Snatching Up All the Quality Free Agents

In case you missed it, the Vikings recently signed sixteen rookie free agents (and also invited a few players with local ties to come try out for a contract). And they did a good job of signing some quality players. NFL Draft Countdown listed their top 50 rookie free agents (based on their predraft rankings) and the Purple cleaned up, signing eight of them, including two in the top ten and Erin Henderson, the brother of starting middle linebacker E.J. Henderson and NFL Draft Countdown's top rookie free agent.

Vikings' Signees on the top 50 Rookie Free Agent List:
#1: Erin Henderson, OLB, Maryland
#6: Drew Radovich, OG, USC
#23. Darius Reynaud, WR, West Virginia
#27. Martail Burnett, DE, Utah
#28. J Leman, ILB, Illinois
#38. Marcus Griffin, S, Texas
#40. Kyle Wright, QB, Miami (FL)
#49. Steven Hauschka, K, North Carolina St.

And while many of these rookie free agents will end up on the practice squad or won't make the team at all, if you're going to bring in rookie free agents, might as well bring in the best, right?

Wrapping Up the Draft: Almost an Unqualified Success

The Vikings' draft was almost an unqualified success. They were able to draft players to add depth at almost all of the positions they needed to add depth at except tackle, and they ignored a position, tight end, where they have depth but don't have any quality players And while I'm not happy that the Vikings didn't draft a tight end that might actually be worth throwing to, the fact that they didn't draft a tackle means they didn't add any depth to the position at which they'll likely need depth the soonest.

After trading their fourth round pick to draft Tyrell Johnson, who was perhaps the top safety in the draft, I wrote that the Purple's trade cost them a draft pick they would need if they wanted to find players at all of their positions of need, specifically focusing on quarterbacks that were likely to be gone by the fifth round. I was wrong that the Vikings wouldn't have their choice of quarterbacks, as Andre Woodson, Josh Johnson and John David Booty were all available to the Vikings in the fifth round (or, at least, were available after the Vikings moved up). I was right, however, about the fact that the Purple traded away their chance to add depth at all the positions they needed to, as they missed the chance to pick up any of the three tackles that were available with their pick in the fourth round and were off the board by the time they went on the clock in the fifth round.

While I liked seeing the Purple pick up the eventual successor for Pat Williams late in the fifth round (Letroy Guion from Florida State) and the successor for Matt Birk (John Sullivan from Notre Dame) and a wide receiver with punt return experience (Jaymar Johnson from Jacksonville State) in the sixth round, I'm not sure that I like the choice of John David Booty as the Vikings' developmental quarterback. While Booty has the accuracy and ability to make all the reads needed in the West Coast offense, he is a pocket passer and doesn't have that good of an arm. His upside is that of a league average quarterback, unlike Andre Woodson and Josh Johnson, who could both turn into stars, as they both have similar accuracy, ability to run an offense and combine that with a good arm and the ability to make plays with their feet. And neither Woodson or Johnson are likely to inspire any awful jokes. If anything, I think Johnson was probably the best developmental quarterback available, due to his speed and arm strength. Like Tarvaris, he played for a 1-AA school, but unlike Tarvaris, he was statisically dominate, completing 68% of his passes in his 3+ years of starting and throwing 43 touchdowns to 2 interceptions his senior year. And he had a good coach with NFL experience in Jim Harbaugh.

So while the Vikings may have answered the questions about who will succeed Darren Sharper, Pat Williams and Matt Birk and picked up a receiver that can return punts, they left open the question as to who will step into the lineup if Bryant McKinnie is suspended for four games or if Ryan Cook doesn't improve and they choose the developmental quarterback with the least upside. So while it's something of a waste of time to try and grade a draft immediately after it's completed, the Vikings choice not to draft a tackle and to pick Booty over Woodson and Johnson mean that the Purple won't receive an "A" from me, but the depth they added at other positions and the fact that Jacksonville gave up more draft picks to move up and draft Derrick Harvey than the Vikings did to trade for Jared Allen means that the Purple's draft was still relatively successful.

Mixed Feelings About Tyrell

I'm of two minds about the Vikings' decision to trade their fourth round pick (117th overall) to move up in the second round and draft Tyrell Johnson, a 6'0", 206lb safety from Arkansas State. I like the addition of Tyrell (yes, I will be referring to him by his awesome middle name and I might even break out his equally cool first name, Marcellous, sometimes), but I'm not sure I like the fact that the Vikings gave up their fourth round pick in order to get him.

First, let's talk about the newest Viking. Tyrell Johnson is big, he's fast and he may just have been the best safety available in the draft. The Vikings clearly need a safety who'll be ready to step in and replace Darren Sharper when age finally catches up to him (even ageless ones, like the soon to be 33 year old Sharper, get old sometimes) and Tyrell Johnson will probably be ready to do so by the end of this year, if not sooner. Tyrell is perfect for the Cover-2, combining the best aspects of the free and strong safety positions, able to both bring the pain and with good coverage instincts, great closing speed and good hands. He's also will be able to step in and help out on special teams right away, yet another reason why he'll fit in well in Purple.

What I don't like about the Vikings' first day at the draft is the fact that they gave up their fourth round pick in order to move up. I understand that the Vikings likely needed to do so in order to select Tyrell, what with safety hungry Chicago, Detroit and Cincinnati waiting to draft Tyrell before the 47th pick. The thing is, the Purple have other needs that they need to address besides safety and even if Tyrell wasn't going to be available to them at the 47th pick, they could have used that choice to draft a wide receiver, tight end, offensive lineman or even a defensive tackle, which are all positions that the Vikings need depth at. Also, by trading away their fourth round pick, the Vikings gave away the chance to add another player at one of those positions, or at quarterback, a position that the Vikings have no plan at aside from Tarvaris Jackson. I like Tyrell Johnson, but I'm just not so sure I like him more than Martellus Bennett and Andre Woodson (or Josh Johnson, or a defensive tackle, etc).

The Second Round--A Left Tackle or Tight End Please

Luckily for the Vikings, whether or not their draft is a success this year won't just come down to whether or not they are able to turn their second round pick into a productive player. The Purple have had quite a bit of success with their fourth round picks over the last few years, drafting Brian Robison and Ray Edwards the last two years and they were also able to find useful players like Mewelde Moore, Ontarrio Smith and Brian Williams in that round.

That being said, their second round pick, being their first, is the one that will be the most visible and the one that is most likely to turn into an impact player. By acquiring Jared Allen, the Vikings eliminated one of their needs (rendering this post moot), but they still have quite a few holes, and the 47th pick should be able to get them a player that will help fill one of them.

At this point, the Vikings' biggest need is on the offensive line, specifically tackle and center. Both Steve Hutchinson and Artis Hicks should be around at guard for a few more years, but the same cannot be said about Bryant McKinnie, Ryan Cook and Matt Birk. Cook is nominally Birk's replacement, but whether the Vikings want to hand him the position without any competition after his struggles at right tackle is a whole 'nother question. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Purple draft a center this year, but that's not a position that most teams draft for in the second round (Let's all just ignore what round Cook was drafted in right now, ok? Thanks). That means if the Vikings are going to address their line in the second round, they're likely going to do so by drafting an offensive tackle.

There are four tackles that I've seen going in the second round of the mock drafts: Sam Baker, (6'5", 309 lb) from USC, Duane Brown, (6'5", 300 lb) from Virginia Tech, Anthony Collins, (6'6" 308lb) from Kansas and Oniel Cousins, (6'4", 315lb) from UTEP. Baker is held in the highest regard, which isn't surprising, considering he held down the left tackle position at USC for four years, earning all kinds of accolades. If he somehow falls all the way to the Vikings, he should be their pick. Brown, Collins and Cousins were all impressive in college as well, but were not at the same level as Baker. They all need to improve their technique, footwork and strength, as well as show greater aggression. Brown seems to the best of the group, but at this point, differentiating between them isn't something I can do--they all have potential and with the right coaching, anyone of them could be a good tackle.

If Baker isn't available and the Purple don't want to use a pick on a developmental tackle, they should look to tight end as the next position to address. As the Eagles and L.J. Smith have shown, a good, pass catching tight end makes the West Coast Offense a lot more dangerous, and Visanthe Shiancoe has not given any one much of a reason to believe he can become a good, pass catching tight end in his five years in the NFL. There are three good tight ends that are projected to go in the second round, Dustin Keller from Purdue, Martellus Bennett from Texas A&M and John Carlson from Litchfield, MN...I mean Notre Dame. I wrote about them earlier, and while Keller seems the most likely to be able to step in and make an impact as a rookie, I think the Vikings should take a long look at Martellus Bennett. He's the perfect height for a tight end (6'7"), has great hands and, while still learning the game since giving up basketball, has all the speed (4.68 forty) and athletic ability that a dominate tight end (he declared for the NBA draft out of high school) should have. I'm not a big fan of Carlson, but I can't tell if its because he isn't an elite athlete for his position, because his stats dropped like a rock after Brady Quinn left or because I tend to judge Minnesotans harshly because I don't want to overrate them because they're from Minnesota. Either way, I'd rather have Keller or Bennett and I think I'd probably pass on Carlson even if he was the only tight end available.

If the Vikings don't like the left tackles and tight ends on the board when they draft, I think, as I just hinted, it's time to grab the best player available at any position, with an emphasis on cornerbacks, wide receivers and safeties, in that order. I would look at cornerback first, because, as the saying goes, you can never have enough corners, especially when your top three corners are two young guys that looked a little too shaky last year in Marcus McCauley and Cedric Griffin and a soon to be 31 year old that missed six games because of injury last year in Antoine Winfield. If the Purple prefer the wide receivers left, they should make sure to draft one with punt return experience, something that no one on their roster currently has any NFL experience with. Earl Bennet (6'1", 205lbs) from Vanderbilt, Eddie Royal (5'11", 182lbs) from Virginia Tech and Donnie Avery (5'11", 186lbs) from Houston all spent time fielding punts in college and might be available with the 47th pick. The last position I'd look to in the second round is safety. While the Vikings need a successor for Darren Sharper, the Purple plan on competing this year and should try to use their highest pick to pick up a player that can impact this season. Michael Boulware provides them the depth they need to cover an injury at safety and there are enough capable safeties in the draft that they can likely find a successor to groom in the later rounds. That being said, if the Purple decide to draft a safety, Tyrelle Johnson (6'0", 198lbs) from Arkansas State would be the best choice. DaJuan Morgan (6'1", 205lbs) from North Carolina State is likely to be the only safety available with the 47th pick, however, and he's a question mark, as he was only a starter as a junior and sat out his senior year because of a hip injury. He has a ton of talent, but is very unproven.

Finally, I would stay away from a quarterback in the second round, because now is not the time to put that kind of pressure on Tarvaris Jackson. If the Vikings want to accomplish their goals next year, they need Tarvaris to be good and bringing in a second rounder will put pressure on him in a way that will likely hurt his ability to play well. If the Purple want to use a 4th, 5th or 6th rounder on a quarterback to develop, that's fine, but their second round pick should be used to address another position. Brad Childress has hitched his fortunes to Tarvaris Jackson and this is the year he finds out if he was right to do so. Let's all hope he was.

Alternate History and Some Solid Links

So you know, while I didn't get a wide receiver profile up at all (sometimes...and I mean sometimes, work comes first), I will be posting a "Second Round Preview" this afternoon. I'm still working on it, but it's mostly written. Before I do that (and I'll hopefully be posting during the draft--that depends a lot on the girlfriend's plans for the weekend), I thought I'd put up some links to articles worth reading (mostly on the Jared Allen trade) and tell you who I'd have wanted the Vikings to draft if they still had the 17th pick. I think it's worth doing, mainly so that when my top choices go well before the 17th pick, I'll feel even better about the Vikings deal for Allen (if that's even possible).

The First Round Draft Board:
1. Derrick Harvey, DE-Florida
Harvey is the best defensive end available that might actually make it to the 17th pick. Absent Jared Allen, he would have been the clear choice for the Vikings, filling their most glaring need with a talented pass rusher.

2. Ryan Clady, OT-Boise State
Clady might be the best offensive tackle left on the board, now that Jake Long has been signed by the Dolphins. I don't think there's a chance he'll make it to the 17th pick, but if I was the Vikings, and he was there, he would have been an easy choice to fill in for Bryant McKinnie during his suspension and then hopefully replace Ryan Cook at right tackle.

3. Chris Williams, OT-Vanderbilt
Williams is going to be a very, very good left tackle, because he's quick, has long arms and very good technique. His weakness is his strength, which he should be able to improve upon once he gets into an NFL strength program, but that's not as big a deal at left tackle, where most of the players he'd be blocking rely on their speed, not their strength. If the Vikings had picked him, they could have shopped McKinnie and been perfectly comfortable.

4. Jeff Otah, OT-Pittsburgh
Otah is seen as having the highest upside of any tackle on the board. The problem, of course, is that he might not realize his potential. He'd be the riskiest pick of any of the tackles for the Vikings, who likely need someone to fill in for McKinnie this year, and who would, ideally, be able to overtake Ryan Cook for the right tackle position. Otah might end up being the best tackle this draft produces, but he also might not be ready to play this year, which is why he doesn't fit into the Vikings' plans as well.

5. Phillip Merling, DE-Clemson
If Merling wasn't coming off of sports hernia surgery, I'd likely have him higher up on my board. He was able to work out for teams before the draft, but I'm not sure I'd want to take the risk, especially because Merling seems to be more of an Udeze type, rather than someone who can consistently get to the quarterback.

6. Devin Thomas, WR-Michigan State
Thomas is the best wide receiver that might be available to the Vikings, and the only one I'd consider drafting in the first round, mainly because he also has the ability to return punts and kicks. He's raw, and there's questions as to whether his great junior year was a fluke, but he's got all the skills and athleticism a wide receiver needs, and can contribute right away as a punt and kick returner. That being said, wide receivers are a risky pick in the first round.

7. Mike Jenkins, CB-South Florida
You can put Leodis McKelvin, a corner back from Troy or Aqib Talib, a corner back from Kansas (if you don't mind the marijuana use) here as well if you'd like, depending on which one is available. All three seem like they will turn into quality corner backs in the NFL, but the Vikings would have needed a player at a different position more, and likely would have been able to pick up a tackle or defensive end with the seventeenth pick, although McKelvin might have been a sleeper choice if he fell to the Purple, because he is a solid punt returner.

Judging the Allen Deal:
Most people thought the deal was a good one, from the folks at Pacifist Viking, to Gonzo at the Daily Norseman. DC at Grant's Tomb was happy, as was the Vikes Geek and Kevin Seifert and Patrick Reusse from the Star Tribune were quite excited about Zygi Wilf shelling out the cash to bring in Allen. Don Banks from Sports Illustrated likes the deal, especially if, as he reports the Vikings don't have to worry about Allen getting suspended for a year if he doesn't get in trouble before September, although Peter King thinks that Allen would still face a suspension if he violates the NFL Player Conduct Policy. Pro Football Reference used their "approximate value method" to evaluate the deal and they found that Allen is likely to out perform any of the players picked with the choices the Purple gave up and will likely out perform all three of them combined.

Quick Draft Links:
Cold, Hard Football Facts had an article breaking down the success rate of various positions, and found some interesting things out, including the fact that defensive ends chosen in the first round from 1978 had the lowest percentage make the Pro Bowl of any position. They had the sixth best rate of starting for five years for the team that drafted them (a 60% rate). Yet another reason to like the Allen trade--the Vikings might have gotten a starter for five years at defensive end, but odds are they wouldn't have been able to get a Pro Bowler with their first round pick.

Brett Favre is going to be on the cover of Madden '09. Maybe this means he'll come back after Jared Allen hurts Aaron Rogers in the first game, only to get destroyed by the cover curse. Or maybe he'll fade away gracefully into retirement. The former is definitely more likely.

Kissing Suzy Kolber is going to be live blogging the draft, so if you're watching, have a laptop and need some entertainment, definitely go there (after checking to see if I've posted, of course...). Also, fellow Viking fan Big Daddy Drew made a case for watching the Draft that I agree with whole heartedly.

The Return of the Purple People Eaters

I'll be honest-it took me a while to figure out how to start this post out. And, as you may be able to tell, I failed to come up with anything good. I'm going to cut myself a break here though, since the Vikings just acquired Jared Allen for their first round pick and both of their third round picks and made him the highest paid defensive player in the NFL.

That's right-the Purple now have the best defensive end in the NFL. Yup, that'll go nicely with their two Pro Bowl tackles, two young and talented defensive ends and their Pro Bowl caliber middle linebacker. Obviously Brett Favre knew something we didn't when he retired, because opposing quarterbacks are going to get destroyed when they face the Purple. I don't think I can express how excited I am about being able to finally watch the Purple actually get to opposing quarterbacks, something they haven't really been able to do since I really started following the Vikings in 1998. Heck, my friends and I still have a running joke about Kurt Warner getting in trouble with his "wife" for spending so much time checking out girls in the stands whenever he dropped back to pass against the Vikings in the 1999 playoffs.

But that's all in the past, because a defensive line of Allen, the Williams and Ray Edwards/Brian Robison will be almost impossible to stop. With that kind of pressure, the Vikings secondary is suddenly very good, since they wont have to cover for very long at all. Somehow, I see Darren Sharper's interception totals going up.

Now, I understand people's concerns about this deal. A first round pick and two third round picks is a lot to give up, especially for a player with previous violations of the NFL Personnel Conduct Policy. I discussed the various scenarios that I'd heard in an earlier post, and while I think that Rick Spielman and the Vikings' draft gurus would have been able to turn their third rounders into solid players, the Vikings' success rate with third round picks is very low. Since 2000, the Vikings have drafted Doug Chapman (2000-RB), Eric Kelly (2001-CB), Willie Offord (2002-SS), Nate Burleson (2003-WR), Darrion Scott (2004-DE), Dustin Fox (2005-CB) and Marcus McCauley (2007-CB). Offord was the only one that lasted more than four years with the Vikings, Burleson was the only one that started and McCauley is the only third rounder left on the team. So would I be willing to trade McCauley and Burleson for the right to draft Allen with the 17th pick (which, in essence, is what the Vikings are doing)? I certainly would. And I'd trade Dustin Fox and Doug Chapman for that right in a heartbeat.

And I'm not too worried about the money that the Vikings are shelling out for Allen either. While making him the third highest player in the NFL, with a six year contract worth just under $74 million, with just under $31,000,069 guaranteed is a big deal, the Vikings seem to have the cap room. And I'm willing to trust that Zygi Wilf and the Vikings put an extensive amount of time looking into Allen's claims that he hasn't had a drink since his second DUI in 2006 and his character and believe he's reformed. It is their money after all.

The Vikings now have a Super Bowl caliber pass defense. They already had a Super Bowl caliber run defense and running attack. If Tarvaris Jackson can become a league average quarterback, they are a Super Bowl contender, something they haven't been able to say going into the season in a long time. It's going to be a really fun season, that's for sure.

[I'm going to try and have a profile of the wide receivers the Vikings might draft in the second round up this afternoon, so check back and find out what the Purple might do with the only draft pick they have left in the first three rounds.]

How Jared Allen Ruined the Draft

Unlike some Vikings' fans, I wasn't having any trouble getting excited about the draft. I can understand why some Vikings' fans might not be too excited, but I like thinking about and debating various draft prospects, and strategies, even when they're somewhat unexciting, like a left tackle, or a safety. And its hard to get excited for the seventeenth pick, with so many variables built in, unlike last year, when it was just a matter of deciding which of the top seven players you liked best.

That all changed when the news broke about Jared Allen. Once I realized that acquiring Allen was a strong possibility, it became too hard to care about whether Derrick Harvey will fall to the seventeenth pick, or if the Vikings would pass on a stud tackle, like Chris Williams, in favor of a player that fits their need, but has just under gone surgery (Phillip Merling). I don't really want to go through possible second round picks, because I'd rather the Vikings give up their second rounder if it meant adding a proven star at defensive end. It's not easy doing a write up on second round defensive backs that might improve the Vikings secondary when you'd rather have Allen improve the Vikings secondary by consistently getting to the quarterback.

Jared Allen is the piece that can transform the Vikings' pass defense from a lower tier unit (23rd overall in defensive passer rating) into one of the best in the league. That would give the Vikings the best running offense, the best running defense and one of the best passing defenses. All that would need to happen at that point for the Vikings to be a legit Super Bowl contender, is for Tarvaris Jackson to turn into an average quarterback, something that should be easy to do when he's throwing the ball to Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice and Bobby Wade (I'm serious. If the Giants and their average secondary, average quarterback, good running game and amazing defensive line can win the Super Bowl, so can the Vikings). For the Vikings to be Super Bowl contenders without Allen, they'd need a lot more to go right besides Tarvaris Jackson improving. And that's why I'm not excited about the draft any more and why I'm going to be really angry if the Chiefs aren't reasonable (Someone please explain to me how the #17 pick, the 73rd pick and next year's second round pick isn't reasonable) and the Vikings don't end up with Allen playing right end for them next year.