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Minnesota Vikings Last Minute Mock Draft Plus Bonus Picks
Published: April 25, 2009
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With the 2009 NFL Draft a mere hours away, it’s time to take a last and final stab at how it might pan out. I’ve put together a possible first round mock draft, plus the Vikes second and third round picks. All picks contain explanations, feel free to criticize. Without further ado….my final 2009 mock draft:
1. Detroit Lions
QB Matthew Stafford, Georgia. The web is abuzz with rumors that the Lions will pick Stafford whether they have a contract agreed upon or not. This is one of the few locks at the top.
2. St Louis Rams
OT Jason Smith, Baylor. The Rams are actually torn between Smith and UV tackle Eugene Monroe. In the end, they choose the cream of the crop.
3. Kansas City Chiefs
LB Aaron Curry, Wake Forest. This is also a virtual lock. The Chiefs have holes nearly everywhere, including linebacker, and Curry is probably the best player in this draft to begin with.
4. Seattle Seahawks
OT Eugene Monroe, Virginia. Maybe a suprise pick, but after nabbing free agent TJ Houshmanzadeh in the offseason, WR is not a huge concern. The ‘Hawks were hoping Curry would fall, but OT is a need as well.
5. Cleveland Browns
DT BJ Raji, Boston College. If Braylon Edwards gets traded, this pick may change. Cleveland’s defense was miserable in ’08 and Raji is the best on the board. They need to amp up that front, especially with Shaun Rogers a potential problem in the future.
6. Cincinnati Bengals
OT Andre Smith, Alabama. Most Bengals fans are thrilled that Crabtree is still available, but with Carson Palmer on his back half the time, who’s going to get him the ball? Smith is a beast, and OchoCinco could be detrimental in Crabtree’s development.
7. Oakland Raiders
WR Jeremy Maclin, Mizzou. Yes, Crabtree is still on the board, but Al Davis is already in love with Maclin’s speed. His ability in the return game doesn’t hurt.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars
QB Mark Sanchez, USC. This pick won’t be made by the Jags. I’m not sure who’s going to be drafting here, but whoever it is will be going after the former Trojan.
9. Green Bay Packers
OT Michael Oher, Mississippi. The defensive front is an issue with the switch to the 3-4, but so is OT with a couple of aging and ailing vets. Their young starting QB needs somebody to watch his back.
10. San Francisco 49’ers
WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech. And Crabtree’s fall ends. The 49’ers could be in play to move up for Sanchez, but if they stay put, WR is a horrendous issue for them right now. Crabtree won’t solve the problem, but he’ll help.
11. Buffalo Bills
DE Brian Orakpo, Texas. The Billscan’t believe a talent like this lasted this far and run this pick to the podium. Their pass rush was woeful last year and Orakpo is a stud at that.
12. Denver Broncos
DE Tyson Jackson, LSU. New coach Josh McDaniels is a Belichick disciple, meaning he’ll build from the interior. Denver is making the switch to the 3-4, and Jackson is ideal for DE in this defense.
13. Washington Redskins
DE Aaron Maybin, Penn State. The ‘Skins are another team who could move up for Sanchez. However, if that falls through, pass rush is a position of need. Maybin would fit nicely alongside newly acquired DT Albert Haynesworth.
14. New Orleans Saints
RB Knowshon Moreno, Georgia. Defense is always a possibility for the Saints, but Reggie Bush is not an every down back. While Ohio State’s Beanie Wells is better between the tackles, Moreno is just a bit higher on draft boards.
15. Houston Texans
OLB Brian Cushing, USC. The Texans need some help at CB, but the front seven also need some tinkering. Cushing moves into a linebacker corps already containing DeMeco Ryans and a front seven that has former number one overall Mario Williams and Amobi Okoye.
16. San Diego Chargers
MLB Rey Maualuga, USC. Two USC linebackers in a row. San Diego could use help on the front three having lost Igor Olshansky to Dallas, but Tyson Jackson is already gone and adding a southern California guy as talented as Maualuga to play next to Shawn Merriman is too good to pass up. Don’t believe the running back rumors, they’ll wait till later to address that.
17. New York Jets
QB Josh Freeman, Kansas State. New coach Rex Ryan can’t really feel he’s OK at QB, can he? Freeman is a project, but has all the physical tools to be a good pro QB.
18. Denver Broncos
DE Robert Ayers, Tennessee. Having addressed the DE position for the 3-4 defense already, the Broncos select a OLB hybrid to rush the passer. Peria Jerry could be the pick as well, but he’s a little small to man the nose tackle in this scheme.
19. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
DT Peria Jerry, Mississippi. While Jerry doesn’t necessarily fit the scheme, he’s the second best defensive tackle in the draft and will fit into a nice rotation up front, before eventually taking over as the starter.
20. Detroit Lions
MLB James Laurinitis, Ohio State. The Lions found their leader on offense with their first pick, now they find they’re leader on defense. Laurinitis slides in between Ernie Sims and Julian Peterson to give the Lions a very formidable LB corps. OT will be addressed in the second round.
21. Philadelphia Eagles
RB Chris “Beanie” Wells, Ohio State. Two OSU players back-to-back. Philly got their much needed LT when they traded for Buffalo’s Jason Peters. Brian Westbrook will be on the wrong side of 30 for a running back and Wells gives them a solid breather guy who will eventually take over the reigns. This is the kind of move good franchises make.
22. Minnesota Vikings
WR Percy Harvin, Florida. The Vikes did their due diligence Wednesday and flew to meet with Harvin in Florida to address character concerns. He’s a phenomenal athlete who can impact the game in multiple ways. In the end, the opportunity to put Harvin on the field and in the same offense as Adrian Peterson is too great to pass up.
23. New England Patriots
CB Malcolm Jenkins, Ohio State. Jenkins’ freefall will end here. Belichick always seems to draft a guy that shouldn’t have been there for him to draft in the first place, and Jenkins helps out there defensive backfield by being the best DB prospect in this draft.
24. Atlanta Falcons
CB Vontae Davis, Illinois. After Jenkins started to get close, the Falcons were getting excited. They’ll settle for the mercurial Davis, who addresses one of their biggest needs.
25. Miami Dolphins
OLB Clay Matthews, USC. Wide receiver is probably a bigger need right now, but feel free to slap me if Bill Parcells drafts one of those in the first round. Matthews is a solid player who is very coachable. Both Parcells traits.
26. Baltimore Ravens
WR Darrius Heyward-Bey, Maryland. To be honest, this is kind of a homer pick for the Ravens. They need a young receiver to stretch the field, and Heyward-Bey has blazing speed. However, even with suspect hands and route-running, the home town thing wins him over as the pick.
27. Indianapolis Colts
DT Evander “Ziggy” Hood, Mizzou. The Colts could easily justify picking a WR here, but that defensive front is atrocious. Ziggy has good size for their system and they’ll find a good WR like OSU’s Brian Robiskie in the second round.
28. Buffalo Bills
TE Brandon Pettigrew, Oklahoma State. The Bills can’t believe their luck. They get the draft’s best pass rusher with the first pick, and still manage to nab Pettigrew, the drafts’ best at another position of need.
29. New York Giants
WR Hakeem Nicks, North Carolina. If the Giants don’t trade this pick to the Browns, Nicks is the choice. He’s just the type of big target, red zone threat with good hands the G-men need to replace Plaxico Burress.
30. Tennessee Titans
WR Kenny Britt, Rutgers. No team in the draft needs a good WR as bad as these guys. Britt is physically impressive, not afraid to go over the middle and will be a solid pro for a long time.
31. Arizona Cardinals
RB Donald Brown, Connecticut. The most glaring thing about the Cards’ during their Super Bowl run was their reliance on the pass and lack of a run game. Brown gives them the every down-type guy they so desperately lack.
32. Pittsburgh Steelers
C Alex Mack, Cal. Count me among the many who think this pick will be used on an interior lineman. QB Ben Roethlisberger just spent a season on his back because the line couldn’t keep him upright. Mack can play center or guard, and he’ll be starting on Day One.
Bonus: Minnesota Vikings last minute second and third round picks!
Second Round: OT Phil Loadholt, Oklahoma. The Vikes may have to move up to get him, but they’ll be glad they did. Loadholt is a mauler in the run game.
Third Round: C Antoine Caldwell, Alabama. Anyone really think the Vikings want to go into next season with John Sullivan as their only center? Caldwell is smart, can start tomorrow and will end up a pro-bowler at some point. CB’s Macho Harris and Asher Allen could also be in play.
Minnesota Vikings Have Problems at the Top
Published: April 22, 2009
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Try to imagine this scenario: 3rd-and-9, the offense has the ball on their own 35.
Down by 10 with five minutes left to go in the game. The coach has a big decision to make.
What does he call? This is a regular scenario for Vikings fans, by the way. Most teams would have a 15 and out up their sleeve.
Maybe they find the TE up the middle for 20 or a 12 yard cross. Not the Vikings.
For three years now, fans of this franchise have been subjected to two yard flareouts to the FB or a five yard out to Bobby Wade. For three years, Childress has been serving us turd sandwiches.
I think the biggest question Vikings fans should be asking themselves is why Childress was the guy in the first place? On Jan. 6, 2006, when Brad Childress was hired as the new head coach of the Minnesota Vikings, most fans of the team were just happy to see former coach Mike Tice leave.
Tice was leaving behind a legacy riddled with scandal, from the notorious “Love Boat” event to Tice himself scalping his own tickets to the Super Bowl. His entire reign was an unorganized jumble of media room rants, poor draft choices and undisciplined athletes running around like adolescent school boys.
His tenure was such a mess, in fact, I imagine his office was in a state of disarray similar to my college dorm room.
So, Tice gets canned and in comes Childress, the supposed savior of the franchise, with his three year plan in place. Childress was a guy with a long college coaching background, most recently with the University of Wisconsin as a running backs coach and then as offensive coordinator.
Later moving to the Philadelphia Eagles as quarterbacks coach and then offensive coordinator under Andy Reid. He was a supposed Reid disciple, a student of the West Coast offense, and apparently an excellent quarterbacks coach having tutored Donovan McNabb.
That, however, is not the entire story. Childress came to Minnesota with the intent on running his offense, his way.
The fans and media thought this would be a good thing, after all, the Eagles have consistently been a good offensive team. Childress, though, never called the plays in Philly, Andy Reid did.
He was still the guy who groomed McNabb, right? Not really.
McNabb was the best quarterback from that famed 1999 draft class and would have been good with or without Childress. What about when he coached in college? Even as the offensive coordinator for Wisconsin, he still didn’t call his own plays.
Now, it only took Childress a year to realize he couldn’t call his own plays. He realized he’s just not Andy Reid, and handed those duties over to Darrel Bevell (who isn’t a whole heck of a lot better).
However, we’re at three years and running of the Tarvaris Jackson experiment and Childress’ ego still won’t allow him to give up on a kid who is essentially Mike Vick minus talent and dogs.
Childress’ mancrush on Jackson has essentially wasted what could have been some very productive years and the fans should feel cheated. As much as this team needs a new QB, it needs to replace the man who drafted the current one.
The Minnesota Vikings Are Good, but QB Remains a Concern
Published: April 21, 2009
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The morning started out in normal fashion.
I woke up, had a cup of coffee, and played with my daughter before sitting down at the computer to read and study what was going on in the sports world today. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks.
My beloved Vikings were still going into next season with Tarvaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels as their competing quarterbacks.
Obviously, this didn’t come as a total surprise to yours truly. Minnesota’s signal-caller situation was the same the night before when I went to bed, and it’s been so since the February 28 trade for Rosenfels, a career backup.
What baffled me so earlier today was that the Vikings actually believe they can sell this doubtful scenario to one of the most loyal fan bases in the NFL.
There is one glaring factor pushing this fiasco: the ego of Brad Childress. Childress’ claim to fame is being the Philadelphia quarterbacks coach when the Eagles drafted Donovan F. McNabb. No, we’re not going to go into his time at UW; that gets even worse.
Anyway, McNabb was the supposed product of Brad Childress’ direct coaching, the brain child of a great QB coach and head coach Andy Reid. Childress, in fact, was “so good” at grooming McNabb that he was eventually promoted to be McNabb’s OC.
A few years pass, and the great quarterback guru takes the Vikings’ top spot. For some reason, nobody bothered to mention at his press conference (or any time after that) that as the offensive coordinator for the Eagles, he didn’t call the plays. That was Reid’s job.
However, now he’s got his own team for which he can call the plays and find a new McNabb; his McNabb.
Hello, Tarvaris Jackson! The mere mention of his name makes me throw up in my mouth a little.
To this day, I struggle to grasp why Childress actually traded up to draft the kid. Sure, the physical skills are impressive: A strong arm, mobility and good size are all Tarvaris Jackson trademarks. But shouldn’t somebody have questioned whether or not he really had “it”?
We’re talking about a kid who started his career at Arkansas as the backup to Matt Jones. You know, empty parking lot, drugs, car…yeah, that Matt Jones.
The same Matt Jones that violated his probation stemming from the drug incident by boozing it up on the golf course with his frat buddies. The same Matt Jones that was such an “extraordinary” quarterback in college that he was drafted as a wide receiver.
And Jackson couldn’t beat him for the starting spot. When he couldn’t cut it at Arkansas, he left for Division I-AA Alabama State, where he finished out his college career.
So, Childress, the quarterback “guru,” moved up in the draft to grab a kid who couldn’t cut it as the QB at Arkansas and was so bad that not one other D-I school would give him a shot? And the fans are supposed to buy that?
Not this guy.
Fast forward a few years: The Vikings welcome in Sage Rosenfels, freshly acquired for a fourth-rounder from Houston, and voila! Quarterback competition.
Yippee. A career backup brought in to compete with Childress’ golden boy. Do we even care who wins this competition?
I suppose I prefer Rosenfels, but only because he has to be better than Jackson, right? It all smells like a turd sandwich to me.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is a very good Minnesota Vikings team. The running game is excellent, the defense is top-10 material. And it’s also a team built to win now, except for the quarterback, that is.
Until Brad Childress acknowledges that the Tarvaris Jackson experiment has officially failed, this team will ultimately come up short. Bringing in a younger Gus Frerotte does not cut it. History aside, I am openly questioning Childress’ ability to not only judge quarterback talent, but also to coach it. Can anybody truly say McNabb’s success in Philly is at all based on Childress’ tutelage?
Is Brady Quinn the answer to the Vikings’ woes? I don’t know, but I’d be willing to find out. Ditto when it comes to Matt Leinart and Derek Anderson, for that matter.
I guess the point I’m trying to make is that, historically in the NFL, Super Bowl teams have good QB play. With the exception of the ’01 Ravens with Trent Dilfer (this Vikings defense is not like the ’01 Ravens’, by the way) and maybe the ’92 Redskins with Mark Rypien, Super Bowl winners have had good quarterbacks. Why is this team any different?
Maybe Brad Childress needs to ask himself that very question.
