Thread: 1st Round Thoughts

To be honest, it was a first round that couldn't REALLY be messed up. If Ricky can get us back in round 2, and gets a decent WR then i will give him credit.

On a side note...

Delighted to see 28yr old QB Brandon Weeden drafted, guy can play, glad he gets a shot, despite his age, though sucks for McCoy, that kid looks like he has a future in the NFL.

Originally Posted by bleedpurple

I thought Smith would have been there in the 2nd with our pick... Thought the move up was a little unnecessary... Would have rather had the GT wr. Steven Hill... We filled a need but I dont' think we needed to move up to do it... Hope it works out...

We definitely need a tall deep threat.. not sure where that will come from....

There's a huge drop off in 'prospects' at the Safety position after Smith. If someone else snatched him before our 2nd rounder, the Vikings would have been SOL on getting a solid to good safety this draft (and would have most likely gotten a Tyrell 2.0).

Both the Rams and Colts could probably use help at DB/S, and not to mention any other teams lacking a safety that were looking to trade up as well.

I'm completely ok with trading up for Smith.

LOVE IT!! I think we filled our two biggest holes. We had nothing at LT or Safety. Now we have starters at both positions. WIN-WIN Spielman.

I'm still hoping for a WR too. Most of the 2nd round mocks have Hill and Randle gone by the 10th pick or so and, unfortunately, our next 4th is only enough firepower to get our 3rd up to about the 25 pick tonight. Unless we go big and drop next year's 2nd AND this year's third, I don't see us getting one of the true deep threats left. Probably better to sit tight, maybe even look for a steal of BPA at DT or MLB or ??? and then double down on WRs with potential later by dropping two mid picks on guys like Tommy Streeter, Dale Moss, Chris Givens, or TY Hilton.

I LOVE THESE PICKS! Filling a major hole on the o line and Smith should really help our d backfield.

NOT Thrilled with the Kalil pick.

I think that the importance of a great LT is over stated, and while I have no doubt that Kalil will be a great player, I don't think that POSITIONALLY this was the right way to go. IMO, Blackmon was the better pick here as WR is a position we are SORELY understrength at, and a solid LT would still be available later.

Smith and Robinson are also decent picks - and address another area of need - but I am still concerned with the lack of attention to the WR position. Hopefully, Rick doesn't believe that his FA acquisitions will be sufficient.

I also would have been happy to see a DT selected - as we need to replace Pat's impact, and Kevin isn't getting younger. LB is another position I would have liked addressed as I don't believe that the Henderson's have been playing "lights out".

Truth is, we have so many areas of need that Rick can pick anywhere and someone will be happy - I just prioritize my areas of need differently as I have WR as #1 with a bullet.

Caine

I guess though I think we have selected quality players, at positions of need, and have not reached, I am fairly happy.

My personal opinion is with the way the NFL is progressing, we need playmakers. The area I think we missed so far is WR. I was hoping to package up some picks and move up. I was a bit disappointed we took Robinson, and not a WR, but not sure how the player rankings laid out and who was still available.

In the words of Paul Allen, 2012 is the year of Christian Ponder. My feeling if that is the case, we better get him some weapons.

Originally Posted by NDVikingFan66

I guess though I think we have selected quality players, at positions of need, and have not reached, I am fairly happy.

My personal opinion is with the way the NFL is progressing, we need playmakers. The area I think we missed so far is WR. I was hoping to package up some picks and move up. I was a bit disappointed we took Robinson, and not a WR, but not sure how the player rankings laid out and who was still available.

In the words of Paul Allen, 2012 is the year of Christian Ponder. My feeling if that is the case, we better get him some weapons.

+1

Ricky dropped a ball on that one, LSU's Randle was dropping all the time and we could have got him, a player who would have started on this team and been an impact player. Instead we sat tight and picked a CB who despite being lightening quick, will not start on this team, least not this coming season.

Originally Posted by Caine

NOT Thrilled with the Kalil pick.

I think that the importance of a great LT is over stated, and while I have no doubt that Kalil will be a great player, I don't think that POSITIONALLY this was the right way to go. IMO, Blackmon was the better pick here as WR is a position we are SORELY understrength at, and a solid LT would still be available later.

Smith and Robinson are also decent picks - and address another area of need - but I am still concerned with the lack of attention to the WR position. Hopefully, Rick doesn't believe that his FA acquisitions will be sufficient.

I also would have been happy to see a DT selected - as we need to replace Pat's impact, and Kevin isn't getting younger. LB is another position I would have liked addressed as I don't believe that the Henderson's have been playing "lights out".

Truth is, we have so many areas of need that Rick can pick anywhere and someone will be happy - I just prioritize my areas of need differently as I have WR as #1 with a bullet.

Caine

While I disagree with your stance on the Kahil pick, I agree with your concern at the WR position. The Vikings were sitting with 13 picks in this draft & failed to use them to move up in the draft & take a WR.

Smith was an alright pick, but we should have traded up to grab the best WR additionally.

We could have had Asante Samuel for a 7th round pick which would have bolstered our DB corp that had Smith, Cook, Carr & Winfield & further addressed DB needs next draft.

We still have gaping needs at WR & on the OL at the G & RT positions. I am not a big fan of Loadholt, who like McKinnie is too slow & poor at pass blocking. Not only does he draw too many flags, but he gave up 9 sacks last year as well.

Originally Posted by Johnson14

To be honest, it was a first round that couldn't REALLY be messed up. If Ricky can get us back in round 2, and gets a decent WR then i will give him credit.

Well I guess it didn't happen in round 2 or round 3.

Perhaps he'll take a WR with one of the 3 7th round picks. I get the uncomfortable feeling Spielman is happy & content & believes we're set at WR with his signing of Jerome Simpson.

Originally Posted by NDVikingFan66

No, I am going to give more credit than that to Spielman. I thought it was a brillant move.

You can if you want to, but Cleveland's GM already knew what was offered to the Vikings by another team & came back to them with a better deal.

"I know exactly what was offered to Minnesota, so we knew we had to trade to get him if we wanted him," Heckert said at his press conference Thursday night, according to a transcript on the Cleveland Plain Dealer website. "I know that for a fact."

Vikings had another trade offer on table, Cleveland Browns GM insists - TwinCities.com