Minnesota Vikings 2007 Draft Picks

It's been a long offseason for Vikings fans. After a free agency that seemed to demonstrate that the Vikes were striving with all their might for mediocrity, I felt far less enthusiasm heading into the draft than I can ever remember.

That, thankfully, has changed.

Given time to reflect, I now think the Vikings did pretty well for themselves in the draft. I'm not quite sure I buy Rick Spielman's assertion that the team took the best player on their board with every pick. They certainly filled a need with each pick.

The Vikings drafted a playmaking running back, three wide receivers, a cornerback, a defensive end, a linebacker, and a backup quaterback. All areas of need.

You could argue that the Vikings don't need a running back but with the 7th overall pick, you've got to take the best player--as we've learned from the Williamson reach--so it was either Brady Quinn or Adrian Peterson.

Brady Quinn or Adrian Peterson

My first reaction to the first pick was that Quinn would have been a safer pick. Peterson, after all, has had three serious injuries in three seasons and he recently re-injured his broken collarbone. It remains to be seen whether or not the guy is injury prone.

Quinn, on the other hand, was an injury-free franchise quarterback. The jury is still out on whether Tarvaris Jackson can play at this level, and we don't even know if he's got an injury bug as well, considering his injury last year. Having two starting quarterbacks on the roster is a luxury, yes, but between Quinn and Peterson, I figured Quinn gave the Vikes more value if for no other reason than as trade bait.

But then you watch Quinn fall all the way to the Browns and you wonder if the book on him includes something only NFL scouts know about.

Then you watch the tape of Peterson and it's practically impossible not to get excited about seeing him in purple.

Chester Taylor was about the only positive thing about the Vikings' offense last season, but an explosive runner he is not. The prospect of getting a running back with elusive moves and 4.3 speed is something I can look forward to.

So at the end of the day, assuming Peterson can stay healthy, I'm happy with the pick.

Sidney Rice

With Sidney Rice they got a big receiver (6'4") who can jump (35" vertical), has good body control and can catch the football, a skill that should no longer be optional for Viking receivers. Rice was among the top receivers in a receivers-deep draft. He should be a good red zone target and God knows we need that.

Marcus McCauley

The consensus opinion on Fresno State cornerback Marcus McCauley is that going into the 2006 season, he was a first-round pick but he faltered in 2006 and his failure to meet expectations caused him to drop.

The explanation for McCauley's drop in production is that the Fresno State football program was undergoing changes and McCauley's benching was to make an example of him.

Regardless, the guy is 6'1", 200 lbs, and he runs a 4.39 forty. If he can regain his 2005 form, the Vikings got their nickleback and a steal in the process.

The Sporting News ranked him as the 32nd best player in the draft.

Brian Robison

With their fourth round pick, the Vikings got Brian Robison, a smallish defensive end who has some speed but will likely  be a situational player. He excels at blocking kicks, so we've got that going for us. Which is nice.

Looks like the Vikings are fine going into the season with the dubious proposition of using the rarely-healthy Erasmus James and Mr. Zero Sacks Kenechi Udeze as their starting defensive ends with perhaps some competition from Ray Edwards.

Yay!

Aundrae Allison

The Vikes may have pulled off a heist with their fifth-round pick of wide receiver Aundrae Allison, as well. Allison is six feet tall and weighs 202 pounds. While Rice ran a 4.49 forty, Allison ran a 4.39 forty and did a 37" vertical jump.

The Sporting News had him ranked as the 35th best player in the draft.

Rufus Alexander

Oklahoma linebacker Rufus Alexander went much later in the draft than many thought he would. Perhaps that's because he's a smallish linebacker at 6'1", 227 lbs. But with a 4.62 forty, he's fast, so he should fit real well into our Cover 2 defense.

The Sporting News ranked him as the 62nd best player in the draft.

Tyler Thigpen & Chandler Williams

In the seventh round, the Vikes took quarterback Tyler Thigpen for depth and Wide Receiver/Kick Returner Chandler Williams. Thigpen will compete with Drew Henson for the third quarterback position.

At 5'11", 184 lbs, Chandler Williams' only hope of making the roster will likely be as a kick returner, another area of need.

Draft Rankings

The following chart shows where the Vikings' picks were actually selected in the draft and where The Sporting News ranked them purely in terms of talent, and where Scout.com had them ranked overall. It should be noted that I don't quite trust Scout.com all that much, but I include their rankings simply for comparison.

Player	Selected	TSN Rank	Scout.com Rank
Adrian Peterson	7	3	5
Sidney Rice	44	45	36
Marcus McCauley	72	32	55
Brian Robison	102	142	274
Aundrae Allison	146	35	117
Rufus Alexander	176	62	95
Tyler Thigpen	217	122	Not Ranked
Chandler Williams	233	Not Ranked	350