2011 Draft Thread

[marshallb]

I also suggest checking out 1500espn.com for articles and video of all of our picks. Tom Pelissero does a nice job of taking info from scouts or executives and piecing it in, as well as posting youtube videos of the players, among other nice points. He said on twitter that it may take him a while to get articles up on all of the late rounders with it being so rapid fire, but that he was putting up some videos right away.

[FuzzyGopher]

I think it's safe to say that the front office fully expects Rice to be here next year.

[marshallb]

@TomPelissero
Tom Pelissero
Brandon Fusco didn't play football until his junior year of HS. Said he was "pissed off" enough that he needed an outlet to bash heads.

That makes me love the Fusco pick even more.

[FuzzyGopher]

Is Ballard going to play LE for us or is he more of a DT?

[marshallb]

Don't know much about D'Aundre Reed. Didn't get a chance to play much at Arizona with Brooks Reed and Ricky Elmore. Not very fast, but is long and lanky, and had a very good broad jump and vertical at the combine, which helps to measure explosion.

Would have rather taken a chance on Romeus, but oh well, there must be something really wrong with him injury wise for him to still be available in the mid 7th. Or someone like Jeremy Beal who was ultra productive but timed horribly slow, Cliff Matthews, Pierre Allen, or Ugo Chinasa.

EDIT: I just read that Reed also had a 1.63 10 yard split, which is pretty damn good, so he could be a nice explosive edge rusher.

[marshallb]

Originally Posted by FuzzyGopher

Is Ballard going to play LE for us or is he more of a DT?

I don't know. He was IMO a perfect fit as a 5 tech, but it depends on what they want him to do, LE or DT, and I'm guessing DT with their other moves. He could lose a few pounds and fit perfectly at LE or gain a few pounds and be a nice fit at DT with us going to more of a natural cover 2 double UTs(Kevin is 310 pounds which is 4-3 NT size, but he is a great UT).

[Vikings4ever]

Originally Posted by FuzzyGopher

Is Ballard going to play LE for us or is he more of a DT?

My guess is that he would play LE on rush downs, then kick inside to DT and get replaced by Robison for pass downs.

[marshallb]

Stephen Burton WR, West Texas A&M with our last pick. Has some good potential, needs development, but could be a nice replacement for Rice after a couple years.

[marshallb]

RavenOfProphecy was giving analysis and grades of every pick today in the draft discussion thread. Kind of nice to get the opinion of an unbiased knowledgeable observer. Here is what he said about each of the Vikings picks(and I suggest everyone give him +rep as he did great work):

106. Minnesota Vikings - DT Christian Ballard, Iowa

Has some versatility between LE and UT. Failed drug test and questions about mental/physical toughness led to fall. Good value at this point. A

139. Minnesota Vikings - CB Brandon Burton, Utah

Was projected to go much higher but really struggled in big games. Has size and athleticism but needs to improve his technique. Could be a steal - fits well. A

168. Minnesota Vikings - OT DeMarcus Love, Arkansas

Nice risk on a versatile swing backup who has played along the line. Team captain and long term starter. Athletic but lacks a killer instinct. Stock fell during bowl game/Senior Bowl. A-

170. Minnesota Vikings - FS Mistral Raymond, South Florida

Has size and does a nice job in zone coverage. Was projected to go around here at some point after his pro day. Played cornerback in college. Somewhat limited athletically. B-

172. Minnesota Vikings - C Brandon Fusco, Slippery Rock

I thought this guy had a real shot at going as high as round four. Has good size and played well at the Senior Bowl, showing that he wasn't completely a product of competition. A

200. Minnesota Vikings - LB Ross Homan, Ohio St.

Has adequate size and speed and profiles as a potential weakside linebacker in a 4-3 defense. Nice playing mentality and could fit well on special teams. A-

215. Minnesota Vikings - DE D'Aundre Reed, Arizona

Underrated "other" Arizona defensive end. Has pretty good bulk and really dominated on the bench at the Combine. Does a good job of shedding blocks. Wasn't incredibly productive. A-

236. Minnesota Vikings - WR Stephen Burton, West Texas A&M

Has size but seems to be a long way away from contributing. At this point, he is one of the more intriguing developmental wide receivers and could actually contribute at some point. B+



I will be doing a write-up on my thoughts of our draft over the next few days whenever I get time. Not sure if I will just post it all at once or put up my thoughts on each pick individually, leaning toward the former.

[Crazy_Chris]

I really like what the vikes came away with in rounds 4-7, a lot of value picks that fill needs. I think they got 2 potential starters in Fusco & Ballard, and I can see Burton devloping into a quality 3rd CB.

[marshallb]

Scott put out his values and reaches today. He had Ballard, B. Burton, Homan, and S. Burton as values and Ponder as a reach. I gotta say, the more and more I think about this draft, the more I like it. We got great value on day 3 with all of our picks, except the Reed pick, but he fills a need, it's a 7th rounder, and it sounds like he's a good athlete.

[villagewarrior]

I guess if you like your guy you take him regardless of value. I think Ponder will be a decent starting quarterback but I think his ceiling is limited. I feel if you are going to go after a quarterback go for the one who could be great, like Kaepernick.

If Rudolph can return from his injury the Vikes will have their best selection in round 2. Guy can play. I'm not a fan of Ballard, he looks light and not too explosive. I do love the CB Burton and Love picks, great value and you can't have enough offensive linemen. I don't know anything about Raymond, Reed or Burton, but Homan is undersized but athletic and Fusco is a solid shot in the 6th round.

Overall, I don't like the Ponder and Ballard picks, love Rudolph, Burton, Love and Fusco. C, would be B if the Vikings had selected a better choice in the 1st.

[Heisman]

Obviously Scott Wright isn't perfect, but just take this for what it's worth. In the Vikes' draft, according to Scott Wright's rating system, we got:

1 player with a 1st round grade:
-Kyle Rudolph

And 5 players with a round 2/3 grade:
-Christian Ponder
-Kyle Rudolph
-Christian Ballard
-Brandon Burton
-Ross Homan

That's pretty frickin good. i'm excited about our draft, and get more excited each day as Ponder continues to grow on me.

[General Zod]

Originally Posted by villagewarrior

I feel if you are going to go after a quarterback go for the one who could be great, like Kaepernick.

I respect your opinion and all, but if the Vikings would have drafted Kaepernick, I think I would have punted a kitten.

[marshallb]

Originally Posted by General Zod

I respect your opinion and all, but if the Vikings would have drafted Kaepernick, I think I would have punted a kitten.

I don't know if I would have done that, but there definitely would have been some broken stuff around me. If we wanted Kaepernick, why not just stick with Webb? They are very, very similar players with the same skillset.

[villagewarrior]

Originally Posted by General Zod

I respect your opinion and all, but if the Vikings would have drafted Kaepernick, I think I would have punted a kitten.

I would have enjoyed seeing that, actually.

[marshallb]

The Vikings have announced the numbers for all of the draft picks:
QB Christian Ponder #7
TE Kyle Rudolph #82
DL Christian Ballard #99
CB Brandon Burton #36
OL DeMarcus Love #75
DB Mistral Raymond #30
C Brandon Fusco #63
LB Ross Homan #57
DE D’Aundre Reed #92
WR Stephen Burton #86

[Crazy_Chris]

Originally Posted by villagewarrior

I guess if you like your guy you take him regardless of value. I think Ponder will be a decent starting quarterback but I think his ceiling is limited. I feel if you are going to go after a quarterback go for the one who could be great, like Kaepernick.

I can understand why some people feel Christian's upside is limited(I was one of them) since he doesn't really have outstanding physical tools. But Christian is very underated physically he ran a 4.65 at the combine(only 6 QBs had better times). And while he certainly doesn't have a cannon, his arm is more than strong enough.

None of Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, and Sam Bradford were though to have great physical tools coming out. Their ceiling's certianly weren't/aren't limited. Ponder has good accuracy, and everything you look for mentally from a QB. I think it is fair to say he can be just as great as anyone else if he puts in enough time/work.

[Crazy_Chris]

Just found this out about our 5th round CB...

This is Brandon Burton, the cornerback that the Vikings selected with the 139th overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. This picture was taken when he was four years of age.

Guess you could say that he's been looking forward to being a Viking for a while.

(Picture courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings' official website.)

http://www.dailynorseman.com/2011/4/...-selected-with

[Kid_Ego]

Why hasn't anyone mentioned we got 3 potential first round picks with out having a third round pick we got a smart athletic kid at qb who this franchise needs after the tjackpepperfarve shown I would assume this would be a welcome relief. Ballard was considered by many to be a late 1st early2 and randolph is the best te in the draft. Where did we go wrong? We got great value on the line picks we got a sleeper wide out who is intriguing to say the least. I feel better about this draft then almost any in atleast the last five and maybe the last ten years

[vikes_28]

Originally Posted by marshallb

The Vikings have announced the numbers for all of the draft picks:
QB Christian Ponder #7
TE Kyle Rudolph #82
DL Christian Ballard #99
CB Brandon Burton #36
OL DeMarcus Love #75
DB Mistral Raymond #30
C Brandon Fusco #63
LB Ross Homan #57
DE D’Aundre Reed #92
WR Stephen Burton #86

I can't wait to get this jersey.

[villagewarrior]

Originally Posted by Crazy_Chris

I can understand why some people feel Christian's upside is limited(I was one of them) since he doesn't really have outstanding physical tools. But Christian is very underated physically he ran a 4.65 at the combine(only 6 QBs had better times). And while he certainly doesn't have a cannon, his arm is more than strong enough.

None of Drew Brees, Phillip Rivers, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Matt Ryan, and Sam Bradford were though to have great physical tools coming out. Their ceiling's certianly weren't/aren't limited. Ponder has good accuracy, and everything you look for mentally from a QB. I think it is fair to say he can be just as great as anyone else if he puts in enough time/work.

I don't mean to say that Ponder won't be a decent starting quarterback in the league, I actually think he'll do quite well for himself. I guess I think my point is I think Kaepernick is and will be better than Ponder. I actually like Ponder quite a bit, I think it's just a bad spot for him, in my opinion.

[Crazy_Chris]

Originally Posted by villagewarrior

I don't mean to say that Ponder won't be a decent starting quarterback in the league, I actually think he'll do quite well for himself. I guess I think my point is I think Kaepernick is and will be better than Ponder. I actually like Ponder quite a bit, I think it's just a bad spot for him, in my opinion.

Oh no I didn't mean that in a sort of call you out post, I had no problem with what you said. It was simply an obversation of the whole stigma attached to Ponder that he has a limited ceiling. Aswell as I said I was one of the people who thought that about him. But upon further thought it's a pretty misguided assumption that he has a limited ceiling .