Friday's Offseason Links

I'll be continuing my look at possible solutions to the Vikings' problems on Monday with an in depth look at Donovan McNabb, the man many believe to be the Vikings' best option at quarterback, ahead of Derek Anderson, who I examined yesterday. I'll also being taking a look at the status of the Tarvaris Revolution and what that would entail for the Purple. I haven't ruled him out yet, and Gonzo at the Daily Norseman made an interesting comparison that helps to show why. Today, however, I figured I'd point yall toward some of the happenings around the internet.

• The Draft is coming. And the Bowls are almost over, which means that underclassmen have started to declare, a few of which may end up in Purple next year. So far, DeSean Jackson, a WR/KR from Cal, has declared, as have defensive ends Calais Campbell of Miami, Johnny Dingle of West Virginia and Derrick Harvey of Florida. E.J.'s little brother Erin, a linebacker who followed his brother to Maryland, has also declared.
  

• If you're looking for mock drafts, Chris Steuber has one at scout.com, and my personal favorite NFL draft site (because it's free!), nfldraftcountdown.com has one up as well. They have the Vikings taking DeSean Jackson and Derrick Harvey, respectively. The latter, however, hasn't been updated since December 20th, so it has the Vikings picking 19th, rather than 17th.
  

• The Vikings, according to Brad Childress, won't be building solely through the draft, however. Zygi Wilf has given him the greenlight to pursue free agents. He still considers the draft the primary way to build the team, a stance, I think, that is the correct one. Free Agency is too expensive, and there are too few quality free agents, for a team to rely on it to build their team. The primary talent should come through the draft, and free agency should be used to plug holes. Luckily for the Vikings, there are quite a few interesting free agents wide receivers and defensive ends this year, both of which I'll be looking at later on. (Quick Disclaimer on those last two links--they are not updated, which means that Randy Moss is not, I repeat, not, available via free agency).

• If you're something of a history buff, like myself, you'll really enjoy Mr. Cheer Or Die's look at a tremendous catch by the first Vikings' wide receiver to win the NFL's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.

• Finally, Leslie Frazier is interviewing for head coaching jobs. While I wish him the best, it'd be good if he stayed, and the Vikings defense had some continuity in its leadership. And, while this might sound wrong, I wonder how much his race, and the Rooney rule, has to do with teams interest? I would guess it played a major factor, mainly because the Vikings' defense really didn't improve from last year (in fact, the pass defense got worse). Of course, the whole point of the Rooney rule is to ensure that people like Frazier get a fair shake, so if that's the reason he gets to sit down and sell himself to Bill Parcells, that's fine by me.