Well, we're up to the pick that everyone has been waiting for, the selection of our very own Minnesota Vikings. The board certainly has fallen in a way that the Vikings would love to see in the first round, I think, with players at numerous positions available for the Vikings to grab and upgrade the roster. DN member e.vogel15 was playing the role of Rick Spielman and, without any further ado, let's get to what he did.
With the eleventh pick in the 2015 Daily Norseman Community Mock Draft, the Minnesota Vikings select. . .
Marcus Peters, cornerback, University of Washington
I'm a bit surprised by the selection, so let me start with e.vogel15's explanation of why he did what he did. Since this is the Vikings' pick, there's a lengthier explanation than we've gotten for a lot of the picks so far.
Let me first say that there was a significant amount of talent available at this position. Players such as top end offensive line prospects such as Brandon Scherff, Andrus Peat, and Ereck Flowers, along with two of the top three available wideouts in DeVante Parker and Kevin White were still on the board. On the defensive side of the ball were the top defensive backs, Landon Collins, Marcus Peters, and Trae Waynes, along with a few of the high end linebackers such as Shane Ray and Eric Kendricks. My ideal option given this situation would be to shop the number 11 pick, trade back and add picks. I believe that given slick rick only has seven picks and there are a number of holes that could be filled a few picks later that would be what he would try to do. But in this draft we are picking as we are slotted, which is just fine as well. Given a look at the available talent I chose Cornerback Marcus Peters.
I understand that there are going to be Vikings fans who do not support my pick, and briefly let me explain why I did not select a few players.
The player that I thought the most about drafting, besides Peters, was Brandon Scherff. I was hoping that the Giants would pick him, and that I would not even have to make the decision between the two, but that is not what happened. Brandon Scherff is a dynamic offensive line anchor, or appears that way, and could immediately start at Left Guard for the Vikings. He could help protect teddy, and potentially assist in the revival of Matt Kalil's Career. This would be a good value pick and he would be a day one starter. Looking past that I would say that even with that praise, he is not the best value pick available at the number 11 spot. There are amazing guards up and down the draft boards that could start for the Vikings and could be available as late as round for. Exmaples of this include AJ Cann (my favorite guard in the draft), Lakin Thompson, Tre Jackson, and Arie Kuondijo. Another reason that I did not make this pick is history; not once has R.S. ever taken an interior lineman in the first three rounds, and given the amount of skill positions available, it does not seem likely he would start now.
DeVante Parker was also tempting. I don't care in the slightest about his "connection" with teddy, I care about his vertical and his 80" wingspan. He is a fairly polished route runner with fairly good speed and an incredible build for the position. But this draft is absolutely chalked full of large, talented wideouts, and this year it is likely that any rookie is going to start a ways down on the depth chart. I know that the Vikings have met with Sammie Coates at winter park, who would be a very good grab in the second. In much shorter form: I simply do not believe in Kevin white, to those who are fans I am sorry that I don't get more into it, but I do not think he will be as good as others in this class. My personal favorite wideout in this class is Justin Hardy from east Carolina.
Many fans would say that Linebacker is one of the biggest needs we have as a team, and those fans are not wrong. But to say that it is the first need that has to be addressed is. With Vic Beasley, Randy Gregory, and Bud Dupree off the board, there was not a linebacker worth considering at this spot. The interior guys will likely go between 20 and 55, which should give us a shot with our second round pick if we want a linebacker to compete to start.
Now on to the pick:
Marcus Peters is a stud corner. There are others to consider certainly but my reasoning for choosing Peters are many. First he has pro level understanding of what it takes to consistently defend the best of the opposing teams wideouts. His combine numbers did not blow anyone out of the water, but we have tape that shows exactly how fluid this corner plays in a bump and run man cover scheme. He would provide a strong, smart, and physical presence across the field from Xavier Rhodes.. I believe that a corner is the best pick given how the draft has played out for one reason: value. Peters is widely considered the most pro ready corner back in this year's draft. This pick fills a huge need in the vikings depth chart, while providing the maximum positional value, instead of getting the next best linebacker, offensive lineman, or wideout, the vikings are selecting the best cornerback. This pick is consistent with what I believe zimmer and speilman could do given zimmer's history with "troubled but talented players", and that Peters has already come to winter park for a one on one with zim and R.S.
My Thoughts
Well, as I said, I'm pretty surprised by this pick. By most accounts, Peters isn't the top cornerback in this year's class. . .that distinction has been held by Trae Waynes pretty much all off-season. The board also still has names on it like Brandon Scherff, Kevin White, and DeVante Parker. But e.vogel15 went with Peters, and while it's not a bad pick, per se, I can honestly say that it isn't the one I would have made.
Having said that, there's no question that Peters has the physical gifts to step in and be an immediate contributor in the Vikings' secondary. The name I hear used most frequently used for comparisons to Peters is Aqib Talib. Unfortunately, that comparison can be used to describe his on-field skills and his off-field issues. He led the Huskies in interceptions in 2013 with five, and picked up three despite his sporadic playing time in 2014. He also had sixteen passes defended over the past two seasons.
Peters was dismissed from the Huskies program this past November after multiple arguments with the coaching staff, including one that saw him suspended for a game against Eastern Washington.
The Vikings have brought Peters in for a visit, and if they feel that he has his head on straight and his personal issues under control, he would probably step in and start immediately for the Vikings at cornerback. Given his behavior over the past two seasons at Washington, though, that might be a bigger if than we're currently thinking. Granted, we all know that Mike Zimmer likely wouldn't put up with a whole lot of garbage from someone like Peters, but if the Vikings aren't sure he's ready to step in and contribute from day one, I don't think they'd take him here.
This pick is a bit off the reservation, but one that could pay off handsomely for the Vikings if Peters has put his attitude issues behind him.
What do you think of this selection, ladies and gentlemen?
Pick | Team | General Manager | Pick |
1 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | kwarren3 | Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon |
2 | Tennessee Titans | BVB fan | Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama |
3 | Jacksonville Jaguars | n s | Leonard Williams, DT, Southern Cal |
4 | Oakland Raiders | DrivableGuide9 | Dante Fowler, DE, Florida |
5 | Washington Redskins | tep4 | Vic Beasley, OLB, Clemson |
6 | New York Jets | cycloneallnightlong | Jameis Winston, QB, Florida State |
7 | Chicago Bears | lateefthetruthspeaker | Danny Shelton, DT, Washington |
8 | Atlanta Falcons | berg03 | Alvin Dupree, DE, Kentucky |
9 | New York Giants | thecraphead | Randy Gregory, DE, Nebraska |
10 | St. Louis Rams | VikesFanatic | La'el Collins, OL, LSU |
11 | Minnesota Vikings | e.vogel15 | Marcus Peters, CB, Washington |
12 | Cleveland Browns | Wayne Joseph | |
13 | New Orleans Saints | Austin Blanch | |
14 | Miami Dolphins | SkolChad | |
15 | San Francisco 49ers | Malte | |
16 | Houston Texans | Vikes4lyfe | |
17 | San Diego Chargers | MDFDisc | |
18 | Kansas City Chiefs | Zach_The_Gamecock | |
19 | Cleveland Browns (from Buffalo) | Wayne Joseph | |
20 | Philadelphia Eagles | AVeazey24 | |
21 | Cincinnati Bengals | misterloveSKOL | |
22 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Typically Lazy | |
23 | Detroit Lions | just_rob | |
24 | Arizona Cardinals | Siberia101 | |
25 | Carolina Panthers | SweetTooth | |
26 | Baltimore Ravens | lmoe12 | |
27 | Dallas Cowboys | paulser21 | |
28 | Denver Broncos | SpencerN | |
29 | Indianapolis Colts | CCNorseman | |
30 | Green Bay Packers | CCHOF5yearstoolate | |
31 | New Orleans Saints (from Seattle) | Austin Blanch | |
32 | New England Patriots | raging_cloner |