Minnesota Vikings: Christian Ponder Was a Worthy Draft Pick

Nobody is ready to compare the 2011 draft quarterback class to the benchmark class of 1983 or even the 2004 class, but with five weeks to go in the season we're starting to get some understanding of the quality of quarterbacks taken last spring. 

The first round saw four quarterbacks go off the board, and two more were taken early in the second round. Of those six quarterbacks, two—Cam Newton and Andy Dalton—have started since day one. Both are in the mix for offensive rookie of the year and look to be long-term solutions for their respective teams.

Newton is the leading candidate for that award as he has been every bit the athlete he was suspected to be, and, a better passer than most thought he would be in his first year. Dalton has had a solid year for the Bengals and has them in the thick of the AFC playoff chase.

Jake Locker and Colin Kaepernick are biding their time as backups and haven't seen much playing time.

That leaves Blaine Gabbert and Christian Ponder, both of whom have taken over the starting role and have had middling success on sorry teams. And while Gabbert's erratic play has many in Jacksonville wondering if he might not be the answer at quarterback, nobody in Minnesota has many complaints about Ponder so far.

The Vikings signed veteran Donovan McNabb in the summer to be the starting quarterback and to give Ponder time to adjust to the pro game. Where Minnesota erred was in thinking there was enough tread left on the McNabb tire to lead to any success. After a dreadful 1-5 start where McNabb couldn't hold three huge halftime leads, the reins were handed over to the rookie.

Ponder's numbers certainly don't jump off the page at you, as he's completing just 54.4 percent of his passes and has a quarterback rating of 72.6. Quarterback numbers can be somewhat deceiving, however. The recently waived McNabb had slightly better numbers in the same amount of games, but nobody who watches the Vikings would argue that Ponder hasn't been an upgrade over McNabb.

In the simplest of terms, McNabb looked tired, washed up and uninvolved in his six starts with the Vikings. Ponder certainly hasn't set the world on fire in his 1-4 start, but he's shown an energy and a competitive spirit that seemed to be missing with McNabb.

It's been a tough situation for Ponder to step into, the Vikings are clearly in need of an overhaul, especially at wide receiver and on the offensive line, two spots that are obviously very crucial to the success of a quarterback. To make it an even more uphill climb, Adrian Peterson will miss his second straight game with a high ankle sprain, and second-leading receiver Michael Jenkins will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. 

What Ponder has done very well for the Vikings since he first touched the field against Chicago is show off his outstanding athletic ability, which he's used to escape the pocket and either run for long gains or to complete passes. He's getting terrible pass protection from the Vikings overmatched offensive line, which makes the game look like it's moving at warp speed for Ponder. He's shown a great knack of recognizing when it's time to leave the pocket and fend for himself out on the flanks.

Along with the athletic ability, Ponder has also shown a lot of intangibles that have Vikings fans feeling like they don't have to worry about their quarterback situation for awhile. He makes smart decisions (some reckless throws have to be chalked up to always being under the gun of the pass rush), he has the respect of his teammates, he carries himself well and he's handling losing games as you'd want your quarterback to. He's taking his share of the blame and vowing to work harder and to continually make progress. 

The Vikings have a long way to go on both sides of the ball to become a winning team again, and they absolutely must address their glaring needs on the offensive line and at wide receiver. Only time will tell if Ponder can become a franchise quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings, but so far he's done nothing to make anyone think he wasn't worth the 12th pick in the draft.