I’ve been giddy about our pick ups since Saturday evening. I couldn’t have hoped for a better draft. In a somewhat ideal fashion I think we got the best player on the board at positions we actually needed help filling.

I know a lot of people like the Harvin pick (I’m not a fan, as you know if you’ve read my posts in the past) but Imagine if we had got Oher AND Loadholt?!? I mean, going o-line with the first two picks would not have been necessary, but imagine the ridiculous depth we’d have there??? O-line would have been set for a WHILE.

Overall though, I’m very happy with the purple and gold draft. Now let’s hope Harvin doesn’t disappoint.

I can’t wait to see TJack come into maturity with his new weapon!

I do feel that Harvin is the perfect type of receiver the Vikes need for catching from a TJ type QB. Someone who can catch the dump-off passes and score from anywhere. I was not for drafting a receiver with the first pick before the draft, but I am quickly coming around.

Percy Harvin = B+
Phil Loadholt = A-
Asher Allen = A
Jasper Brinkley = B-

Harvin is growing on me, but I still think a trade up for Maclin might have been a better option. If Harvin’s off the field issues or injuries bite us in the rear, we are going to be wishing we hadn’t made this pick.

Loadholt does not match our blocking scheme very well, but he is certainly a good anchor at RT.

The more I hear about this Allen kid, the more I like him. He might be the steal of the draft for us.

Brinkley plays to our strengths, but also has our weaknesses. He is great at stuffing the run, yet iffy in coverage. If he was brought in for special teams specifically, he might be a liability.

Except for getting rid of two picks for Brinkley. He sounds pretty one-dimensional, and his one dimension (stopping the run) is already pretty well addressed on our defense.

But as always with the draft, we won’t know for sure for a very, very long time.

This draft was a boondogle for us. Welcome, Percy, Phil, Asher and Jasper!

Brinkley is a one-dimensional linebacker, for sure. What do you expect in the fifth round, anyhow? He’ll play a significant role as the fourth linebacker in goal-line situations, where his one dimension—running downhill with outstanding power—is exactly what’s needed. Our other backup linebackers, Erin Henderson and Heath Farwell, are smaller and quicker, but less well-suited to smashing fullbacks behind the line of scrimmage. He’ll help on special teams, too.

Allen sounds very much like the sort of corner we want in our huddle. He’ll challenge for the nickle spot right away, and a few years down the line might replace the irreplacable Winfield. Solid pick on the promising underclassman.

Phil Loadholt was probably the best pure RT in the draft. LTs usually get drafted way before their strongside bretheren. Yeah, Oher probably has more potential, but not a whole round more. Besides, if we picked Oher, we wouldn’t get the next guy…

Percy Harvin has the potential to touch the ball 8 times in a game for 120 yards. He fills a role in our offense, too. Hogwash with those “Chilly won’t know how to use him!” whines. How do you use him? Quick slants, bubble-screens, end-arounds, the occasional streak route, and as a third-down back. Maybe the Wildcat, too, if it’s not passe by October. See, the problem with the other receivers in this draft is that they’d be challenging Berrian or Rice for their spots—traditional #1 and #2 receivers, you know? Those guys take a few years to adjust to the complexity of NFL playbooks, routes, and coverage-reading. Rice is still learning how to do it, the young pup. Harvin will be asked to do something else entirely. Yeah, Wade’s great in the slot—there’s no receiver in the NFL, except for maybe Hines Ward, who throws more bone-crushing blocks—but he’ not a home-run threat, really. Harvin is, every time he touches the ball. Even with his unpolished route-running, he’s a rare talent. His skill set is actually pretty well-tailored to the KAO’s melange of short stuff that goes nowhere when the fast-but-hardly-elusive Berrian takes a WR-screen. Finally, we can field a 3-WR set that scares defenses not only out of the 8-man box, but into the nickle defense. Perhaps we’ll finally see an offense that is truly kick-ass.

Sage Rosenfels is essentially the 4th round pick. If he starts, along with Harvin, Loadholt, and Asher Allen, that would be 4 starters, and it would have to deserve an A, at least initially.

I’ll give it a B.

Harvin: I’ve done 180s on this guy for a long time. I’m concerned about his intelligence, but the further you play from the ball, the less important that is. Keep in mind before the ganja stuff came out and the (I believe strange) character questions (he was considered a good citizen/teammate at Florida until about 2 weeks before the draft; could’ve been a team trying something), the whole he’s-a-Florida-receiver-who-hasn’t-played-a-pro-style-role question was the big one around Harvin (along with his durability). That’s kind of gotten pushed to the periphery, but it’s still apropos. But, most scouts, including ones I really respect, consider him a special talent. And I like that he seems to love to mix it up in the middle of the field, making him a perfect slot guy. If he can prove to be a threat, he’ll not only help TJack/Sage and be the first reciever in the KAO’s history who can actually turn it upfield after taking a 3-yard pass, but he’ll stretch the defense horizontally, helping everyone on the offense. Sidney Rice could soon consider him the greatest thing that’s happened to his career.

Loadholt: I think this is a very solid pick, and probably underrated by the national media types, as I get the feeling the Vikings’ O-Line issues aren’t recognized nationally. I’m coming around to him. He’s actually an impressive athlete considering his size. It’s not like he looks like Nate Newton. He actually kind of looks like a basketball power forward. (Although he has had weight concerns before). He’s just been burned off the snap by the Orakpos of the world because he lacks elite initial burst; once he gets out of his stance he’s pretty impressive to watch move. OTOH, he did play out of the 2-point stance a bit at OU, so let’s hope moving to the 3-point stance full time doesn’t make this worse. Outside of the obvious things to like about him (size, run blocking), Spielman said 3 things stood out about him: his passion for the game, his long arms, and his ability to get to the second level after working a combo block. That last point is one of the distinguishing characteristics of zone blocking, so I think the Vikings think they can use him in the system. Although I can’t say for sure how often the Vikings utilize the ZBS compared to other teams (I believe every team utilizes it in varying degrees, even the Steelers do it once in a while, while the Texans and Packers use it as their base; I think the Vikings are somewhere in between.) Although with McKinney, Loadholt, and potentially Cook at Center, the Vikings may need to find a 6’7" quarterback. :)

Allen: I like that he can hit and tackle. As more and more elements of the spread continue to infiltrate the NFL, corners that can tackle in the open field are going to be more and more necessary, while pure cover guys who only arm tackle are going to get neutralized. And he’s a kick return stud, which is a big time need. The knocks on him are size (although in this draft, outside of Vontae Davis, which CB isn’t 5’9"-5’10" with an iffy 40?) and perhaps lack of elite speed (although he claims he ran a 4.31 at his pro day). And he hasn’t made ball plays or shown good hands, although he had an injured hand last year, so the jury’s still out on that. The fact he played exclusively man-to-man is good for his prospects as a nickel back, which is an important, underrated position these days. Plus, personally, I like the style of the Georgia Bulldogs defense: usually smaller guys, but very fast, tough, and aggressive. He was taken in the midst of a CB run in the 3rd, so whether he can prove to be one of the better ones, we’ll see. Many seem to think if he stayed in school he was a potential 1st rounder next year, FWIW.

Brinkley: Not sure about his one. He could maybe be good in special teams, but if he can’t function as the MLB in the 4-3, not sure how much upside he brings. Maybe the lack of instincts knock is being oversold in the Vikings’ opinion, or they think they can teach him coverage skills. Could be an option on goal line situations.

Sanford: Safeties seem to either go early or late in the draft. So maybe there’s value here, as once the elite guys at the position go, teams tend to ignore the 2nd tier while they grab 2nd tier guys at other positions. Potential character problem, but they needed depth.

Overall, I love how they really attacked their needs: playmaking/speed on offense, cornerback, kick returners, special teams help, and, of course, RT. Also, whether by luck or design, they played the runs perfectly: they were among the first in line for all the WRs in round 1, among the first in line for the 2nd-tier OTs, and they were in the mix when CBs started going fast and furious in round 3.

I wonder if that is because the Vikes only had 5 picks? Loadholt’s lack of acceleration could hurt, too, although I like the pick just fine.

Anyone think that maybe Harvin’s positive test was all part of a clever scheme to make sure he didn’t end up on a team like the Raiders?

Think about it, you are the most explosive playmaker in the draft, but you don’t want to be on a team that sucks.

You have been without issue for almost 4 years, looking at your options and dreading the idea of being a Raider. Then the week before your urine test you get the brilliant idea that a positive test for pot will drop your stock, but not bring you out of the first round.

He had no issues for a long time, then all of a sudden he tests positive?