Olgetree, though, they really have to do their homework and make sure the guy is serious about getting his act together or it could be a wasted pick.

Of the 2nd-tier of players likely to be sitting at #23, if one of the two guard prospects somehow fall that would be a good pickup (those being Warmack and Cooper), or any of a number of highly-rated DTs would make sense there as well. The Vikes could also go safety with the pick as a guy like Matt Elam is likely to be there and Vaccaro might also slide to that spot. Mind, when I say "2nd-tier", I mean in terms of overall impact, not talent. These guys are very good players, but their impacts won't be as great because of the positions they play.

So it really depends. The question presupposes a lot and seems to presume the Vikings will make a need-based pick in the 1st round. I don't think Spielman will do that.

Wr And Linebacker are the big needs. But always always always draft the best player available . Just the smart move.

OL
By the time the draft rolls around, the Vikings should have a better feel for the Phil Loadholt situation. He could even be on another team by then, which changes everything. There's no way they want to go into next season with LT and C being the only solid starters. If Loadholt is gone, D.J. Fluker could still be available at #23 and would be an immediate starter at RT.

With Loadholt signed, OL becomes much less of a priority than WR, LB and CB. The only way they'd consider an offensive lineman then is if one of the projected top guys falls to them. Someone like Lane Johnson or Jonathan Cooper, although the chances of either are slim.

SS/FS
I see drafting a safety as highly unlikely in the first round. It would have to be someone they absolutely love. Kenny Vaccaro will be gone and both Matt Elam and Eric Reid would be reaches.

I would like to see them pick another pro bowl lineman. Since this is a deep draft in that position, take another one. It all starts up front.

I see we're more than half favoring a wide receiver. The problem I have with that is that first round WR's seems to have a pretty high failure rate. For anecdotal evidence, see Lions, Detroit. They hit on one out of three. There are just too many Troy Williamson's and Darius Hayward-Bey's to make me comfortable grabbing a Cordarelle Patterson (for example, if available) in the late first.

Wide receiver almost works like QB these days - there's a certain immeasurable quality that separates the good ones from the not so good, and you don't know what it is until they spend a year in the league. Johnathan Baldwin or Torry Smith from the class of 2011? Easy choice, but not the one the league made in the draft.

PacificNorseWest wrote:

I'd take G, DT, and possibly even corner as well...tackle if we lose Loadholt.

^ So, basically the best player available. Haha.