FanPost

If I was Rick Spielman

Which I am not, I am actually just a high school kid who happens to be a huge vikings fan and an even bigger fan of the NFL draft.

We all know the Vikings have been having a painful season and have failed to live up to the expectations after last years playoff birth. However I refuse to believe that our results can be blamed solely on the quarterback play. No team can expect their QB to get a win when the defense is 30th in yards given up, 29th in passing yards allowed, and even our once great run defense has dropped to not even top 15.

So today the Vikings are not playing, which has got me thinking of how we can draft our team into better standings next season. Our guys in purple are 2-7 and if they keep it up it will be a top 5 pick. Most mocks have us drafting third which unfortunately I agree with. The first two picks, regardless of the order between the Bucs and Jaguars should be Bridgewater and Clowney. I see Bridgewater as one of the few if not the only QB in the draft that can come in and completely turn a team around, and Clowney is the defensive prospect of a generation.

Now most people see the fact that Marcus Mariota from Oregon as the QB that can save the Vikings from being mediocre. Mariota has yet to prove to me that he can win without the most talented people in the nation around him and in an offense other than the scheme that Oregon runs. Keep in mind that Spielman loves to trade back and get extra picks in the first round, and the St. Louis Rams have two first round picks. Now, the Rams have been having QB struggles since day 1 of the 2013 season, and with Sam Bradford blowing his knee out they are seeing the need of a QB even more. I am not trying to say that this is for sure thing but I would love to see the rams trade us their first round picks to get up and get Mariota. So hypothetically, the Vikings could end up with multiple first round picks AGAIN.

This would give us the opportunity to patch up some of the MASSIVE chinks in the Vikings defensive armor. Now, Kevin Williams has been a player Viking fans have loved over the years but I do not believe the Vikings plan on re-signing the vet to an extension. Jared Allen will also more than likely play his last game in purple this season. Chad Greenway has been a step slow since the beginning of the season and Marvin Mitchell is not a player we can count on to be big in the middle. Harrison Smith will come back and hopefully be back to making big plays and Xavier Rhodes I believe will develop into a nice starting corner. So here is my defensive heavy Mock Draft for The Minnesota Vikings.

Rd 1 Louis Nix III, DT Notre Dame

Rd 1 Jason Verrett, CB TCU

Rd 2 Christian Jones, ILB Florida State

Rd 3 Lamarcus Joyner, S Florida State

Rd 4 John Halapio, G Florida

Rd 5 David Fales, QB San Jose State

Rd 6 Calvin Barnett, DT Oklahoma State

Rd 7 Alfred Blue, RB LSU

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.