Looking back: Viking's 2007 draft

**i_bleed_purple** · 10-27-2009, 04:32 PM

Its pretty much agreed that you can't rank a draft right away, as you have no idea how players will pan out.
Generally 3 years is a good indication of whether the guy is showing signs of life or not.

Lets take a look at our draft from 2007.

Round Pick (Overall)
Player
Position
School
1 7 (7) Adrian Peterson RB Oklahoma
2 12 (44) Sidney Rice WR South Carolina
3 8 (72) Marcus McCauley CB Fresno State
4 3 (102) Brian Robison DE Texas
5 9 (146) Aundrae Allison WR East Carolina
6 2 (176) Rufus Alexander OLB Oklahoma
7 7 (217) Tyler Thigpen QB Coastal Carolina University
7 23 (233) Chandler Williams WR Florida International University

1.
Peterson:
Pretty much a no-brainer.
If teams were allowed to re-do the 2007 draft today, I have no doubt that Peterson would be #1 off the board.
Become the face of our franchise, and a huge reason for increased interest in the Vikings.
A+

2. Sidney Rice:
Has really turned his game up this season.
Making some great grabs all over the field, in coverage, up high, and is very Cris Carteresque near the sideline.
Could we have gotten two key franchise players in the same draft?
Too early to be sure, but indications are good.
Just think, a good portion of us were wanting Dwayne Jarrett instead.
A

3. Marcus McCauley:
Started out alright, but something never really clicked.
Not sure if it was attitude at practice, work ethic, or what.
He looked alright subbing in for Winfield two seasons ago, but as we all know he's not on the team anymore.
Not an awful pick, he had the potential to be alright, but not that great. Not a whole lot of good players picked in that round, best players were Trent Edwards, james Jones and garrett Wolfe.
I'll give this a C

4. Brian Robison: Is looking like a real good depth guy.
Good pass rushing motor, good work ethic.
Might even be starter material if we didn't have Jared Allen.
I like this pick, and I'd love to see him work on his run support, and maybe take over for Ray Edwards.
B-

5. Aundrae Allison: mixed feelings about this guy.
He showed some flashes of skill, but that was also contrasted with our lack of anyone good catching the ball.
Looked pretty decent as a returner, but got benched for some reason.
Coaches say work ethic during practice was a reason for his release, but for a 5th rounder, we got a bit of value out of him.
Shame he didn't have a better head on his shoulders, he may have been an alright #4 WR for us.
C

6. Rufus Alexander:
Initially, looked like a great pick.
All-Big 12 First Team, the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and an AP and AFCA All-American.
Got hurt early on, and never really got going after then.
Currently a free agent, but for what we gave up for him, not a bad gamble.
D

7. Tyler Thigpen:
Say what you want about him, he wasn't our saviour, nor would he become one.
If you think Tj was a project, this guy was a.... well, he was a really big project.
Benched by the Chiefs, not even starting on the dolphins, I'm not mad that we lost him.
I'll give this a bit of a boost, since he's still on an active roster, but we could have lived without him
C

8. Chandler Williams:
Guy never made it past training camp.
Bounced between teams, but never made the active roster.
Currently a free agent. D-

Overall:
Struck gold with our first two picks, and got a solid contributer from Robison.
3 decent players is really all we can expect from a draft it seems.
Sure, maybe we could have gotten more guys to stay on the active roster, but I think having a guy like Peterson counters that.
Rice is just icing on the cake.

Overall Grade, A-

**shockzilla** · 10-27-2009, 04:55 PM

Nice wrapup, i_bleed_purple. Pretty much agree with everything you said.

**Prophet** · 10-27-2009, 04:58 PM

Thanks for putting that all together, interesting read.
Usually it would be a bit early to determine the successes/failures from a draft that recently.
Nice to see some of the guys working out.
I'm really happy Robison is on the roster, nice to have some depth at DE.
Childress and co. have built an awesome team with the draft and free agency.

**battleaxe4cheese** · 10-27-2009, 06:01 PM

"Prophet" wrote:

Thanks for putting that all together, interesting read.
Usually it would be a bit early to determine the successes/failures from a draft that recently.
Nice to see some of the guys working out.
I'm really happy Robison is on the roster, nice to have some depth at DE.
Childress and co. have built an awesome team with the draft and free agency.

I personally would like to see Robison take over for Edwards. Ray hasn't done much lately and we need a change of pace on that side, Robison can't do any worse than Edwards cause he ain't doing nothing.