Minnesota Vikings 2012 Draft: Assessing Each Draftee's Chance of Making the Team

The first draft for Rick Spielman as the Minnesota Vikings general manager is now in the books. It could be a few years before we can truly grade the impact that this draft will have on the success of the team, but for right now, there is a lot of excitement, at least for the first few selections the Vikings made.

Based on the choices Spielman made, the Vikings' greatest needs were addressed, in some case more than once.

Heading into draft, the Vikings the had 10 selections, including two compensatory picks awarded by the league for the loss of free-agent wide receiver Sidney Rice and defensive end Ray Edwards.

Spielman, using some sly negotiations, was able to parlay another three picks when he swapped first-round selections with Cleveland.

He then made another deal with Baltimore to move up in the draft, acquiring the 29th pick in the first round. 

In total, the Vikings added 10 new players, including three defensive backs, two wide receivers, an offensive tackle, a fullback, a placekicker, a linebacker and a defensive end. No doubt the team will be looking to add a few more bodies as they scour the nation for other potential gems hidden among the remaining crop of undrafted collegiate players.

A quick scan of the Vikings roster shows that the team has done a fairly good job of grooming and retaining the talent they've drafted. The team currently has 27 of their 43 draft picks since 2006, when they selected Chad Greenway with the 17th pick in the first round, on the roster. This includes nine of 10 draftees from last season.

Including the 10 draft picks the Vikings made in the 2012 draft, their roster has 78 players.

Here's a look at the chances of each of the 2012 draft picks of making the Vikings opening day roster in 2012.    

Matt Kalil, USC Offensive Tackle, Round 1, 4th-Overall Selection

This selection was a no-brainer.

While the whole world knew this was the right pick for the Vikings, the drama was around which team would pony up the best deal to convince the Vikings to move down in the draft. 

That team ended up being the Cleveland Browns. They offered up their fourth, fifth and seventh-round picks in the 2012 to move up one spot in the first round, swapping picks with the Vikings.

That allowed the Browns to select Trent Richardson, the running back they coveted, and the Vikings still got USC offensive tackle Matt Kalil, ranked by many sites as the third-best player in the entire draft behind quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III.

The selection of Kalil fills a huge hole the Vikings had in the offensive line. Last season, the Vikings allowed an average of three sacks per game.

Kalil moves right to the top of the depth chart and will be the team's starting left tackle—hopefully for the better part of the next decade. 

Projection:  Like I said, this is a no-brainer. Kalil starts at left tackle this season, and hopefully for the next 10 to come.

Harrison Smith, Notre Dame Safety, Round 1, 29th-Overall Selection

The Vikings addressed another weak spot in the roster when they acquired a second first-round pick in the draft.

Minnesota traded their second-round pick, plus a fourth-rounder, to Baltimore, for the Ravens' pick in the first round.

While it only moved the Vikings up six positions, it allowed them to draft Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith with the 29th pick in the first round.

According to cbssports.com, Smith was the second best safety in the draft behind Mark Barron from Alabama, whom the Buccaneers drafted with the seventh pick in the draft. 

A member of the North roster for the Senior Bowl, the Vikings coaching staff got a good, long look at Smith during the week of practice before the game.

During his last two seasons with the Fighting Irish, Smith averaged a total of 90.5 tackles, ranking him second on the team.

With how poor the Vikings' secondary played last season and the fact that Husain Abdullah, one of the two starting safeties from last year, is no longer on the roster, Smith has a very good chance at being the starter.

Projection: With as poorly as the Vikings safeties played last season, Smith cracks the opening lineup when the regular season begins.

Josh Robinson, Central Florida Cornerback, Round 3, 66th Selection

The Vikings continued to address their defensive backfield in the third round with the selection of cornerback Josh Robinson from the University of Central Florida.

Depending on what you want to believe, the Vikings either reached when they selected him with the third pick in the third round, or got themselves a deal.

According to NFL.com, Robinson graded out as the 12th-best corner in the draft. Based on this assessment, the Vikings reached when they made him the sixth cornerback taken in the draft.

Of course, the opposite can be said if you believe the rankings from CBSSports.com or WalterFootball.com that had Robinson as the fifth and sixth-best corner in the draft, respectively.

Projected to be a second-round selection, the Vikings got a good player early in the third round.

Since the Vikings are projecting Chris Cook and Antoine Winfield to be the starters, with newly-signed Chris Carr as the nickle corner, the best bet might be that he makes it as a back up.

Add to the mix newly acquired free-agent Zachary Bowman, Asher Allen, Brandon Burton and Marcus Sherels, Robinson will have some competition to make it as a backup and special teams player.

The junior out of UCF tallied 10 interceptions in three years, with two of those happening last season.

Projection: He starts the season on special teams and works his way up to more and more playing time. He could potentially end up starting towards the end of the season, as neither Winfield nor Cook were able to play the entire season last year. 

Jarius Wright, Arkansas Wide Receiver, Round 4, 118th Selection.

For some fans, the selection of a wide receiver came a few rounds later than hoped, and the selection of Jarius Wright from Arkansas had its own intrigue.

The Vikings finally addressed their second-biggest need on offense when they selected Wright in the fourth round. 

According to WalterFootball.com, cbssports.com and NFL.com, there were at least eight wide receivers still on the board that were ranked higher than Wright when the Vikings selected him 118th overall.

Tommy Streeter from Miami, B.J. Cunningham from Michigan State, Nick Toon from Wisconsin and Juron Criner from Arizona are a few of the receivers drafted after the Vikings selected Wright ranked ahead of the receiver from Arkansas.

On the positive side, he did lead the Razorbacks last season with 66 receptions and 12 touchdowns.

For his career, he averaged 17.5 yards per catch.

Projection: The Vikings currently have nine wide receivers on the roster, not including Wright. He will have to battle for a position on the roster. Odds are he makes the team as a backup and special teams player, with an increasing role as the season progresses.

Rhett Ellison, USC Fullback, Round 4, 128th Selection

The Vikings addressed the need to replace Jim Kleinsasser, the team's fullback for the last 13 seasons, with the selection of Matt Kalil's teammate at USC, fullback Rhett Ellison.

This pick kind came out of nowhere, as neither walterfootball.com nor cbssports.com had Ellison listed among the top fullbacks in the draft.

Still, Ellison moves to the top of the depth chart, competing with Matt Asiata, Ryan D'Imperio and Jerome Felton to earn the right to block for Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart.

Ellison comes to the Vikings with no delusions of running the ball. During his four years at USC, he had only one rushing attempt. He did catch 53 passes, 43 of them in his junior and senior seasons with five touchdowns.

Projection: Competing against practice squad players and a converted linebacker, Ellison has a very good chance of making the roster as the starting fullback. At the very least, he will be the backup. His ability to pass protect in the NFL may be the key.

Greg Childs, Arkansas Wide Receiver, Round 4, 134th Selection

The selection of Jarius Wright's teammate, Greg Childs, only 16 slots later in the fourth round, is an interesting pick.

As mentioned on Wright's slide the Vikings already have nine receivers on the roster, and with the addition of Wright and Childs, brings the total to 11.

Many draft boards actually had Childs ranked ahead of Wright.

Recovering from a knee injury his junior season, he only made 21 catches last season for the Razorbacks. His best season was his sophomore year, when he led Arkansas with 48 catches and seven touchdowns with an 18.6 yards-per-catch average

At 6'3", he is the big target the Vikings desperately need.

Projection: I want to believe the Vikings got a steal and that Childs will be the next Sidney Rice on the team, but I just don't see it happening. Childs will do enough that the Vikings will keep him around, most likely on the practice squad. Until, that is, Michael Jenkins gets injured and they promote him to the roster.

Robert Blanton, Notre Dame Cornerback, Round 5, 139th Selection

The Vikings added their third set of teammates when they drafted Notre Dame cornerback Robert Blanton in the fifth round, with the 139th pick overall.

Blanton was the first cornerback taken in the fifth round, and the 15th overall in the draft. If you believe the grading done by NFL.com, there were eight cornerbacks still available that ranked higher than Blanton. 

He was consistent for the Fighting Irish, intercepting two passes in each of his four seasons. In 2011, he finished third on the defense with 70 total tackles.

Projection: Definitely a position in need of depth for Minnesota, Blanton will get the chance to battle for a back-up role with the likes of Asher Allen, Brandon Burton and Marcus Sherels. Most likely, he makes it as a special teams player or lands on the practice squad.

Blair Walsh, Georgia Kicker, Round 6, 175th Selection

The Vikings took a chance drafting placekicker Blair Walsh from Georgia in the sixth round.

With so many needs on the team and kicker not one of them, it's a little curious that the Vikings used their sixth-round pick on a position that seems to be in good hands, or feet, with Ryan Longwell.

The problem may be that Longwell only placed 24.6 percent of his kickoffs into the end zone for touch backs—this after the NFL changed the rule, moving the kickoff up to the 35-yard line.

For the entire NFL, 43.5 percent of kickoffs went for touch backs. 

Walsh was the first of four kickers selected in the draft, and the top kicker on the board for cbssports.com and NFL.com.

He led college football with 35 field goal attempts; unfortunately, he only made 21 of them for a 60 percent conversion rate.

Projection: A long shot to make the team. If his leg is strong enough to consistently put the ball out of the end zone, he could make it as a kickoff specialist—provided the Vikings believe they have the luxury to carry two kickers.

Audie Cole, NC State Linebacker, Round 7, 210th Selection

As a member of the 2012 North Senior Bowl team, the Minnesota Vikings coaches had an entire week to evaluate linebacker Audie Cole from NC State. 

Projected to be drafted in either the fifth or sixth round of the draft, the Vikings may have gotten a deal, finding him still available in the seventh round. 

Last season, he led the Wolfpack with 108 tackles, 5.5 sacks and was second with 13.5 tackles for a loss.

Projection: Cole has a good chance to play on special teams for the Vikings and backup Jasper Brinkley as the middle linebacker.

Trevor Guyton, California Defensive End, Round 7, 219th Selection

The Vikings used their last selection of the 2012 NFL draft to add a little depth to the strongest position on the team. With the 219th pick in the draft, they selected defensive end Trevor Guyton from the University of California. 

Since 2006, the Vikings have drafted a total of six defensive linemen, and with the exception of Ray Edwards, all are still with the team.

D'Aundre Reed, another Pac-12 defensive end, was the Vikings' seventh-round selection last year. He didn't see any action his rookie season. 

Guyton is in the same boat this year. With Jared Allen and Brian Robison set to be the starters, that leaves Guyton battling with Everson Griffen and Reed to make it as a backup.

The only way he makes the roster is if someone else doesn't.

Projection: At best he makes the Vikings practice squad in 2012.

The Minnesota Vikings 2012 NFL Draft Summary

For the 10 selections the Vikings made, they found at least three starters in tackle Matt Kalil, safety Harrison Smith and fullback Rhett Ellison. 

The Vikings found a potential future starter in cornerback Josh Robinson, who should make the team as a backup.

One of the two Arkansas wide receivers, Jarius Wright or Greg Childs, may get some playing time next season on offense, and there's possibly two special teams players in Robert Blanton and Audie Cole.

That leaves the two long shots, place kicker Blair Walsh and defensive end Trevor Guyton, who most likely don't make the team unless they can impress enough to unseat another veteran player.