Okay, we're finally going to get back into the football side of things here.  I've got a few different things planned for the off-season, but let's take a good look at some of the newest Vikings, starting with the guy that was selected first by the Beloved Purple in last weekend's draft.

Tyrell Johnson was considered by scouts to be one of the two best available safeties in the 2008 NFL Draft, along with Kenny Phillips out of Miami (FL), who was selected with the last pick of Round 1 by the New York Football Giants.  While safety might not have looked like an absolute need for the Vikings at first blush, the Vikings could afford to take a chance on someone like Johnson because. . .well, because there just aren't going to be a lot of roster spots available on this year's squad.  In addition, with Darren Sharper in the last year of his contract with the Vikings, someone was needed that can be paired with Madieu Williams for the long-term future, and Johnson has all the makings of that guy.

Here is Johnson's NFL.com combine report.

Positives: Adequate size and toughness to play the run and pass in the NFL. ... Good upper-body build, strong inside the box as a wrap-up tackler. ... Smart, hard-working player who leads the defense. ... Good athleticism, showing closing speed to the ball or ballcarrier and nice hops in coverage. ... Adjusts well to the ball in the air. ... Takes good angles to minimize longer plays. ... Brings it hard on special teams.

Negatives: Could be considered a free/strong 'tweener by some teams looking for more of a linebacker mentality in their strong safety or man-cover abilities in their free safety. ... May have the athleticism to handle downfield responsibilities, but looks better reacting to plays in front of him than in man coverage. ... Not really an explosive tackler, catching players as they run by. ... Does not take on blocks often enough. ... Does not always break down in space, allowing ballcarriers to make a cut to get by him.

While the signing of Madieu Williams gave us more of a coverage type of safety, Johnson appears to be more of a strong safety/in the box type.  While it doesn't sound like Johnson's coverage skills are all the way there yet, it doesn't appear as though he's Roy Williams or anything, either.  He had 13 interceptions in his college career, including six as a senior in 2007, so the ability is clearly there.  He sounds like a pretty good Cover-2 safety, which is exactly what we need.  I also like the part about his special teams ability, since that's where he's going to be seeing a lot of time in 2008.

Johnson is also very athletic, measuring in at 6' and 205 pounds.  He ran a 4.43 40-yard dash at the combine, and his 27 repetitions of the 225-pound bench press were more than any other safety that participated in the Indianapolis workouts.

I'll admit, I didn't know a lot about Tyrell Johnson before last weekend. . .but the more I read about him, the more it appears he's just another good, solid young piece to a defense that's being built for the long haul.  It will be exciting to see him on the field on Sundays.

Oh, and if you want to go jersey hunting/ordering, Johnson has been assigned #25.

More news tidbits later on. . .continue enjoying your weekend, everybody!

Let's take a look at the newest member of the Minnesota Vikings from some different media perspectives.

The first thing I'd like to mention is that NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock had Tyrell Johnson rated as the #1 safety in this draft class. . .yes, even higher than big, bad Kenny Phillips from the big, bad U of Miami.  He also said that their reasoning for moving up with their pick was because the three teams ahead of them at the time (Detroit, Chicago, and Cincy) all have issues at the safety spot and could all have taken Johnson before he got to Minnesota.

A few other perspectives. . .

Pete Prisco, CBS Sportsline:

Just days after getting pass-rush specialist Jared Allen, the Vikings put a dagger in the hearts of all their 2008 opponents by drafting SS Tyrell Johnson. He's an excellent Cover-2 safety and should help later on in the season.

Excellent Cover-2 safety, eh?  Sounds to me like we have our Darren Sharper replacement.  Should be fun watching Johnson and Madieu Williams roam the secondary in 2009 and beyond.

Yahoo! Sports:

WINNER: Minnesota

In trading a first-round and two third-round picks last week to Kansas City, the Vikings assured themselves a fairly quiet first day of the draft. They wound up stealing highly-regarded defensive back Tyrell Johnson of Arkansas State in the second round, but that was it.

However, landing All-Pro defensive end Jared Allen gave Minnesota a major boost and put the Vikes in position as the team to beat in the NFC North. There was no way they were going to get anyone the value of Allen – who had 15½ sacks last year – with those picks.

Rather than a draft party, owner Zygi Wilf threw a party for the signing of Allen, and thousands of fans showed up.

For a team that needed a pass rush and help in the secondary, the week couldn’t have gone much better.

No. . .no, it most certainly couldn't have.

Fox Sports:

The Vikes have some solid talent at safety, but pick up some more depth in Johnson, the tackle machine out of Arkansas State. Played really well against Texas and Tennessee.

Again, sounds pretty good to me.

Now, at some point later on in the day today, you'll start seeing draft "grades" for various teams.  Usually, grading a team's draft a day after it happens is a pretty ludicrous exercise.  However, I think I can safely say that the Vikings have had an "A+" week leading up to the draft. . .anyone that's been paying attention gave them that grade as soon as the Allen trade went through.

Speaking of the Allen trade, in case it got lost in the shuffle yesterday. . .Jacksonville gave up a #1, two #3s, and a #4 to move up to the 8th overall pick to select DE Derrick Harvey, who has done nothing on an NFL football field.  Minnesota gave up a #1 and two #3s to acquire a player that led the NFL in sacks last season and averages 11.5 sacks a year.  All the more reason to feel confident that the Vikings made the right move, in my opinion.

Here's DraftTek's projections for the Vikings' remaining selections as they stand now:

5th Round (150) - Erik Ainge, QB, Tennessee
5th Round (152) - Harry Douglas, WR, Louisville
6th Round (187) - Geoff Schwartz, DT, Oregon
6th Round (193) - Louis Holmes, DE, Arizona
7th Round (209) - Justin Tryon, CB, Arizona State

That's all for now, folks. . .we'll be back when the action kicks off from New York again for more discussion. . .hope you'll join us!