Continue reading »]]> Joe Webb continued to work on his game this offseason. The only difference is this year it will be at wide receiver, arguably his more natural position. Webb has a lot of work to do to avoid getting the pink slip when the Vikings cut down to 53 before the first week of the season but if anyone has that passion and drive it’s him. WR is a position that continues to entice me as training camp approaches. So many questions, with the biggest being, will Frazier carry 5 or 6 guys? This is relevant because if we only carry 5, the top 4 spots will ultimately go to Jerome Simpson, Greg Jennings, Jay Wright and Cordarelle Patterson. That leaves one spot for the likes of Webb, Greg Childs and a few intriguing youngsters in Chris Summer, Rodney Smith, Erik Highsmith, and Nicholas Edwards. It’s a little early to try and make any bold predictions but word from OTAs is good for Webb fanatics. Tom Pelissero tweeted that Webb has been catching everything that was thrown his way. The real issue will be how quickly Webb can pick up the offense, not an easy task for a guy that only played 2 years at the position in college. Right now, I’m rooting for him to snag that 5th or 6th spot. Otherwise, the Webb experiment will be put to an end and that amazing athleticism will go into the recycling bin only to be looked at by someone else.

Continue reading »]]>  With a title like this, there are about 200 players I could talk about. I’m also fairly certain that everyone who reads this is going to be upset that I didn’t mention this guy or that guy. But I just wanted to bring up some lesser thought about wild options.

 First I would like to talk about the need for a QB. I think that 3 of our 4 QBs are plenty serviceable for the future, but some of you strongly dislike Christian Ponder. Those people want the Vikings to draft a QB, but it isn’t going to happen, at least not early. While the Ryan Mallett fan in me wants us to draft a strong arm guy like Mike Glennon or Tyler Bray (or trade for Mallet apparently), those guys would cost the Vikings too much and just make an awkward three-way battle. Ask the Jets how effective that is. I think the Vikings should use a late round pick on Duke QB Sean Renfree (pictured). Does he have great numbers? No. Does he have a strong arm? No. Does he make all the best decisions? No. So apparently I want us to waste a draft pick. Actually what it is, is that he is a very smart serviceable guy. Now, I like McLeod Bethel-Thompson. Almost too much, but if we’re going to go a new direction, why not get the poor man’s Ponder/Matt Cassel. A phrase no one has ever uttered or wanted to utter. Remember a year ago when Vikings fans wanted us to falter for Matt Barkley? Man is that funny to think about now, Michael Rand wrote a little something about it and I loved reading it.

 Another intriguing option is at RB. The Vikings needs to get a third RB, no offense to Matt Asiata, but they do. Or equally important we need to get Toby Gerhart‘s replacement once he leaves next offseason. Which brings me to South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore and Arkansas’ Knile Davis. Both are great, both have had injury issues, but what a great situation where they would get to sit behind the great RB in the NFL Adrian Peterson and a serviceable backup for at least this season in Gerhart. They would get to heal and learn from the best, and the best at learning how to heal. The problem is that they are both so good, they may be off the board well before the Vikings would consider their 3rd RB, but if they are still available, what an intriguing option. Note: if you watch Lattimore’s injury videos, be wary.

 The third biggest option is some late round WRs that are interesting options. Texas A&M’s Ryan Swope and Florida State’s Rodney Smith (pictured) are the two I’d like to speak of, because if WRs go late in this year’s draft, these two could be hanging in there until the late rounds for the Vikings to swoop in and get. Smith, a giant among the WRs class has some straight line speed but was only average at FSU, nonetheless he’d be a good option. Swope is another option. A guy originally expected to go in the 4th rd by some had a lighting fast time at the combine (4.33), and could be moving up some GMs boards (history says mostly the Raiders draft board). Either way, this draft has some good middle round options at WR so if the Vikings screw up the early rounds, they still have some options.

 Now, I will talk about the two defenders I didn’t mention in my top 30 that I want to mention now and they are Utah State’s Will Davis and Georgia’s Baccarri Rambo. Some would say that I’m only mentioning two players because I’m incredible offensive minded (two of which work for this blog… okay, all three of us think that), but it’s also because my top 30 has 23 defensive options on it. Davis is a guy who met with the Vikings and I’ve heard the Vikings have interest in him. Rambo is a guy that I have interest in because I like the way he plays safety. With all of GM Rick Spielman‘s smoke screens, the fact that we haven’t heard much about this guy makes me think there is a chance the Vikings like him and don’t want anyone else to know.

Well, there you have it, the draft is now a mere 4 hours away and I’m excited and hope you are too, please check back tonight as we’ll keep you up to date on Vikings news.

Continue reading »]]>  It’s finally draft day eve, and I’m as excited as a normal person is on Christmas eve. Tomorrow will be a big day for Vikings fans, and while I have some assumptions about what the Vikings will do tomorrow, GM Rick Spielman is always very secretive and not very predictable. The Vikings have talked about trading up, but that doesn’t sound like Spielman’s thing, unless it’s only a few picks to leap from the Rams for a player they need and only loose like a 5-7th rounder.

 With today’s posting I will preface it with a few notes. In the past our MinneSPORTa team has talked a lot about drafts before they happen, we were all saying/high fiving when the Vikings drafted Adrian Peterson and not Brady Quinn. We all said that if we didn’t have AP that Chris Johnson would be a great prospect. In other years we’ve even said things like Larry Fitzgerald is going to be awesome, the Jared Allen trade for a first rounder made sense that year, I even remember Justin saying way back when that Ed Reed was going to be awesome, I thought he’d be good, but man was I wrong.

With the ups, also come the downs, so I will state that we also said that Tarvaris Jackson would be good (or at least I did), Some of us thought that Mike Williams was going to be as good as Larry Fitz, and I even said that one of the best running back’s son would be an amazing player–Jarrett Payton (Man was I wrong with that one). So, we’ve been right and we’ve been wrong, but the ones we’re more passionate about have been the right ones, not the wrong ones. Here are the top picks for this year

10. Johnathan Cyprien, Florida International, 6’0” 217 lbs, FS

Cyprien is an intriguing prospect. He is out of the small school FIU, and never played amazing/NFL caliber competition, but he did dominate at the level in which he did play. The other thing that makes him an intriguing prospect for the Vikings is that last year late in round 1 they drafted Harrison Smith, so the question becomes does it make sense to draft another. Probably not, but think about the ramifications of doing so. Sure they have many needs in other spots, but the Safety position in theory would be set for at least 5-7 years, barring injury or that one of them doesn’t turn out to be Tyrell Johnson.

In the event we do draft Cyprien, his skill set is very similar to his would be teammate Harrison Smith. Good size, hard hitter, who doesn’t always wrap up and isn’t phenomenal in coverage. But Cyprien has a lot of upside. With an NFL training regime and playing with Smith and under Alan Williams and Leslie Frazier, Cyprien could blossom into a great DB. The main question, almost the only question remains, is it worth a 1^st rd pick on a position they don’t necessarily need? Naturally my opinion is yes, assuming these guys are gone…

9. Desmond Trufant, Washington, 6’0” 190 lbs, CB

CB remains the biggest area of concern after losing Antoine Winfield to the Seattle West Vikings, or Seahawks, I can’t remember which. Trufant appears to be the guy most like Winfield. He can hit, he tackles (although he doesn’t tackle well enough to be considered a Winfield kind of guy) well, he plays incredibly physical, and so he sounds like the perfect fit to replace him.

Unfortunately, his coverage isn’t exactly where it needs to be, which actually is about where Winfield was nearing at the end of his Vikings career. Trufant, however, has a few upsides that Winfield didn’t. I’ll start with the obvious and say that he isn’t in his 30s. On top of that, he doesn’t have the speed of a guy in his 30s, I’m saying that he’s faster, although it didn’t exactly sound like that.

The thing that will hurt the Vikings is he won’t have the leadership that Winfield had, I don’t know that anyone on our now young backfield will have that. But that isn’t what we’d ask for out of a rookie. Trufant may be the best CB in this draft not named Millner, but he won’t be available for the Vikings, Trufant may not be either.

8. Arthur Brown, Kansas St, 6’0” 241 lbs, ILB

Brown is an intriguing prospect for the Vikings in round 1. They have a glaring need at MLB, but there are POTENTIALLY better options available. We’re now to the point of this Top draft board where it’s essentially pick your poison. I personally have Brown as my third ILB, it’s just a personal choice and it says nothing about how the Vikings feel about him. I think Brown may be a serviceable guy, but perhaps the Vikings need more.

Brown’s biggest strengths are that he is an absolute hammer, he played in the big 12 and played a lot of pass coverage and solidly, and he tends to read plays and routes very well. He may not always have the skill set to stay with guys or be in the right position, but he seems to have a jump-start on most plays because he plays instinctual and does it well.

Brown however will have lapses in his reads, and is definitely not the most gifted physically, which means when he does misread, he’s usually in quite a bit of trouble. Brown may not be a Ray Lewis, but he reminds me of E.J. Henderson in the way he hits like a brick house.

7. Kevin Minter, LSU, 6’0” 246 lbs, ILB

Minter is not my top ILB draft prospect, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that he’s going to be the best ILB from this class. He played against a lot of NFL competition in the SEC, including Alabama who will have approximately 90 drafted players this year after their great championship run. Minter is a good tackler, possibly the best in the class. In 2012 Minter had 130 tackles (55 solo, 75 assisted), 4 sacks and a pick. Now with the Vikings he won’t be asked to blitz much, and only the one pick isn’t great numbers, but this is a scenario where stats don’t tell it all.

Minter is a solid player and while he can and did play a lot of coverage at LSU, it is an area that he probably needs some work on. I will go back to the E.J. Henderson comparison. E.J. was never amazing in coverage, but he was good enough to get by. I presume that Minter will be very similar, it may however be too early to determine if he’ll be better or worse in coverage. Minter would still however only be my choice if Spielman determines our need at MLB to be the biggest concern where he wants to fill it with a day one starter.

6. Cordarrelle Patterson, Tennessee, 6’2” 216 lbs, WR

Here he is, the wild card of all wild cards. Patterson is a freakish athlete especially at his size. But what’s very important to note is that aside from his insane athleticism, we, nor anyone else, would be talking about him. Patterson absolutely wowed in his one year at the FBS level after Junior College, which makes him still very raw.

He doesn’t have the best route running ability (think Percy Harvin) and he tends to let the ball get to his body instead of using his slightly undersized hands (9”). I’m not sure about his intelligence or character level, but I have heard he has under impressed with his team meetings both during and after the combine.

Now, with all that being said, I know it’s fair of me to say this too as he is definitely the person I have watched the most footage of, he sure is special. When the ball is in his hands, defenses have to be sweating a little extra. The guy is absolutely electric and almost impossible to catch. But can the Vikings afford a pick on a chance player who may just be a one trick pony when their need on the outside is so big? Only Spielman knows.

5. Justin Hunter, Tennessee, 6’4” 196 lbs, WR

Hunter is the guy who has been referred to as “a poor man’s Randy Moss.” Now I believe that’s only in his lanky stature and insane speed for a guy his size. I have not heard one way or the other if he has character flaws, which makes me believe that he doesn’t. If you didn’t know Hunter before the Combine, he would’ve jumped out at you afterward. I had seen footage of him already, but was blown away by his 40 time (4.44), his vertical leap (39.5”), his broad jump (11’4”), and his 20 yard shuttle (4.33) which is used to measure agility and quickness.

Most people have Patterson (Hunter’s teammate at Tennessee) going ahead of Hunter, and I think he will too, but for the Vikings that would be a mistake (the Patriots would be a different story). They need a big target on the outside, and I think Hunter will make some team very happy that they drafted him in this passing league where the field still needs to be stretched even for short underneath throws and bubble screens.

Hunter’s downfall is that his lanky size makes him vulnerable to injury and a less than average blocker in the run game, things that would not be good for the team with AP.

4. Sylvester Williams, North Carolina, 6’3” 313 lbs, DT

As I’ve said several times the Vikings need to bring back the Williams Wall, which apparently they are doing so Pat can retire a Viking. While Sylvester is not the same Williams that Pat is, he play an awful lot like Kevin Williams. Sylvester is a very good blitzer for a DT, which is the main reason I’m comparing him to Kevin. Also much like Kevin early on in his career, he’s over power, quick, and commands a double team on just about every snap. In fact in most instances where he wasn’t double teamed, he was I the backfield disrupting plays.

I want to use the fact that he was in the ACC against him, because just dominating that kind of competitions isn’t the same as dominating in the NFL, but did we see anyone else that dominant in any conference even the “weaker” ones? I don’t think so. I would have to say his biggest weakness is he apparently has a plan in mind for a play and if he’s stopped that it. He can push guards back, and he can swim past him, but he doesn’t seem to switch mid-play if he gets stopped, he almost just waits if his initial move is contained.

3. Xavier Rhodes, Florida St, 6’1” 210 lbs, CB

Rhodes is an interesting prospect based on what the Vikings seem to have been moving towards. The Vikings are moving towards some sizeable corners. Chris Cook (6’2”) and A.J. Jefferson (6’1”) are of very good size, and at times it completely makes sense to have them out there. What Cook play against Calvin Johnson, he’s very solid. But If the Vikings want two decent and tall corners on the outside they have to get a guy like Xavier.

Unlike a lot of this draft classes corners that I saw, Rhodes got right up on the line and jammed players and jammed players well. Rhodes is excellent in man coverage, and most of the time he plays the ball very well. He does however tend to get a bit physical downfield that he was allowed to get away with in college, and he wasn’t as good in zone or against NFL caliber talent.

Rhodes is absolutely the guy I would draft at either 23 or 25 (assuming one of the other two guys is gone, or if Spielman likes one of the later round MLBs). Teams have lit us up too much in the passing game the last few years, and it isn’t because of an MLB, WR, or DT. The Vikings really need a guy like Rhodes, who unfortunately will most likely be gone when they pick.

2. DeAndre Hopkins, Clemson, 6’1” 214 lbs, WR

Everyone has a different opinion, but mine is that Hopkins is far and away the best receiver in this class… for the Vikings. The Rams (and I say this hoping they listen to me) need more of a home run hitter, an Austin or a Patterson, not the physical outside guy. The Vikings however have their home run hitter (AP) and need someone to relieve some of the pressure from him.

I’m going to say it, Hopkins reminds me most of Larry Fitzgerald. He has enormous hands (10”), he plays the ball at the highest point (and does so well on the outside), and much like Fitz, he has a will and determination and plays hard even though he’s not the biggest or fastest guy. Am I going to say that he’s the best in this class? Yes, I honestly believe that. Unfortunately the Vikings needs at other positions might deter them from taking the best player at a position of only “kind of need.”

While through the last several years I have supported and backed Spielman and his decision-making, I will say that passing on Hopkins would be a monstrous mistake. The Vikings have to give Ponder help, otherwise it won’t be fair to kick him to the curb.

1. Alec Ogletree, Georgia, 6’2” 242 lbs, ILB

Ogletree is the most intriguing draftee to me. He played well, but when I watch him play, for some reason I think I see him playing better. He didn’t have a great 40 time (4.70), but it is really good for his size. He didn’t have a very good combine on the bench (20 reps) but he doesn’t play weak out on the field. I see Ogletree as being a guy with tremendous upside and being coach by a Hall of Fame linebacker (Mike Singletary) might be good for his growth and development. Also, being next to a veteran like Chad Greenway would be a positive for him as well.

The main question here then becomes, is it worth taking a gifted athlete with upside as your first pick? What if he doesn’t progress with Singletary and Greenway like you want him to? The MLB position in any defense is very important, but in the Vikings cover too, if he’s not great his less than stellar speed might hurt him trying to drop deep into coverage. I still list him as first because of the Vikings needs and what he brings to the table, do I feel as strong about him as I do Hopkins or Rhodes, no, but the Vikings need an MLB more.

There you have it, check back tomorrow as I still have my small, unimpressive surprise and we’ll try to keep your Vikings draft needs covered. Also check out our Twitter account if you haven’t already as I’m sure we’ll be tweeting Vikings thoughts.

Continue reading »]]>  For those of you who couldn’t wait an extra day to see the new uniforms here’s a leaked picture of them. The new uniforms were suppose to be unveiled just before the NFL draft began on Thursday, but apparently someone got a little trigger happy and pulled it too soon.

 For those of you like me who were afraid they were going to go in an ugly direction, there is no need to fear. For those of you who were worried they weren’t going to be cutting edge, now is the time to panic. They definitely lack an Oregon Ducks feel (one of their 75 jersey styles might have been cool in purple), but at least we don’t have to worry about an incredibly moronic style.

 These jersey’s remind me of the Vikings jersey’s of old, something that had been talked about for quiet some time. For a better viewing, we should probably keep our eyes peeled on Thursday. Well, here they are…

As of 3:30 Apr. 23: @Vikings tweeted the legitimacy of this photo and said there is more to come…

Continue reading »]]>  The moment that you all have been waiting about 23 hours for has finally arrived. My second posting of the Vikings top 30 prospects. On a side note, I’m not doing this to milk it for 3 days, I’m just spreading it out to hopefully increase the excitement.

 While the Vikings were a playoff team last season they still have many needs, and with 4 picks in the first 3 rounds they could add 4 potential starters. Let’s continue our look into who the Vikings should take.

20. Darius Slay, Mississippi St, 6’0” 192 lbs, CB

Slay at times looks like a great corner. In my original mock draft before looking at any players very closely, I had the Vikings taking him in rd 3. He was projected later than that at the time, but now I think rd 3 is where he might go. The Vikings could use some CB help after losing Antoine Winfield and I think that Slay could help with that process without having to give up too much.

Slay plays physical and is good in run support, but I don’t see him getting physical too often at the line. He doesn’t seem to turn his hips quick enough when he gets beat by a receiver which isn’t good especially when you consider that he tends to watch in the backfield a bit too often. Nonetheless, Slay has good speed (4.36, the fastest among CBs), and decent enough size to contend with the bigger receivers.

19. Manti Te’o, Notre Dame, 6’1” 241 lbs, ILB

Despite my own wishes, Te’o had to be on this board. Will I admit he makes the Vikings better? No. Will I admit that he’s the best 4-3 middle linebacker? No. Will I admit that he could be the best LB from this class, and potential have a Ray Lewis/Brian Urlacher kind of career? Unfortunately Yes. I honestly believe he could have a HOF type career, but I don’t think he’s worth one of the Vikings two first round picks. He will be a headache and distraction. I didn’t think Tebow would be an NFL QB, after how he played his last year in Denver. Someone should give him a shot. But look at the circus that has followed him everywhere he goes.

In actual analysis info, he’s big, smart, and fast enough. The Alabama game shouldn’t count against him, he had too many distractions that took away from his play, which is why the Vikings shouldn’t take him.

18. Kawann Short, Purdue, 6’3” 299 lbs, DT

I think during the NFL combine, that ex-Vikings offensive coordinator Brian Billick said it best. The NFL has tight standards for size. He was talking about O-linemen, but I’ll talk about d-linemen. With Kevin Williams and Christian Ballard, the Vikings need a nose tackle. Short is just too light to play that spot. While this is probably just solely my opinion, that’s what I feel and that’s what I’m stating.

Furthermore, he didn’t seem to be a great tackler, and that’s when he got to the ball carrier. Short didn’t show a whole lot of hustle at times, and when he did he struggled to make the play. He also seemed to struggle in over powering the guards and tackles of Wisconsin (although the Badgers do send like 6 lineman to the NFL every year). Maybe that’s his problem, not size, but a lack of strength. Either way, Short would help as the Vikings do appear to be going with more of a speedier tackle strategy.

17. Terrance Williams, Baylor, 6’2” 208 lbs, WR

People are in love with RG3, and why not. Just thought I’d throw that in there and state the Williams was good both with and without the dynamic QB. Williams is big, physical, and will run over the middle not afraid to get clobbered (or so it appears, it didn’t happen to often). The thing I like most about him is his athleticism. Even for his big size Baylor gave him plenty of bubble screens (Vikings fans know this as the only play we ran to Harvin), and he was electric enough to elude defenders.

But the question is, is that what the Vikings need? The Vikings need the guy on the outside who can be big and physical, although over the middle is nice too, but the Vikings need a deep play threat, something Williams wasn’t asked to do all that often. That being said if we wait until round 2, Williams might be the guy.

16. David Amerson, NC State, 6’1” 205 lbs, CB

Amerson is another guy who fills an obvious position of need for the Vikings. Now, I am well aware that corner needn’t be over 6’ tall, but at the same time, NFL wide receivers are getting bigger by the year, and the Vikings face too many big strong WRs to go after a guy like Tyrann Mathieu. Plus Josh Robinson has the speed to play the slot, he just needs to improve in coverage. Amerson is a decent tackler, although he does tend to lower his head a bit when tackling, sometimes leading him to get burned on cuts and spins, overall though he’s good against the run.

The biggest concern with Amerson is his play vs Justin Hunter, Cordarrelle Patterson, and DeAndre Hopkins. He was lit up at times against all three of them, and that’s very alarming because as good as those three are, they aren’t going to be Calvin Johnson/Larry Fitzgerald from day one.

15. Robert Woods, USC, 6’0” 201 lbs, WR

USC hasn’t exactly brought in lots of non-overrated talent at WR the last few years, but they also haven’t had a guy with 4 years of production like Woods. Woods is a solid player and a guy I would absolutely want us to draft just like several years ago when I wanted to draft a guy that he’s similar too—Greg Jennings. But now with Jennings, it begs the questions do we need two guys like that. Sure both can play outside effectively, but they both excel in the slot. And Jarius Wright is also a good slot guy. While Woods will remain one of my favorite receivers, but he just doesn’t make a lot of sense for the Vikings, unless other options are no longer available.

I think that one of Woods’ major strengths is his versatility and also the fact that he isn’t a diva, which is just as rare as a good WR from USC.

14. Jesse Williams, Alabama, 6’3” 323 lbs, DT

Williams was a solid part of a very good National Championship team. A team that absolutely crushed Notre Dame, and while they scored a lot, the defense was a big part of that bashing too. Williams has incredible size but didn’t exactly “wow” at the one thing he did at the combine—bench press (30 reps). He definitely wasn’t terrible on the bench, essentially falling into line with the rest of his DL class.

Where Williams appears to excel is in his smarts and vision. Williams definitely keeps his eyes up on the QB, which is good because he lacks that pop to get past the o-line and into the backfield. In his defense he is often double teamed. Williams is a very versatile big man playing all over the D-line, or at least when they switched to 3 down linemen he bounced outside. But his biggest attribute might be that he’s relentless chasing down ball carriers.

13. Sheldon Richardson, Missouri, 6’2” 294 lbs, DT

The Vikings need a DT, but I have some fears about picking up Richardson here. I will continue to point out the size factor, perhaps I really do just miss Pat Williams that much, but it something that needs to be noted. Like with Short, Richardson doesn’t appear to be able to drive back or overpower blockers. But what I love about Sheldon Richardson is there aren’t many guys at 294 who have the athleticism this guy has. He reminds me a little bit of a young Kevin Williams in the way he plays, but doesn’t seem to have the technique versatility down to go outside like K-Will had a an NFL prospect.

The big fear with Richardson is that at times he is hurt by his own athletic freakishness, beating blockers in the wrong direction and finding himself completely out-of-place. He may be athletic, but he’s not going to be able to catch a RB if he is out of position.

12. Jonathan Banks, Mississippi St, 6’2” 185 lbs, CB

The first thing I want to point out with all of my tall CBs is that the phrase “Too small to play in the NFL” at any position shouldn’t cross your mind. People said that of Darren Sproles, Elvis Dumervil, Jim Leonhard, and most recently Russell Wilson. With that being said, Calvin Johnson will win every jump ball with Antoine Winfield.  The biggest concern for Banks is the 4.61 40 time he posted at the combine. Banks is by no means slow, but that 40 time is disappointing.

The thing I like most about Banks is that he just never seems to play at full speed. Now I know that seems like a burn, but people use to say that about Cris Carter all the time. Banks, like Carter, plays very in control and very deliberate with what he does. He reads plays well which helps him stay in position, but he still isn’t very good in run support.

11. Keenan Allen, California, 6’2” 206 lbs, WR

Allen was often thought as the person the Vikings were going to take with their first rounder. Than Allen had some issues recovering from his injured knee, and swapping Harvin for Jennings apparently made the Vikings needs at DT and MLB bigger issues. I like Allen’s size, athletic ability, and versatility (man I’m over using some words). His ability to play inside as well as outside is a great factor in why the Vikings should have interest, but I rarely, if ever, saw him go up over the top on the outside. I keep bringing that up as well because we need safeties to drop back to create more space for Adrian Peterson, something he’s never seen in his Vikings career. While I strongly believe that Allen could be that guy, he hasn’t shown it.

Allen also appears to be the high character guy that the Vikings are looking for. But GM Rick Spielman knows that he can’t always go with that, at times he has to fill needs or find the more skillful players. If Allen falls to round 2, something people are saying could happen, he might be an interesting option.

With the conclusion of the 11-20 group, I can’t begin to describe how badly I wanted to go with a fake picture of Te’o's dead girlfriend, but I thought better of it. Tomorrow will be the top 10 from my big board, and on draft day, there may even be an unimportant surprise, so make sure to keep checking back with MinneSPORTa.

Continue reading »]]>  The draft is but a mere 3 days away now. And my 2 months of hard work (watching Youtube videos, analysis, and interviews) is finally going to pay off. Now, everyone puts out their top whatever number of players, but what I’m going to do is just the top 30 that make sense for the Vikings. This being said, people like Geno Smith, Tavon Austin, and Luke Joeckel aren’t going to be on here. Whether because the Vikings don’t need them, or because they simply won’t be available for the Vikings to draft.

 Also, I understand that I’m not an “expert” but hey, Mel Kiper Jr. has been wrong thousands of times (he’s probably been right once or twice too). All I can say is if you don’t like what I write, just assume I’m another one of those stupid crazy fans with a 1/3 ownership of a blog who thinks he knows things but actually doesn’t. Also, in a perfect world, the Vikings would get 4 of these guys in the first 3 rounds, but I can’t say if they’ll all be there for not. So, let’s get started.

30. Kiko Alonso, Oregon, 6’3″ 238 lbs ILB

The Vikings are in desperate need of an inside linebacker. Should they draft one before this point? Perhaps, but if they haven’t Alonso looks like a great choice. He’s got great size, he moves well, and hits hard. Something the Vikings haven’t had at MLB since E.J. Henderson. He’s a good blitzer, which is something the Vikings don’t do much with their MLB, but it’s nice to know he’s completely capable of doing so.

The biggest downfall with Alonso is that he appears to over run plays at times. He just seems to use his speed and aggressiveness against himself, occasionally getting out of position.

29. Sio Moore, UConn, 6’1” 245 lbs OLB

The Vikings also need help at outside linebacker, and not nearly as bad as at middle, so by about the time Moore is going to be drafted the Vikings might be taking him. Moore at times during his Senior year at UConn looked like a DE, showing great effectiveness blitzing off the edge.

Moore appears to be more interested in tackling the QB, and RB as he seems very good in stopping the run, but lacks in his ability to cover. As the Vikings run mostly zone coverage that would help Moore if he was drafted by the Vikes as he struggles most in man to man coverage.

28. Eric Reid, LSU, 6’1” 213 lbs, FS

The Vikings don’t have as glaring a need at the safety spot opposite Harrison Smith, but it sure wouldn’t hurt to upgrade. With 4 guys on the roster at S, it appears unlikely to draft one, but Reid is a wrecking ball in the secondary, moving up to make huge hits on opposing players.

But as with many of these players, he seems to put himself in trouble at times because he wants to make the big hits, and his coverage just isn’t good enough to make up for that tenacity. Reid most likely won’t be around in round 3, but the Vikings can’t afford to take him any earlier.

27. Blidi Wreh-Wilson, UConn, 6’1” 195 lbs CB

I’m noticing that a lot of these later people on my board have incredibly good size, something that the Vikings need at CB as they face Calvin Johnson, James Jones, and Brandon Marshall 2 times a season. Wreh-Wilson doesn’t seem to like to bump coverage at the line, which could be a problem playing big NFL receivers, and down field he tends to get handsy.

Aside from his size, he lined up in what looked like a S position at times, but it might have been to cover the offense better or to disguise, but Wreh-Wilson looks pretty solid in zone coverage, and the Vikings like to zone cover.

26. John Jenkins, Georgia, 6’4” 346 lbs, DT

Jenkins is an absolute monster size wise. He will absolutely command double teams when he’s out there because he takes up so much room against the run. But will he play enough downs to justify the high pick he can get? No, which is why the Vikings would be wise to hope he falls, or not be too upset if they can’t waste an earlier pick on him.

Jenkins is not really suited for the Vikings 4-3 defense, and even less suited for the fact that the Vikings have been on a trend of getting faster at the DT position. I guess they don’t like my Madden of two monsters because it doesn’t work in real life.

25. Johnathan Hankins, Ohio St, 6’3” 320 lbs, DT

The Vikings (as I mentioned earlier) are going to be hurting on the d-line next year. They need to start addressing it soon, and the Vikings have also not been as effective against the run since Pat Williams left. Hankins is a monster in the middle much like Pat was, and also like Pat he shows good hustle on plays a big man shouldn’t be able to stop.

Hankins however is appearing to be a 2 down linemen, as he’s not quick enough or explosive enough to get to the QB. But he will draw double which could make him helpful vs the pass.

24. Sean Porter, Texas A&M, 6’1” 229 lbs, OLB

Again, the need at OLB isn’t as high, but someone like Porter might still be available when the Vikings pick in round 3. It’s not likely but possible. Porter plays smart and is very good in zone, something the Vikings would like out of the LB play.

Porter at times though appears hesitant, making his otherwise smart play just look really tentative. This being said, Porter is one of my favorite OLB options in this year’s draft, and could really boost the Vikings LBs. The main reason I like him is that he could still be available in round 3, meaning the Vikings wouldn’t have to reach for a solid OLB.

23. Zaviar Gooden, Missouri, 6’1” 234 lbs, OLB

Gooden appears to be the guy the Vikings are the most interested in. He does needs some work as at times his own athleticism puts him out of position, or he occasionally thinks his athleticism will be better than it is and he gets beat at times because of it.

But what you can’t ignore are some of those combine workouts. He had the fastest 40 (4.47) among LBs, and was the 4^th strongest on the bench (27 reps), and that’s always going to catch a coach/GMs eyes. The main problem is can the Vikings afford a mini-project here?

22. Brandon Williams, Missouri Southern St, 6’1” 335 lbs, DT

Williams reminds me a lot of Pat Williams. That can be good or bad, but what I like most about him is that he appears to be a high character guy. Working regular jobs even during the football season to help support his mother and he also knows how amazing a chance at the NFL would be and has been working hard to get there.

Williams biggest knock is that there isn’t much tape of him against NFL caliber opponents. The fact that he played D2 might mean that he could fall to the Vikings where they can afford to take a risk on him as he won’t need to start day one.

21. Johnathan Cooper, North Carolina, 6’2” 311 lbs, OG

Okay, the odds that Cooper is gone before the Vikings first pick, are pretty high anyway, so this might just be a waste of all of our time. That being said, I still think the Vikings would have to have a crazy amount of aces up their sleeves to make this pick make sense.

That being said, the Vikings need some guard help. Fusco and Johnson aren’t bad, but Cooper would be an immense upgrade for a team that loves to run the ball and therefore needs good O-linemen. I still don’t see him being a Viking.

Check back tomorrow when I will post my 11-20 group. Otherwise, just let the critiquing begin.

Continue reading »]]>  It might be to early in the year to get excited, but it’s also never to late to start hoping for the Twins this season. They’re off to a far better start this year (6-7) than most people expected, although they aren’t by any stretch of the word good.

 The two biggest headlines thus far this season for the Twins (if you ignore the fact that they’ve won 3 of their first 5 series) is how well two players are hitting the ball. Joe Mauer is a guy we always expect to do well, and we’ve perhaps set unrealistic expectations for him. I know I personally am disappointed in Mauer when he’s batting below .400, but that’s what one real season, and several video game seasons will do to my perception of Mauer. Either way he’s batting .386 this season and is 8 for 10 vs the Angles in their last two games.

 Mauer is one of those guys we just expect to hit well, but if he can keep this pace up and a few other players can show strides towards improvement (mostly in the pitching department) the Twins have a chance of not being the worst team in the league. Sure that’s a sad goal to go for, but right now with the Twins, it’s a place to start.

 The other player as I mentioned earlier who is hitting the ball well is Twins prospect Miguel Sano. The 19-year-old 3B is hitting .413 this season and has hits in 9 consecutive games in minor league play, and as you can see  from the picture Sano is not a small 3B. Not sure if that’s really all that important, but it’s something to note. The Twins have been in desperate need of solid 3B play since before I can remember, or at least I forgot because it’s been so long. While Sano may be a long ways from hitting consistently and well in the majors, it’s always good to see solid play from guys we hope will be dominating for the Twins in the future.

Continue reading »]]>  The Minnesota Vikings have been very busy this off-season, at times appearing to be moving backwards. This move doesn’t look like a move forward, like bringing in Greg Jennings, but it also doesn’t look like a move backwards, like telling Antoine Winfield to take a hike.

 But none-the-less Kevin Williams will play an 11th season in purple and gold after restructuring his old deal of 7 million to a 4.9 million dollar fully guaranteed deal. For the record, 4.9 million dollars is about 4.905 million more than I’ve ever made playing football.

 The only reason that I would say that this is a backwards move for the Vikings is solely based on the fact that now Williams, Jared Allen, Brian Robison, and Everson Griffen (basically our for best defensive linemen) are all unrestricted free agents (UFAs) after this season. Perhaps it’s a ploy to get one great year out of all of them, leading us to some playoff victories. But if this plan backfires, what then? The Vikings could risk losing all four because they want to leave all at once, they could risk only being able to sign one or two of them, or they could risk having a bad year, signing them all cheap, and having the fans hate that 4 crappy players were resigned. Either way, it seems like too many eggs in one basket, especially on a defensive line, a very important spot on an NFL roster.

 The one positive here is that the Williams signing frees up 2.5 million dollars from the salary cap (so we can sign Winfield last week, oh wait). This move seems interesting. Either they’ve got their eye on someone in FA, which seems unlikely, or they’ve got big plans for the draft.  Perhaps moving up to get someone they want. Maybe trading a later round pick with the second rounder to move up within the second round, I don’t know, I’m not Spielman. Although I wish I had his job sometimes. Anyway with only 9 days until the draft, the Vikings are still stirring up the pot.

Continue reading »]]>  The Minnesota Vikings have two picks in the first round (23 & 25) of this year’s NFL draft. The Vikings added some receiver skill by signing Greg Jennings (and possibly not letting go of Jerome Simpson, depending on how you see that), but the Vikings are still hurting on the outside.

 Keenan Allen (pictured) and DeAndre Hopkins are both in Minnesota today visiting with the Vikings now that the NFL draft is less than a month away. What’s the biggest thing to take away from this? Nothing. As Tom Pelissero points out, last year the Vikings hosted Matt Kalil, but didn’t bring Harrison Smith in for a visit. April in the NFL is all about throwing up smoke screens, and GM Rick Spielman is one of the best. If you’re not sure about that, view previous comments he made about Percy Harvin.

 Either way, the Vikings are always looking for talent, and most importantly they’re looking for “high character” players. Which brings me to my next comment that Tyrann “Honey Badger” Mathieu is also visiting the Vikings today. For those of you unfamiliar with the Honey Badger, he’s an undersized guy who actually reminds me a lot of Antoine Winfield (a guy that if the Vikings can’t bring back, they’ll quickly learn just how important he was). The only problem here is that Mathieu doesn’t have anywhere near the level of character of a guy like Winfield. For those of you even less familiar with Mathieu, he was kicked off of LSU’s football team and spent most of the last year in rehab and trying to rebuild his image after drug abuse issues. Mathieu will be an absolute steal for some team in this year’s draft if he/the team can get past the drug problems. That team will not be the Vikings.

 Another tell-tale sign of not showing anything, is that there have been rumors that the Vikings are really interested in Robert Woods (as of now we’ve heard nothing about whether they will meet with him). He’s been referred to as a high character guy who plays very unselfishly. I’m not even sure the Vikings would know what that’s like out of an early round WR. Except Sidney Rice. I’m not sure whether or not Allen or Hopkins are high character guys, but from what I know of them, they both seem to fit that mold as well.

 So, while the draft is still 23 days away, we here at Minnesporta have been extremely interested and excited for weeks now. We’ve just been too busy discussing it amongst ourselves to post anything new, but now with less than a month to go, we figure you’ll hear a lot more of our OPINIONS as we draw closer.

Continue reading »]]>  As NFL free agency opened today the Vikings did not turn their attention to big name free agents like Greg Jennings or Mike Wallace, they started by taking care of their in-house free agents. To begin they agreed to a restructured contract with TE John Carlson clearing a small amount of cap space for the team. After that they turned their attention to re-signing their own free agents by agreeing to new contracts with Jerome Simpson, Phil Loadholt, Joe Berger, Jamarca Sanford, Jerome Felton and Erin Henderson. Simpson and Berger received one year deals; Sanford and Henderson signed two year deals; Felton signed a three year deal and Loadholt agreed to a four year deal. The Vikings have now signed six of their ten in-house free agents. The known contract terms can be seen below.

Phil Loadholt: 4 years, $25M

Jerome Felton: 3 years, $7.5M

Jerome Simpson: 1 year

Joe Berger: 1 year

Jamarca Sanford: 2 years

Erin Henderson: 2 years

 In another surprising  development on Tuesday, the Vikings released veteran cornerback Antoine Winfield. Winfield was due a base salary of $7.25 million next season in the final year of his contract and would not agree to a pay cut.