Well with the draft set to begin in less than 3 hours, I figured it would be too late to pump out a last minute mock. So I thought I would be fun to go back and review all the mocks that I did this season thus far. I had forgot that the 3-13 season had afforded me the opportunity to start mocking as early as November; what else was I to do to lift spirits?

So after the jump I included a season's worth of mocks. Many of them were done before the compensatory picks were announced, so ultimately they won't be very accurate. But I still think it is fun to reflect on the picks. By Saturday I will know just how crazy I am with my evaluations.

November 29, 2011 Mid-season mock (rounds 1-4 only)

round 1 Matt Kalil

round 2 Casey Hayward

round 3 Markelle Martin

round 4 Kawaan Short

January 4, 2012 New Year's mock (pre underclassman declaration, pre combine & pre senior bowl edition)

#3 Matt Kalil

2nd round Mark Barron

3rd round Casey Hayward

4th round Kawaan Short

5th round Carmen Messina

7th round Rishard Matthews

February 28, 2012 Combine edition (pre draft order release)

1st Matt Kalil

2nd Mark Barron

3rd Kendall Reyes

4th Casey Hayward

comp 4th Marvin Jones

5th Derek Wolfe

6th Demario Davis

7th Lennon Creer

7th comp Winston Guy Jr.

UDFA's

Joe Long, OT Wayne St.

Carmen Messina, linebacker, New Mexico

Tahir Whitehead, linebacker, Temple

Neiko Thorpe, safety, Auburn

Austin Davis, QB, Southern Miss

Desmond Marrow, DB, Toledo

March 13, 2012 (pre free agency edition)

1.3 Matt Kalil

2.3 Brandon Thompson

3.3 Casey Hayward

4.3 Marvin Jones

comp. Derek Wolfe

5.3 Demario Davis

comp. Aaron Henry

6.4 Terrance Ganaway

7.3 Winston Guy Jr.

7. 31 Derek Dennis

March 23, 2012 (mid free agency, pre-compensatory pick distribution edition)

3. Matt Kalil, LT USC.

35. Kendall Reyes, DT UCONN.

67. Casey Hayward

comp. Marvin Jones

4th round-James-Michael Jones

comp. Coryell Judie

5th Duke Ihenacho

6th Nick Jean-Baptiste

7th Jordan White

7th Carson Wiggs

So I used the #3 pick in every mock on Matt Kalil. I also picked Casey Hayward in every mock. Derek Wolfe and Demario Davis were usual suspects. This got me thinking; I should do another mock where I deviate from this plan. So here is my final mock for the 2012 NFL draft:

4/26/12 Today, pre, real-draft edition

1.3 Morris Claiborne, DB LSU. Spielman has been using the smokescreen as weapon for the past several weeks like he was playing a game of Spyhunter. In this mock I am using that info and taking Claiborne. Not only does this help me deviate from Matt Kalil, it will also force me to not draft Casey Hayward.

2.3 Jonathan Martin, OT Stanford. Conventianal wisdom says take a safety and no way will Martin last until pick #35. Well yesterday I shared Mike Mayock's final top 100 list, and he has Martin at #34. Since we passed on Kalil, the Rams will likely take him so Martin falls one more spot to us at #35.

3.3 Mike Martin, DT Michigan. MarkSP18 and I have taken some heat for ranking DT so high on the Vikings list of team needs. I would probably take a DT in round 2 in the real world, but I selected a LT with my last pick so I had to address DT here. The Vikings coaches were reportedly very impressed with Martin at the Senior Bowl.

4.3 Ryan Broyles, WR Oklahoma. I have said all along that I would hesitate to draft a WR before round 4. I really like Cal's Marvin Jones, but I would likely have to take him in the 3rd round. And with the addition of Jerome Simpson, I just couldn't justify going against my gut. You probably think that I am crazy to take this kid this high coming off the ACL injury. One thing this offseason has told us is that Spielman does not fear injury histories. Broyles would have been a legit 2nd round prospect if not for the injury so I think he's a steal here.

comp #128 Lucas Nix, OG Pitt. Since I passed on Kalil, I figured it would be prudent to address the Oline once more. Nix is a monster at 6'5" 320lbs. This kid can come in and battle for either guard position on day one.

comp #134 Marvin McNutt, WR Iowa. I missed out on Jones and Matthews, so I took a shot on another Senior Bowl player who the Vikings would likely be interested in. This kid has a lot of upside. While he measured in a few inches shorter than expected (6'2", not 6'4") he did surprise with his 4.45 forty at the Combine.

5.3 Antonio Allen, SS South Carolina. He might be another Sanford (good at tackling, but bad in coverage) or he could surprise and develop into a multi year starter in the Vikings defensive backfield. At 6'2" 210lbs, Allen could be a force in the Vikings secondary, and the 5th round is good value for him.

6.5 (from Cleve) Justin Bethel, FS/CB Presbyterian. This kid is a freak of an athlete. He's a small school player who could slip down draft boards. He has some versatility and could either add depth to our cornerback group, or could push Mistral Raymond for the starting FS position.

7.3 Najee Goode, ILB West Virgina. I have linebacker higher up on my priority list. But the Vikings appear content on entering the season with Jasper Brinkley manning the middle. Goode will get a chance to compete for a roster spot on special teams in year one, and perhaps could develop into a replacement for Brinkley if he doesn't cut it in 2012.

7.16 (from NE) Carson Wiggs, K Purdue. I really wanted to use this pick on a running back. But the Vikings did add a few at the end of last season and early this year. Plus they still have Caleb King on the practice squad. I probably could sign Wiggs as an UDFA, but why get into a bidding war for him when I could draft Longwell's replacement and be done with it?

You didn't really think this post was complete without a last minute mock, did you?