Readers give Vikings' draft passing grade

Posted on Sat, May. 06, 2006

[size=18px]Readers give Vikings' draft passing grade[/size]

E-RANT

Grading the Vikings' draft is a pointless exercise in futility. Every one of these players could be first-ballot hall of famers, or they could be working at a gas station in five years. No one really knows. Grading the 2006 draft is like going into work on Jan. 1 and asking your boss for your performance review for the upcoming year. Pointless.

Eric, Richfield


There is so much to be said about drafting that Division I-AA quarterback (Tarvaris Jackson of Alabama State) that is negative that I have decided to say only that I have lost a lot of confidence in all who had a hand in this decision. It appears that nothing was learned from the last quarterback experience.

Wallace


My grade for this year's draft would be a "B." They got the best player available in the first round by taking linebacker Chad Greenway of Iowa — he should really add to their weakest defensive position. Cedric Griffin of Texas and Greg Blue of Georgia are tough, hard hitters who should strengthen the defensive backfield and really add to their special teams. We'll have to wait and see about the other draftees. They also picked up a starting guard from the Philadelphia Eagles (Artis Hicks) by giving up their sixth-round pick and swapping spots in the fourth round.

Rich, Cottage Grove


Why the Vikings didn't try and take Matt Leinart or Jay Cutler with a trade of some kind is a huge mistake. If Denver put together a deal to move up, the Vikings could have, too, since they had more choices available. If this is a sign of things to come, they are in trouble. The Vikings need more than new uniforms.

Bigmayn


The Vikings' "Triangle of Authority" did a horrible job of managing the draft. All their picks might eventually become starters, maybe even stars. That will not change the fact that they were picked higher than what any other teams had them going. We will never know what we missed out on by picking them early and giving up draft picks to move up.

Risky1


I am just wondering if our triangle of drafting didn't miss the chance to get Jay Cutler because Denver outfoxed them? Nobody was thinking that the Broncos wanted a QB. It was all about speed and a split end. Denver didn't even work him out or pay any attention to him in his workouts. If Cutler works out and Tarvaris Jackson (he was rated fourth by our draft team) turns out to be a bust, the Vikings could be set back at that position for years to come. I wonder if they let Daunte Culpepper go without having a real plan in place. Based on last year's performance and the strength of our schedule, a 10-6 record should be the worst that they achieve.

Coach48


Gimme a break. We will be lucky if we see 20 of these draft picks starting for teams around the NFL in the upcoming season. The Vikings did great in free agency and potentially picked up a couple of starters in the draft; that ranks as a success in my book. Maybe they didn't get the quarterback that you wanted, but we have to assume that the professional football scouts on our team know more than we do about team needs. So they drafted solid players to fill positions where there was a definite need and picked up a QB with some long-term potential.

Brad Johnson will do fine this year, and if Tarvaris Jackson or Mike McMahon aren't progressing rapidly enough, they will sign a free-agent QB or draft someone next year. The Vikings are building a strong franchise in Minnesota, and, unfortunately, it's not always possible to get all the pieces in one fell swoop.

There is no guarantee any of the top three QBs will succeed in the NFL, either. Have a little faith in our staff and look for success in the future.

Boognish1

Readers give Vikings' draft passing grade

I will agree with the statement on Tarvaris Jackson.. Sure he has a strong arm, but he will need alot of mentoring to make it in the NFL.. Alot more then even the 2 years that they are giving Brad Johnson before he hangs it up.. Overall it was a good grade for us.. I just don't really see Jackson as our future QB, I hope I am wrong..

Ya guys like my post in the paper? I was on a different board; didn't realize they were going to publish it. I think I'm one of the few who actually think we had a decent draft this year.
[size=24px]
Skol Vikes!![/size]

Does someone have the grades from last year? that would be interesting to see how they panned out.

"Redrouster" wrote:

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Does someone have the grades from last year? that would be interesting to see how they panned out.

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It's probably a little too soon to tell if these guys will "pan out", but most of them are still on the team at this point.
-I'll give Williamson a pass as a rookie last year; this year we'll find out if he has the skills to succeed in this league.
-I see E. James as one of the starting DE's, opposite Udeze.
-M. Johnson will likely be the starting RT.
-C. Fason will get to compete for the RB job, but I think it's pretty crowded there right now; I don't really see him contributing much.
-Mosely and Fox should be productive backups and special teamers this year.
-As for Ward, I'm not even sure he's still on the team.

2005
Troy Williamson WR South Carolina
Erasmus James DE Wisconsin
Marcus Johnson OT Mississippi
Dustin Fox S Ohio State
Ciatrick Fason RB Florida
C.J. Mosley DT Missouri
Adrian Ward CB Texas-El Paso

"boognish" wrote:

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Ya guys like my post in the paper?

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FUNNY !! Yeah I saw the post and I thought, "hey I know that guy".

i don't care what those fans say or think, they arn't the ones being paid to find players to draft

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Ya guys like my post in the paper?

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and yes cause you use common sence and logic. far as im concerned we coulda had the top 3 picks in the draft and that wouldn't mean any of those players would end up any good.

We'll only know well we drafted once play starts.

Looking back at past draft grades and such is awesome, you find out that few "experts" are even right half the time. CNN/SI keeps all the old pages so you can read all the post draft stories

here are a couple
first one
This is SI writer King what I have found is he's pretty good, and his monday morning qb is usually fun to read

another one
pick by pick stuff

just one more by the way does the #1 overall pick being likend to Bruce Smith also being taken over a do it all rb/wr sound familiar to anyone this year?

All this all really means is that we can analyze all day but there are so many factors in making a good player, coaching, scheme, off the field issues that we will never be able to predict. But on the brightside it is fun
and my take is that all things considered if a couple stick around for a while it will be a nice change of pace. Also if we didn't draft another Underwood or make one of our trades look like the San Diego trade for Leaf (look at all that they gave up in both trades for that guy, trust me you'll feel better) I'll be happy.
Russ

I won the draft pool at work & I don't even watch college football. :grin: