Vikings Draft Recap

By J. Gudy and Jeff Kamp

Hey all What we’re going to be doing here is taking the Vikings draft apart pick by pick providing our own commentary on each and every one. Here we go.

Round 1, Pick 17 – Chad Greenway, LB, Iowa

Jeff Kamp: I absolutely love this pick. Before his poor 40 time at the combine, he could have been a top-10 pick and there was some doubt that he would be available at 17. It’s amazing to me just how much stock is placed on some of these “measurables” at pro days and the combine. It seems as though some football people fall in love with work-out warriors and people who can run fast when not in pads as opposed to people who prove it game in and game out on the field. Greenway proves it and immediately upgrades the weakest point of the defense. It’s nice when a pick is able to cover both best player available and a big need for the team.

J. Gudy: I agree that this was a fantastic pick. I wouldn't have minded trading up to get one of the "Marquee 3" at QB, but the team decided to go in a different direction, and for the time being, I can't complain. From what I've heard, Greenway will fit perfectly into the new Tampa-2 system, and this pick serves to make the NFC North probably the deepest division at LB in all of football. Huzzah and Huzzah!

Round 2, Pick 16 – Cedric Griffin, CB, Texas

J.G: The following is the extent of my knowledge concerning Cedric Griffin: "..............................................................." With that said, I don't think this was too bad of a pick. Many of the experts absolutely love this pick, and at least he could develop into a decent insurance policy, Brian Williams type of player for Fred Smoot, who I have doubts will fit right into the Vikes' system, especially with the character issues. However, the downside is that Griffin was the first pick of what could have been Abdul Hodge.

JK: I don’t know that Hodge would have been my pick here. I might have waited for the other second round pick. I like the Griffin pick since the Vikings need a nickel/injury replacement CB and he could develop into that guy.

JG: I'm not saying that Hodge should've been the pick here, I'm just voicing my overall displeasure of not drafting him after orignally having 2 2nd round picks, and 2 3rd round picks.

Round 2, Pick 19 – Ryan Cook, C, New Mexico

JK: The biggest question I have here is “Why?” Everything that I’ve seen on him has said that he was a fourth or a fifth round pick at best. Also, if the team needs a back-up center (which is a possibility due to Birk’s recent health issues), then why not go for Greg Eslinger? He won the Outland Trophy, which is given for the best interior lineman in the nation and could have been taken in the fourth or fifth round instead of taking a 6-7 center (who will be taller than the QB he’ll be directly in front of) with a second round pick. Oh, yeah, I forgot: measurables. *sigh*

JG: I'm hearing that Cook isn't going to be at center for very long. The team supposedly likes him at guard, which would make him an insurance policy if Marcus Johnson doesn't pan out on the right side. If we could get right tackle figured out, because I'm not a big Rosenthal guy, that's a pretty formidable offensive line. I also would lend credence to the theory that he's not really going to be playing a lot of center because the team signed Jason Whittle, who will be backing up all of the positions on the line. Or something.

JK: I like Johnson on the right side if he can get the mental mistakes down a little bit. There were too many false starts for my liking, but the dude was a rookie. Hopefully a lot of those will be taken care of and he can learn to mirror Hutchinson leaving right tackle the only real question mark on the line.

Round 2, Pick 32 – Tarvaris Jackson, QB, Alabama State

JG: I'm not really sure words can do me any justice to describe how much I disliked this pick when I first heard about it. Just like Cook, this guy projected to be a 2nd-day type of player, and we took him in the 2nd round. I was a big Brodie Croyle guy going into the draft, and this really disappointed me. With that said, we've been talking about how teams put way too much emphasis on workouts and various numbers. It appears that the Vikes identified their players early, went after them, and got them. I will give them credit for that. Jackson looks to be the same type of player as Donovan McNabb, and that worked out pretty well when Childress was in Philly, so I guess I'll have to reserve judgment for a couple of years so we can see how Croyle and Jackson have panned out.

JK: I agree about letting time pass until we are able to pass judgment. I heard an interview with his college QB coach (contrary to Coach Childress’ comments, he did have one) and according to the coach, Jackson has “the strongest arm [he’s] ever seen.” The coach spent eight years in the NFL as a backup QB, so that’s saying something. Of course, it’s like asking an Iowa fan for an assessment of Greenway, but still…

Round 4, Pick 30 – Ray Edwards, DE, Purdue

JK: Not a bad pick at this point in the draft. The Vikings don’t need a huge amount of help at DE since they have Udeze, James and Scott all returning, but if this young man can get his head on straight and listen to his coaching, he could be a steal. Of course, I think we said some of the same things about Dimitrius Underwood.

JG: I think this gets chalked up as an insurance pick for Udeze mostly. I get the vibe that the staff is more than a little concerned about his injury history. This was probably the perfect coaching staff for Edwards to get drafted by, so I think this will turn out pretty good for us.

Round 5, Pick 16 – Greg Blue, S, Georgia

JG: I know slightly less about him than I do about Cedric Griffin. If he's a capable safety though, I already like him better than Willie Offord. So that's a plus.

JK: First of all, I’d like to point out that Willie was playing fairly well before he was injured last season. Blue looks to be a pretty decent value pick here. Georgia seems to me to be a pretty good program. Because, you know, I’m an expert in college football…

Round 6 – Pick traded to Philadelphia for Artis Hicks

JK: I don’t necessarily mind going this route. Hicks already has pro experience, which can’t be said for any of the picks in the draft. He’s still young at only 27 and he has the versatility to have played three different positions last year for the Eagles. The Vikings needed some offensive line help on the right side and Hicks gives that to them.

JG: You can never have too much depth on the offensive line. It's brutal down there during games, and people (read Matt Birk) are constantly getting injuired. He should be ready to compete, and take a little pressure off of projects Cook and Marcus Johnson.

Round 7 – Pick traded during 2005 season to San Diego for Toniu Fonoti

JG: Basically, it comes down to Fonoti was a gamble that didn't pay off. We didn't have to pay too much for him, but it would have been nice to have this pick to float on a really big project type of player, preferably a WR, RB, or QB. Marcus Vick keeps echoing in my head, but he went undrafted, and probably won't do anything in the NFL ever. Scrolling through the 7th round picks, there were a few WRs taken, a couple of RBs, and a QB. At this point, I think a project would be more valuable to the Vikes than Fonoti was last year. But that's a risk you have to take sometimes.

JK: I didn’t mind the gamble that the Vikings made in picking him up. With the signing of Hutchinson, he became expendable since they play on the same side (no idea if Fonoti would have been capable of switching to the right side). At the same time, I would have liked to see them make an effort to re-sign him. He was coming off of a bad season in which he was probably rushed back from injury and was completely not in football shape, but the team was in desperate need of offensive line help (which I would contend was the offense’s biggest problem and not Daunte – well, that and coaching).

Post Draft – Firing of (now) former football front-office fellow, Fran Foley

JK: I liked this move. For one thing, he didn’t run a very good draft and, according to reports, he seemed to be not very well liked within the organization along with having pulled an O’Leary. Besides which, in the interviews that I had heard him give, he rubbed me the wrong way.

JG: I never really liked him either. I'm not sure what the difference between teams that just have a GM and a Coach, and this triangle of power stuff, but it didn't seem to ever work for the Vikings. What is it with the Vikings and coaches who embellish on their resumes? First George O'Leary, and now Foley. Can the Vikings get anymore screwed up as an organization. I don't think I'd be surprised to hear of anything coming out of winter park...

JK: In fairness to the team, O'Leary was prior to coming to the Vikings. Hopefully the organization's supposed focus on integrity will take care of some of these issues. From what I've heard, there were a lot of people in the NFL that were suprized that Foley was the pick for the position. I'm really hoping that they give the position to Studwell. We'd still have the triangle, but we'd have the scout (Studwell), the financial guy (Brzezinski) and the coach (Childress). I really like Brzezinski in his current post since he's been very good for the Vikings cap. That was mainly due to Red not letting Brzezinski do much, but he managed it well. I'd now like to buy a vowel.