With the 2011 NFL Draft finally in the books, it's time to take a look back and talk about what you, Viking nation, think were the best and worst value picks of the 2011 selection process for the Beloved Purple.
There were ten players selected by our favorite team in the draft. . .some of them were determined to be reaches, some were determined to be "value" picks. Well, by the experts, anyway. After the jump, I'll toss out the picks that I thought were the best and worst "values" for the Vikings in the 2011 Draft, and we can all discuss it in the comments afterwards.
Join me after the jump.
Best Value Pick: DT Christian Ballard, Round 4, #106 overall
Not that I generally base everything off of pre-draft magazines or anything like that, but I've got two of them next to me at my laptop right now, one from Lindy's and one from Pro Football Weekly. They have Ballard listed at two different positions. . .Pro Football Weekly has him listed as a defensive tackle, while Lindy's has him listed as a defensive end. For starters, that shows the sort of versatility that Ballard is going to bring to the Vikings' table. Both of them, regardless of position, had Ballard listed as a second-round value at worst.
For those of us that watch a lot of Big Ten football, we know that Iowa's defensive line is always beastly. One of their members this year, Adrian Clayborn, was the 20th overall selection in the draft, and in my opinion Ballard is every bit as good as Clayborn. He apparently tested positive for marijuana at the Scouting Combine, which contributed to his drop, but hey. . .the last guy we drafted with alleged marijuana issues has turned out to be okay thus far. Dinging guys that smoked pot in college is a little on the silly side, I think. With the potential departure of Ray Edwards and the impending suspension of Kevin Williams, Ballard is going to have a chance to make a big impact early on for this team, and getting him on the third day of the draft represents outstanding value.
Next Best Value: DeMarcus Love, Round 6, #168 overall
When you can get a guy that was all-SEC and has seen time at three different positions for a team that went to a BCS game this year, that's pretty darn good value.
Worst Value Pick: Stephen Burton, Round 7, #236 overall
Yeah, it might be a bit of a cop-out to call our last overall selection a "bad value," but I just think there were some other guys that could have been grabbed at that spot than a developmental wide receiver that has very little chance of making the Vikings' roster in 2011.
Now, that having been said, I hope like heck that he does make the team and does make an impact. I thought the Vikings had such a good draft that it's hard to find any picks that make you scratch your head, but that one is about as close as it gets, I guess.
How about you folks? Which selections do you think were the best and worst values for the Vikings in the 2011 NFL Draft?
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