FanPost

What if?


I stumbled upon this article from Viking Update and I was reminded of the rumors back in 2010 that the Vikings were interested in selecting Florida QB Tim Tebow with the 30th pick in the NFL draft. At the time I didn't buy into the rumor, mainly because I didn't have Tebow as a 1st round prospect. But secretly I was sweating it because Childress and Spielman had botched a few picks before and I knew how much time they spent in Florida the year before while courting Percy Harvin.

Well fast forward 1 and a half years and Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos are coming to town so I thought now was as good a time as any to bring it up. After the jump I have highlited the parts of the article where John Holler unleashes his Tim Tebow theory.

Sunday will be Tebow’s first visit to Minnesota, but, if my suspicions are correct, I believe that Tebow would be making approximately his 10th Metrodome start if Josh McDaniels hadn’t have jumped in the way.

I have to preface my Tebow theory on facial reaction. I’m a good poker player because I’m pretty adept at reading people. When the Broncos pulled the trigger on Tebow with the 25th pick, the Vikings were sitting at No. 30. ...

There had been speculation that someone might roll the dice on Tebow, but the prevailing thought was that his slide could last well into the second round. After he went off the board, the Vikings started working the phones to trade out of the 30th spot. When Viking Update was in the post-pick interview throng with Rick Spielman and Brad Childress, both admitted that the team started talking to other teams “three of four picks before our pick came up.” While Mike Tice could have learned something from that thought process, it brought up the red flag as to the timing – the trade chatter started when Tebow went off the board.

I asked both Childress and Spielman about their reaction to Tebow going to the Broncos and both of them gave a “tell,” as they say in the poker world. Both seemed to react to the mention of his name and both were highly complimentary of the Broncos for having the courage to take Tebow that high, not the collective head scratching going on in other war rooms.

The more I thought about those reactions, the more I became convinced.

Throw into the mix that the Vikings already had Tebow’s Florida teammate Percy Harvin, who became an electrifying open-field player catching passes and taking pitches from Tebow, and things might have been much different. For an offense to succeed with a Tebow-style approach, you would need a power back capable of 20 or more carries. The Vikings were one of the few teams that could offer that with Adrian Peterson already establishing himself as the game’s premier running back.

Are you convinced?

This FanPost was created by a registered user of The Daily Norseman, and does not necessarily reflect the views of the staff of the site. However, since this is a community, that view is no less important.