Brought to you by Mr. Cheer or Die and the Vikes Geek, welcome to the
Views and Personal Photos on the Vikes from the Inaugural Hall of Fame fan.
Brought to you by Mr. Cheer or Die and the Vikes Geek, welcome to theOn April 22 of last year, The Insider had e-mailed me with the top three players on the Vikings board for the first round selection. Since he had given me the scoop on Randy Moss just a few months earlier, I listened. After all the dust of the draft had settled, the Insider did not disappoint. He was spot on.
For those not familiar with The Insider, he is an acquaintance of mine with inside access to Winter Park. We trade more e-mails about gardening than we do football....as we did this week. His credentials are sound and he only e-mails me about Vikings "scoops" when they are pretty damn sound. Last year, he said the following three people Sat atop the Vikings draft board. This is exactly what I posted in April of 2005 shortly after The Insider contacted me:
At #1 sits Braylon Edwards. No surprise there. With the #7 overall selection it makes perfect sense for the team to replace some of Randy Moss' production here. Edwards, a playmaker with a solid frame and great hands, has All-Pro potential. He immediately would become Daunte Culpepper's go-to receiver.And here comes the curve ball. At #2 is Troy Williamson, the speedy WR out of South Carolina. Williamson has good size and blazing speed. Paired with Nate Burleson, the Vikings would have two downfield threats to take pressure off QB Daunte Culpepper and the new focus on running
At #3 is Mike Williams, whom Williamson leapt over in recent weeks. It appears that the Vikes are more focused on speed in making this choice to move Williamson ahead of Williams.
Edwards went to the Browns with the 3rd overall pick and Williamson to the Vikes with the seventh. Here is the early name The Insider has provided me....the name that currently sits atop the Vikings big board:
Wow! The Wonderlic Kid! You've all read the reports that Vince Young scored a 6 on the Wonderlic test at this year's NFL Scouting Combine. The average score for a player at the combine is 19. The average score overall — hundreds of corporations use the Wonderlic — is 21. But a score under 10 is an indication of literacy problems. Former Iowa State running back Darren Davis reportedly has the record for lowest score, a 4. Former Florida State kicker Sebastian Janikowski reportedly got a 9.
Young then received a pass, took the test again and scored a 16. OK, so now we know he can read. But a 20 on the Wonderlic is indicative of about an I.Q. of 100. A score of 6...or a 16... means that Vince Young could hide his own Easter eggs and still have fun trying to locate them.
So, either The Insider has located a great stash of cannabis in his garden and has been stoking his pipe a bit too much.....or, we have another surprise coming later this month and we will once again bow to his greatness. And let me clear: while the Wonderlic Kid is currently the guy atop the Vikes big board, The Insider states that only if Young falls would the Vikes bust a move to get him. He goes further to state the team would not be willing to movie intop the Top 5 as the price would be too high.....but Top 12, definitely.
Stay tuned.
Oh man, I don't know. Vince Young? I'm wary of that poccibility. Hopefully the QBs will be eaten up quickly. I don't see the 3rd of the Big 3 falling past Detroit at #9.
I think it's not inconceivable to say that the Saints (#2) might still take Lienart. You know Tennessee (#3) will take the best QB available, and I think they like Cutler more than Young. I don't buy the hoo-hah that the Jets (#4) are going to take D'Brick or Mario and let Chad Pennington stay at QB for the meantime, so there's another QB. Oakland (#7) could take a QB. (#9) Detroit could take a QB that falls to them.
If the Vikings are serious about getting Young, they should try to trade spots with Oakland as soon as Young slips past the Jets at #4. If that happens.
I would still rather take Erine Sims or Chad Greenway with our #17 pick, and if they're both gone, I say we trade down and get loads of picks for the first day. (We'd be up to six in the first three rounds!) After that, there's plenty of time to draft some potential in the 2nd or 3rd round. Omar Jacobs gets a lot of mention, I think Brodie Croyle is a good option and many people have Kellen Clemens rising in their mock drafts, so any of those could be the future QB of Minnesota.
With all of that said, if the Vikes grab Young I'll get on the bandwagon and get excited.
Posted by: Peter at April 19, 2006 09:37 AMESPN has a nice article yesterday about the chances of a first round qb being successful versus a later round. I was left with the clear conclusion that they should not trade up to take a qb and that if you are picking for potential you have just as much chance of getting a good one in a later round.
I would trade up to take AJ Hawk if I am the Vikes but not another player given the depth.
However, if they are going to trade their 17 pick, I would rather have Schaub, a guy with a proven ability to play in this league and then keep the second round picks that would have to be added to get a shot at Vince Young.
Don't get me wrong, I think the guy is a talent, but the Vikes cannot afford to spend that much on a rookie qb with too many other glaring holes *cough* linebacker *cough*
If Tampa and Baltimore have taught us nothing it is that you can win a super bowl with a great defense and a solid but unspeactacular qb. Even Elway and Favre took over 6-7 years to win their superbowls, so a young qb is not the way to get there quickly.
Take one of the second tier guys and see what you got. There will be other great college qb's to come out in the future so that giving away the farm in a deep draft year is foolish.
Posted by: J. Lichty at April 19, 2006 11:47 AMI would love to see Vince Young in purple but I think it's very unlikely that he'll drop so far.
Posted by: Timm at April 19, 2006 01:37 PMI'm not local, so can someone tell me if I've missed the rumors that go, "Vikings in talks with SD about Donnie Edwards"? I'm at a loss why the vikings wouldn't be jumping at the chance to get Edwards for their upper third, or even lower second, pick. Maybe they want to wait for the draft in case they need those picks for a move up, but they seem to be the perfect destination for Edwards. Desperate for more LB help, able to pay the cap cost, have the picks.
I'd be thrilled if the Vikes trade down from 17 to mid/low 20s, pick up a low 2nd in the process, trade their new first for Schaub, trade the low 2nd for Edwards, and still have 4 first day picks left for LB, CB/S, RB, OL help. Even better would be getting Schaub for a 2nd. I don't see any way they can trade up for a top-3 QB in this draft at a reasonable price, and if they start the season without Schaub or Young et al they've made a big mistake.
Posted by: Lou at April 19, 2006 02:29 PMI want the Vikes to pick up Brad Eugene from Grambling with a low pick. The dude is built like a tank, looked like a great leader in the bowl game I saw him in, and got a 40 on the Wonderlic. Low risk pick if they are still looking for a young QB with one of their low picks.
Posted by: chapman at April 19, 2006 04:27 PMPlease do not trade up for Young!!!
How is he going to fit in a West Coast offense??? He isn't an accurate passer, and, based on his phenomenal performance on the Wonderlic, won't be able to make quick decisions.
He hasn't played in a WC offense, and I've read one report that said they dumbed down the offense for him at Texas. All he did was line up in a shot gun, take a couple looks, and then run.
Plus, most scouts claim that he is two years away from being NFL ready, anyway.
Stay away!!!!! Get someone who can help this year, not three years from now, if at all.
Posted by: J Lent at April 19, 2006 05:48 PMI hope this is a ruse to get other teams looking for a QB to pass on Cutler and take Young.
However, I'd prefer this 'Plan for the Future' scenario over drafting Cutler:
Plan on using Brad Johnson for 2006. Trade a 2nd and 3rd round pick for a 1st round pick in 2007. Take a LB at #17, a two of a QB, DB or G in rounds 2 & 3.
In 2007, trade both 1st round picks, and maybe more, to move up to draft QB Quinn of Notre Dame, or the top college QB du jour if Quinn falters in his senior year. Alternately, make a run at Scaub if he reaches free agency.
Posted by: R Wilk at April 19, 2006 06:16 PM
I'd be more interested in his other top choices on the Vikings list.
It could be he is part of a new regime and wanting to leak false information to Brian.
Robert
Posted by: PhillyVike at April 19, 2006 09:17 PMI like Wilk's suggestions. Let's plot for the top QB in next year's draft.
Posted by: Peter at April 20, 2006 09:01 AMI can't believe this talk. I guess living in Austin I got to see Vince every game this year. He is amazing. Texas beat almost every opponent by like 30 points, besides the tough Ohio State and USC games (where Vince led huge comebacks) and an off day vs. Texas A&M. He is actually a very accurate passer as well.
Bottom line, you're smoking crack if you think Cutler is better than Young, and the only reason you heard so much Vikes talk about Cutler is because *they* were smokescreening to get Young. I figured it out pretty early, being a Vince fan, but something seemed weird about the way the Vikes staff was talking about Young in public. Childress going out of his way to say, "I don't think Vince Young is visiting us" and such. Not that Cutler is bad, or that the Vikes wouldn't take Cutler, but he's certainly not ahead of Young.
It's weird, a lot of people buying into this philosophy that QB and RB aren't skill positions anymore. Sure, you can get great "bargains" sometimes on those positions in later rounds, and sure you get burned on 1st round picks sometimes, but you look at the good QBs in the NFL, and they're mostly 1st round picks. If they're later than 1st round, they sat for awhile and got groomed.
Anyway, I think it's crazy that people think getting a LB in the 1st round is somehow better than getting a QB. There's definitely some LBs that deserve to go 1st round, but there's certainly great LBs to be had in later rounds, even 2nd day.
Posted by: Colin at April 20, 2006 06:09 PM