Minnesota Vikings: Why They Must Take Matt Kalil in the 2012 NFL Draft

The good news for the Minnesota Vikings is that with the third pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, they won't have to decide between Christian Ponder and Robert Griffin III for the quarterback of the future tag. The bad news is that now the Vikings must decide between left tackle Matt Kalil or wide receiver Justin Blackmon.

This will be new Vikings general manager Rick Spielman's first big decision on the job, and I believe he can't afford to screw this one up. In that case, Spielman should take the sure thing, and that is Kalil.

This is simply nothing against Blackmon. He's easily the best wide receiver on the board, but with as many holes as the Vikings have they need to take the best player available.

Kalil is a mountain of a man. He stands at 6-foot-7 and weighs 306 pounds. While his lack of weight may be a concern, Kalil can still afford to put on a few pounds and be one of the most effective pass blockers in the National Football League.

Unlike many offensive lineman in the NFL, Kalil is also an elite athlete. His 40-yard dash time (which really shouldn't be done for an offensive lineman when you think about it) was a 4.99. He also was able to do 30 reps at 225 pounds at the bench press.

Simply put, the guy knows how to block. There's evidence of this at USC, where he allowed Matt Barkley to toss 39 touchdowns in 2011. When a guy can put up those numbers, he usually has time to throw.

However, it concerns me that Spielman has yet to get this memo. According to this post by Kevin Siefert of ESPN's NFC North Blog, Spielman doesn't seem too convinced that taking a left tackle is the best solution.

In the post, Spielman describes the strategy of taking a left tackle to protect a young quarterback as an "old adage." Then, Spielman went and pointed at the gold standard of quarterbacks to justify a potential Justin Blackmon pick.

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"I just remember Aaron Rodgers and how the media were criticizing their offensive line when Aaron Rodgers took all those sacks his first year as a starter," Spielman said. "Now, their offensive line has gotten better, but Aaron Rodgers has also gotten better … and they’ve got tremendous playmakers around him."

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There's one problem with that take. First, the Packers added several pieces on that offensive line so that these playmakers could get open before Rodgers found himself on his back. Second, can we really say that Christian Ponder is Aaron Rodgers at this point of his career?

If the Vikings want to see what Ponder can do in year two, the best option would be for him not to be running for his life on a three-step drop.

The best case scenario for the Vikings would be to take Kalil and hope that a receiver (perhaps Alshon Jeffery?) drops to them at pick No. 35. (Although, if the Vikings took to free agency and picked up Vincent Jackson, this would also make the decision a lot easier.)