Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft: Assessing WalterFootball's Latest Predictions

It's that time of year. Less than two months to the 2012 NFL Draft. The mock drafts are growing in number wherever you look, including on WalterFootball.

It released its five-round mock draft Wednesday, outlining how it foresees the draft for the Minnesota Vikings.

Like I did with Bleacher Report's own Matt Miller, I will assess whether the picks are in Minnesota's best interests but not comment on whether the player will be available at that time.

First Round (No. 3): Matt Kalil, USC Offensive Tackle

We all know Stanford's Andrew Luck will go No. 1 overall. The question is, who goes No. 2?

The St. Louis Rams want out of that slot, but nothing has happened yet. But if the Rams trade the pick, like they've said they will, then a team will trade up to No. 2 and take Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III. That selection will plop Matt Kalil right into Minnesota's lap.

And the Vikings will be happy. They should be. Their offensive line was like a sieve: It let everything through.

This allows Kalil to cement himself as Minnesota's franchise left tackle for the next 10 years and for Minnesota to move Charlie Johnson into one of the guard positions. 

Selecting Kalil will provide stability and reliability to the left tackle position and should keep Christian Ponder upright more than he was in 2011.

Second Round (No. 35): Josh Robinson, Central Florida Cornerback

This pick doesn't feel like a slam dunk, but it's a solid selection. Minnesota's secondary is its No. 1 hole that needs filling this offseason. And selecting Central Florida's Josh Robinson certainly betters Minnesota's secondary. He's a talented player.

But to me, it seems people are really high on Robinson right now because of his combine workout. He ran the fastest 40-yard dash at the combine (4.33). Prior to the combine, Robinson was talked about as a third-round pick, at best.

Now he's rumored to be a first-round pick.

The combine isn't irrelevant when determining the success of a player at the next level, but a player's on-the-field performance should trump what he does in a training environment.

Selecting someone like Nebraska cornerback Alfonzo Dennard or South Carolina wide receiver Alshon Jeffery (both are available at this point in the mock) would make Minnesota better off.

Dennard is a more complete cornerback with fewer questions about his abilities at the next level. He's not as fast as Robinson (Dennard ran a 4.55 40-yard dash) but is a well-rounded corner who's ready to start in the league from day one, which Minnesota desperately needs given Cedric Griffin's expected release, Antoine Winfield's age and Chris Cook's legal troubles.

Jeffery could serve as the Yin to Percy Harvin's Yang. He's bigger (6'3", 216 pounds) and is a dangerous receiver when the ball is in the air. Like another former Gamecock and Viking, Sidney Rice, Jeffery excels at going up for the ball. Rice also had speed concerns (he ran a 4.51 40-yard dash at the combine), but he's turned out just fine.

Third Round (No. 67): Lavonte David, Nebraska Linebacker

Upgrading the linebacking corps doesn't immediately jump out as an offseason priority, but it's a position that Minnesota needs to fix.

WalterFootball has Minnesota selecting Nebraska linebacker Lavonte David with the No. 67 overall pick. Mel Kiper Jr. has him as the No. 21 overall prospect (No. 3 linebacker) and CBSSports.com has him as the No. 4 linebacker in the draft.

The knock on David is that he's undersized (6'1", 233 pounds). But he makes up for that with speed (4.66 40-yard dash at the combine) and instincts. David is a playmaker. And Minnesota can use all the playmakers it can get in its back seven.

Fourth Round (No. 98): Chris Givens, Wake Forest Wide Receiver

In this mock, the Vikings used their first three picks to address three separate needs: defensive secondary, linebacker and offensive line. Now it's time to address another need: wide receiver.

It sounds like Chris Givens will be gone by other peoples' accounts, but if the Wake Forest wide receiver is still here come this pick, then the Vikings would be smart to gobble him up.

Givens ran a 4.37 40-yard dash at the combine, tied for fourth fastest by a wide receiver, and was a first team All-ACC selection in 2011.

He's not very big at 5'11" and 198 pounds, which isn't ideal given that Minnesota's current No. 1 receiver (Percy Harvin) is 5'11" and 184 pounds. But at this point in the draft, if you have the opportunity to select a player comparable to Jeremy Maclin who's "very polished" and "could be selected in the late first round" (read that here), then you make it happen.

Fifth Round (No. 130): Brandon Taylor, LSU Safety

This pick could be a big steal. Brandon Taylor was a very productive player at LSU. He was a three-year starter at strong safety for the Tigers.

In his senior season, he recorded 71 tackles, third most on the team, and 7.5 tackles for loss. He's a physical presence on the field who is not afraid to get his head in there. His NFL Combine bio says, "He is highly productive and effective as a tackler, and he likes to throw his body around at receivers and let his presence be known." Sounds good to me.

WalterFootball says, "Taylor strikes players with some violence. He is fast and doesn't shy away from getting physical. [...] Others rate Taylor lower, but he is a sleeper prospect who could surprise in the NFL."

His 40-yard dash (4.5 seconds) combined with his size (5'11", 209 pounds) and productivity in college make him a great pickup at this point in the draft.

Overall: A-

If the Vikings' draft played out this way through the first five rounds, then the Vikings would be well-off. They fill, or help fill, all of their biggest needs.

They get their left tackle of the future right away at No. 3 (Matt Kalil) and then chip away at the rest.

In the process they get very good value out of all their picks, with the possible exception of their second-round pick. But analysts are high on Lavonte David, Chris Givens and Brandon Taylor (especially relative to where Minnesota selects them in this mock draft).

David, Givens and Taylor all have the potential to be major contributors to a winning football team, and Kalil should become a franchise left tackle.

If Robinson were to pan out better than I expect, then this would be a heck of a draft for the Vikings.