Minnesota Vikings: 5 Young Players Who Need to Take the Next Step

There are very few silver linings that can be found in disastrous seasons such as the Minnesota Vikings are having in 2011. Expectations were tempered at the start of the season, but there was hope, and nobody really thought it was crazy when the Vikings signed Donovan McNabb, a move that seemingly showed that the organization thought a playoff run was not out of the question.

McNabb lasted just six games as the starter, about three more than any thoughts of a playoff run did. Now at 2-10, the Vikings are in the mode of learning what they have talent-wise, learning who they want to go forward with and who they need to get rid of in order to get better in the future.

Sunday's loss to the Broncos might have been the most revealing game of the season for Minnesota as some players who hadn't played a lot were given significant playing time. 

If the Vikings of 2012 are to make huge improvements over the 2011 club, here are five young players (with the help of some Clint Eastwood movie titles) who need to take the next step and prove they can help the team get better.

Christian Ponder: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Prior to the 2011 NFL draft, most experts had Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder ranked anywhere from a late first-round pick to somewhere in the second round. A pre-draft quote on Ponder from NFLDraftScout.com reads: "Made some critical mistakes late in games throughout his career, including several times in 2010."

Oops.

Sunday's loss to the Broncos showed a lot of different things about Ponder: He's capable of big numbers, throwing for 381 yards and three touchdowns. He's tough, he took a lot of big hits and played through a bad hip. He made some critical mistakes, and has to learn the importance of not turning the ball over.

In the end, the Vikings lost another very winnable game and Ponder has to take his share of the blame. His three turnovers were all of the "extremely critical" variety, a fumble that cost the Vikings a field goal, a pick six interception and then the interception late in the game that led to the Broncos kicking the winning field goal.

Rookie growing pains? Let's hope so. Interceptions are part of being a quarterback in the NFL, and some interceptions are worse than others. Ponder's two on Sunday were awful. On the positive side, he got into a shootout and held his own. Ponder completed 29 passes and moved the Vikings up and down the field, and the 32 points were the most the Vikings have scored with Ponder at the helm.

It's often said that one play can't win or lose a football game, but Ponder's late pick was probably as close as you can come. Luckily for Ponder, it's a game that most Vikings fans didn't care if they won or lost—the loss keeps their hopes of getting the second pick alive. If that play happens in the middle of a playoff chase, Ponder would never hear the end of it.

Kyle Rudolph: Hang 'Em High

When the Minnesota Vikings took tight end Kyle Rudolph with the 11th pick of the second round in the 2011 NFL draft, most who follow college football closely had this reaction: "Oooh, good pick."

The 6'6, 258-pound tight end had missed most of his last season at Notre Dame with a hamstring injury, but Rudolph had shown enough in his two-and-a-half years that most expected him to be a great receiving tight end at the next level. 

The NFL is a copy-cat league, and right now everyone is looking for the next Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham, two tall excellent receivers who are redefining how the position can be played. The undefeated Green Bay Packers currently employ five tight ends, unheard of in the NFL, but watch teams copy them and add more to their rosters in the coming seasons.

Rudolph has shown flashes of brilliance, none flashier than Sunday's touchdown grab over the top of overmatched Broncos defender Quinton Carter. On the season, Rudolph has just 18 grabs for 196 yards and two touchdowns, but it's been fairly obvious that bigger numbers are ahead.

Rudolph has to learn how to become a better blocker to get on the field more, and an offseason working with Ponder will do him a world of good. For a team looking for building blocks, Rudolph has as much promise as anyone.

Everson Griffen: Any Which Way You Can

The 23-year-old defensive end out of Southern Cal has an explosive upside that the Vikings have to mold into a starting player. Griffen is such a superior athlete that the Vikings have used him as a punt gunner, at 6'3, 273 pounds, perhaps the biggest player to ever take on that role. 

Griffen was the first true freshman to start on the defensive line for USC in 21 seasons and as a high school senior he rushed for over 1,200 yards and scored 22 touchdowns. 

While the Vikings have yet to refine this hulk of athleticism, Griffen has 18 tackles and four sacks on the season, his second in the league. If Griffen can reign in all of that talent and work hard on his defensive line technique, there is no reason he can't become one of the elite pass rushers in the league.

When the Vikings lost starting defensive end Ray Edwards to free agency in the offseason, many felt they didn't mind too much because they had Brian Robison to take over. While Robison has done a decent job, the real reason the Vikings were okay with letting Edwards go is because they knew they had the monstrously talented Griffen waiting in the wings.

Phil Loadholt: Magnum Force

Phil Loadholt is a mountain of a man at 6'8, 343 pounds, and he's started most every game at right tackle since the Vikings drafted him in the second round three years ago. That's the good news for Vikings fans—the bad news is that Loadholt really hasn't progressed since his rookie year.

Loadholt has always been a better run blocker than a pass blocker, and he seems to have regressed at both in his third year. Coming out of college, scouts were obviously impressed by his size and athletic ability, but the knock on him was his tenacity and his technique, which remain the two things the Vikings still need him to improve on.

Loadholt could stand to get into a little better shape coming in to the 2012 season, which would obviously help him with his quickness—he always does well when he gets his body onto the defender, but quicker, more aggressive ends are able to blow by him.

The Vikings desperately need to improve their offensive line next season, and while they'll find some help in the draft, they need Loadholt to step up his game and be a difference-maker on the right side of the line.

Chris Cook: Tightrope

The temptation here was to list first year coach Leslie Frazier, under, "In the Line of Fire," but instead we went with cornerback Chris Cook, who's been out of action since October when he was charged with domestic assault. 

It's no sure thing that Cook will ever play another down for the Vikings pending his legal matters, but if he does come back, it will be a huge upgrade for the Vikings secondary which has suffered through an abysmal season of injury, poor coaching and poor performance.

If Cook is given a second chance to play, he has to grow up and take it seriously. Professional athletes live under a microscope, it comes with the territory, and Cook needs to learn that and live up to the standards the Vikings organization expects from him.

On the field, Cook, the Vikings' first pick in the 2010 draft, was proving to be the strong cover cornerback the Vikings have been desperate for for years. He is a gifted athlete with excellent cover skills and was showing a much improved ability to play the ball in early part of the season. The Vikings secondary needs to be fixed for the team to improve into next season, and Cook can be a mainstay corner if he is with the team.