Minnesota Vikings 2010 Draft Frightens and Confuses Fans

The Minnesota Vikings spent the NFL draft prioritizing the backup running back position; drafting a quarterback who will play wide receiver and a linebacker who will play fullback; and selecting Penn State's backup tight end.

And their fans looked on and wondered: Why?

Why not trade up for potential starting offensive lineman such as Mike Iupati or Maurkice Pouncey? Why allow Detroit to snag Jahvid Best?  Why draft a high-upside, underachiever from USC not named Taylor Mays or Joe McKnight?

The only non-puzzling pick/move the Vikings made was their first one: Chris Cook, cornerback from Virginia.  Cook is a 6'2'' big hitter with good hands and sub 4.5 speed.  He will need some seasoning but will end up being a starter for Minnesota soon - either at corner or safety.

With Lito Sheppard joining Antoine Winfield and Benny Sapp at corner, and Cedric Griffin coming back at some point during the season, the Vikings' corners look alright on paper.  The safeties, however, are still a question mark. 

After the Cook pick, the Vikings draft took a turn not many pundits, analysts, or fans saw coming: Minnesota traded their second-round and third-round pick to move up and take running back Toby Gerhart, the Heisman runner-up from Stanford.

The Vikings did not trade up for a safety, guard, or linebacker.  Minnesota traded up and gave up a pick for a backup running back who plays like Leroy Hoard and will touch the ball less than 10 times per game.

So the Minnesota brain trust saw Adrian Peterson get hit at or behind the line of scrimmage more than any other running back last season, the pounding Brett Favre took in New Orleans, Ben Leber and Madieu Williams missing tackles throughout the year, and said "Toby Gerhart is going to fix this."

Nothing against Gerhart; he is a player who will make more than a couple first downs and big plays for the Vikings.  The problem is the value the Vikings attributed to him and the backup running back position when they have problems elsewhere.

If the Vikings had traded up for guard Vladimir Ducasse or safety Taylor Mays, and got their backup running back some other way, their draft would make a lot more sense today.  If they stayed where they were after the Detroit trade and ended up with some combination of Morgan Burnett, Mike Johnson, or Navorro Bowman, their draft would make a lot more sense today.

Everson Griffen, the talented but inconsistent defensive end from USC, was a great value pick in the fourth round, make no bones about it.  Much like Ray Edwards, another talented defensive end drafted by the Vikings in the fourth round, Griffen could develop into a very good pass rusher and was worth the pick.  

You can never really have too many pass rushers, either.  That said, he was a very inconsistent player in the Pac-10 and, just like with Gerhart, Griffen doesn't play on the offensive line or in the secondary.

Minnesota did not address the offensive line until the fifth round when they drafted Chris DeGeare, a guard from Wake Forest.  DeGeare, 6'4'' and 330 pounds, is described as a massive run-blocker, but he is expected to be nothing more than a backup with some starter potential down the road; Anthony Herrera-lite.

Minnesota spent the rest of the draft addressing special teams with picks like Nate Triplett (the very productive linebacker from Minnesota who lacks NFL-athleticism) and Ryan D'Imperio (a special teams wizard at Rutgers who played linebacker in college but will play fullback for the Vikings).

They also got their heir apparent for Jeff Dugan: Mickey Shuler, the backup tight end from Penn State who is a good blocker and can catch a pass when wide open.

The late pick that is exciting for fans is Joe Webb, the quarterback-turned-wide receiver from UAB.  A great athlete at 6'3'' with 4.4 speed, Webb is a definitely a project, but basically every sixth-round pick is a project.  He shouldn't see anything more than the practice squad for a season or two, but Webb could end up being very good in two-three years.

Which brings us to the real dilemma with grading drafts and being this negative after the lackluster weekend: You need two-three years to really see how it turns out.  

Maybe Gerhart's toughness between the tackles allows Peterson to take advantage of a tired defense in the fourth quarter more often.  Maybe DeGeare becomes a diamond in the rough.  Maybe Cook is better than anyone could've expected or imagined.

Or maybe the best pick becomes D'Imperio after his middling career as a fullback and the rest flame out. 

While the Vikings' draft appears average or just plain boring as of now, the front office has proven to be reliable when it comes to scouting.  They have earned some benefit of the doubt.

With undrafted free agents such as ex-LSU QB Ryan Perrilloux trying out, and good starters becoming cap causalities like guard Alan Faneca (the AFC Steve Hutchinson), the Vikings can still make a definitive improvement to their o-line or address their 'quarterback of the future,' whatever that truly means.

Minnesota should still return all 22 starters from a team that was an overtime field goal from the Super Bowl - unless Favre decides to stay on the farm, which history says he won't.

Fans should look at this draft the way the front office obviously did: The Vikings didn't want to change much from last season.  Just a tweak here and there.

Hopefully they are right.  And hopefully John Sullivan really improves.