2014 Vikings Draft Discussion

[S197]

Looks like Mayock and I agree on Dennard

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap200000 ... -nfl-draft

[Laserman]

Fairley was available he went the next pick after we took Ponder.

A Typical Viking Draft Blunder for sure.

[PG8914]

Anyone watched any video of Chris Borland out of Wisconsin? Dude's small, kinda slow, but is a solid tackler, and doesn't seem too terrible in coverage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCbBmcxmFHY

[KSViking]

Anyone watched any video of Chris Borland out of Wisconsin? Dude's small, kinda slow, but is a solid tackler, and doesn't seem too terrible in coverage.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCbBmcxmFHY

I think it would Behoove us to start getting faster at LB, with guys who can also do well in coverage. Stopping the Run is great, but if you don't have the speed and versatility to also help against the passing game, I think you don't improve us much from what we have already had in recent years.

Which is why I think that CJ Mosley would be a perfect 1st round pick for us. Even at #8 if we can't trade down a few spots. If he can stay healthy, the kid is just all over the field, and an every down back.

[Mothman]

Speaking of linebackers...

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 13211.html

UCLA outside linebacker Anthony Barr and Louisville inside linebacker Preston Brown will both visit the Vikings for their “top 30” event on Monday and Tuesday, according to two NFL sources.
Barr could be an option for the Vikings with their eighth overall pick. The projected first round pick switched from running back to linebacker two years ago and started every game during his junior and senior seasons. Barr was a first-team All-American last year and led the Bruins in sacks (10) and tackles for loss (20).

Along with Brown, Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater is expected to attend the event according to ESPN.

The Vikings will also host Towson running back Terrance West before the draft, a league source confirmed. Powerfully built at 5-foot-9 and 225 pounds, the 23-year-old set the Div. I FCS (formally I-AA) single-season rushing record in 2013 with 2,519 yards. He also scored 42 total touchdowns while leading Towson to the FCS championship game. The Vikings are looking for depth behind starting running back Adrian Peterson after losing Toby Gerhart in free agency.

[KSViking]

Speaking of linebackers...

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 13211.html

I really hope that Barr is just one of those "smokescreens" or misdirection plays they talk about every year. To me, he just seems to be the guy that would not be a good fit on the Vikings with the current roster, and the scheme they appear to be trying to go with. He seems to be a guy who should be a pass rusher every down. Since we just gave Griffen a new contract, and Robison is at the other end, unless we were converting to a 3-4 scheme, it just doesn't make sense to me. Of course, Im not a coach or GM, so I don't have the road map or vision that they are trying to implement, but for me, just don't see how Barr improves us in the way we need to be improving.

[headless_norseman]

Which is why I think that CJ Mosley would be a perfect 1st round pick for us. Even at #8 if we can't trade down a few spots. If he can stay healthy, the kid is just all over the field, and an every down back.

I think Mosely is the only defensive guy worth drafting over a QB in our situation.

[HardcoreVikesFan]

I think Mosely is the only defensive guy worth drafting over a QB in our situation.

No way, not at eight. As good as C.J. Mosely is, drafting him at eight overall would be a major reach on our part.

[PurpleKoolaid]

No way, not at eight. As good as C.J. Mosely is, drafting him at eight overall would be a major reach on our part.

Well a lot seem content with Mack first. I think, for our 4-3, Mosely is the better fit. But if we aernt getting Teddy first, Rickie better be working the draft for more picks.

[headless_norseman]

I think Mosely is the only defensive guy worth drafting over a QB in our situation.

No way, not at eight. As good as C.J. Mosely is, drafting him at eight overall would be a major reach on our part.[/quote]



In our situation was key to the premise.

[Texas Vike]

I dreamt we picked someone I'd never heard of at 8, a DT.

Is it May yet?

McShay has us picking Lamarcus Joyner (DB, FSU) in the 2nd. His tape looks solid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu77jfo5_eE

[Texas Vike]

When do you envision Bradley Roby and Calvin Pryor to go? I really like both those prospects.

I haven't made any full mocks or anything like that. I do think that there are quite a few very solid D-back prospects in the # 20-50 picks range, including the three we've mentioned, plus Jason Verrette, Kyle Fuller, Jimmie Ward, and any of the top 20 projected guys who end up sliding (Gilbert, Dennard, Clinton-Dix). If we're looking to improve our secondary, there are a lot of guys between 20 and 50 that can do it. I wouldn't mind trading out of 8 and getting three picks in the top 50. Then address the secondary, QB and LB (in no set order).

How about you?

[Mothman]

I haven't made any full mocks or anything like that. I do think that there are quite a few very solid D-back prospects in the # 20-50 picks range, including the three we've mentioned, plus Jason Verrette, Kyle Fuller, Jimmie Ward, and any of the top 20 projected guys who end up sliding (Gilbert, Dennard, Clinton-Dix). If we're looking to improve our secondary, there are a lot of guys between 20 and 50 that can do it. I wouldn't mind trading out of 8 and getting three picks in the top 50. Then address the secondary, QB and LB (in no set order).

That's a very appealing idea and I assume Spielman is thinking along the same lines. He's stated, quite clearly, that he'd love to trade out of that #8 spot so while I'm sure he's prepared to make a selection at #8 if necessary. I'm betting he'd much rather make the scenario you described above happen.

[Texas Vike]

That's a very appealing idea and I assume Spielman is thinking along the same lines. He's stated, quite clearly, that he'd love to trade out of that #8 spot so while I'm sure he's prepared to make a selection at #8 if necessary. I'm betting he'd much rather make the scenario you described above happen.

Honestly, it seems like the most likely scenario to me. I am guessing that they have a few guys they would love to have at 8, but if they're already picked there would be more value in a trade down scenario for our needs. It may even be only moving back a few spots, but picking up an extra 3-5 round pick that Speilman can use as "currency" along with that extra 3rd to jump up if someone falls.

This was an interesting read regarding perceived needs and draft order: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap200000 ... l-32-teams

St. Louis is a wild card w/ two picks in the top 13. I could see them taking Watkins or Evans. Seems to me that a lot of the top 7 teams need a QB. If there's a run on them early I hope we stay away from the position and don't grab a Carr or Mettenberger at 8. I think we're comfortable enough w/ Cassell to not have to do that.

[Mothman]

Honestly, it seems like the most likely scenario to me. I am guessing that they have a few guys they would love to have at 8, but if they're already picked there would be more value in a trade down scenario for our needs. It may even be only moving back a few spots, but picking up an extra 3-5 round pick that Speilman can use as "currency" along with that extra 3rd to jump up if someone falls.

I think that's the kind of move they'd look to make but I don't know if it's likely to happen simply because I don't know if they'll be able to find a trade partner. The perception is that this is a very deep, talented draft so I have a feeling there may be more teams looking to move downward than upward. Still, it only takes one...

This was an interesting read regarding perceived needs and draft order: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap200000 ... l-32-teams

St. Louis is a wild card w/ two picks in the top 13. I could see them taking Watkins or Evans. Seems to me that a lot of the top 7 teams need a QB. If there's a run on them early I hope we stay away from the position and don't grab a Carr or Mettenberger at 8. I think we're comfortable enough w/ Cassell to not have to do that.

I think if they take someone like Carr or Mettenebreger at #8 it will be an indication that they really wanted that player, regardless of who else was available at QB, and just as importantly it will be an indication that they also believed some other team wanted that player badly enough that the Vikes wouldn't be able to get him by trading up into the late first or waiting until the second. It seems a very unlikely scenario to me, especially in regard to Mettenberger, but anything is possible. Carr would be a divisive choice even later in the first and scouting reports on him seem divided too. I've heard/read that quite a few teams see him on the same level as Manziel, Bortles and Bridgewater, if not as a better prospect than some of them.

I'm in a weird place when it comes to the QBs in this draft. I really see almost nothing significant to distinguish the top 3 from the next group of 4 or 5 in terms of who is the better pro prospect. I could easily see players like Metteneberger, Carr, Murray, McCarron and even a small school guy like Garoppolo being as good or better in the pros as Bridgewater or Bortles. Manziel is the one who has set himself apart the most because he is so clearly a natural, instinctive player and a leader with off-the-charts intangibles. However, he also comes with such big questions about how his game will translate to the pros that I'm not convinced he's ultimately a better prospect, perhaps just a more appealing one because his college career has been so incredible.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I'm not convinced any of those QBs would ultimately be worth the cost of the #8 pick and I'm not convinced any of them wouldn't be worth it. I just don't know and consequently, more than any year I can remember, I have a hard time forming a strong opinion about it. I realize some of them would be perceived as big-time reaches if chosen in the top 10 and I also see no way some of them will be chosen that high but if any one fo them developed into a franchise QB, they'd ultimately be worth the pick.

To put it another way, is rolling the dice on Bortles at #8 really all that different from selecting Carr or Mettenberger? They're both big so what really distinguishes Bortles' game from Mettenberger's, his mobility? Is he even as accurate as Mettenberger?

If all of that sounds confused, I suppose it is. I see a lot of strong opinions forming on this subject, people digging in and deciding who is acceptable to choose and who they absolutely don't want, and I just don't know. It looks more and more to me like, with rare exceptions (like Luck), it's almost impossible to tell which QBs will succeed at the next level. I'm beginning to think that has much more to do with the situation they land in than anything else.