Stuff from our new GM

[dead_poet]

http://www.1500espn.com/sportswire/Note ... ears021612

Spielman said the Vikings remain, "very confident," in Christian Ponder as their quarterback, but he wasn't willing to rule out the possibility of drafting a QB. That came as no surprise considering the Vikings want to keep as much leverage as possible if another team calls about the No. 3 overall pick.

[shannontw]

As of right now, i like Rick approach this upcoming offseason. Sounds like her has a great plan.

[Mothman]

Thanks for the link!

[losperros]

Thanks for the link, DP.

I'm excited about this draft and I'd love to see the Vikings get 10 picks, even if a lot of them come in the late rounds.

[dead_poet]

More stuff: http://www.vikings.com/news/article-1/S ... 07a650b234

There are plenty of other needs, at cornerback, safety, left tackle and nose tackle, for starters, and the Vikings are clearly in better position to address those through the draft for the sake of long-term development. They're counting on 10 picks, including compensatory selections for lost free agents last year, starting with the third overall slot.

Spielman said he counted contract extensions in the past six months for Peterson, linebacker Chad Greenway, center John Sullivan and long snapper Cullen Loeffler as free-agent signings, one hint that the Vikings won't be active on the open market. All of those players would've been free agents next month. But Spielman, who ascended to general manager in January after serving as vice president of player personnel, said the team won't rule out a major signing.

``Whether we make a big splash or not, if there's someone out there we think can help us then we're willing to spend a lot of money. We'll definitely look at those options,'' Spielman said.

[HornedMessiah]

I'm excited about this draft and I'd love to see the Vikings get 10 picks, even if a lot of them come in the late rounds.

It's definitely a nice position to be in: we get a big injection of young talent onto the roster OR it can serve as trade ammo to move around a bit in some of the mid rounds.

But wasn't there some chatter not long ago about how we might have to give up two picks for McNabb instead of one?

[saint33]

Thanks for the link, DP.

I'm excited about this draft and I'd love to see the Vikings get 10 picks, even if a lot of them come in the late rounds.

I'm hoping for maybe even more, because we already have 10 picks, if we trade down we can get like 12 picks, and then we have extreme flexibility.

[purple guy]

Im fine with trading down for more picks, IF it makes sense. 12 picks, but missing out on an elite player vs 10 picks and hitting on one more , is a no brainer. Trading down and getting more picks could work out terrific, however, if there are no trade partners or the Vikings dont think they can trade and get a coveted player, I hope they pick in their spot. "Value" in a trade is tough to measure, we pass on Kalil (or whoever) drop down a few spots and pick up another late first or early second, but miss on the players the Vikings "thought" would be there in a trade down, diminishes the "value", IMO.

From all of the "experts" I have read, as close to a "sure thing" should be available at #3 (kalil, Blackmon, Luck, Clairborn, ect), that wont be true if we trade out of #3. I realize we need players, but we need good players, Im not saying I hope we dont trade for more picks, just that doing so might not turn out the best in the end.

[losperros]

I'm hoping for maybe even more, because we already have 10 picks, if we trade down we can get like 12 picks, and then we have extreme flexibility.

I hear ya. But I don't want the Vikings to trade down if left tackle Kalil is available at #3. No way. Too big of a need.

[J. Kapp 11]

Im fine with trading down for more picks, IF it makes sense. 12 picks, but missing out on an elite player vs 10 picks and hitting on one more , is a no brainer. Trading down and getting more picks could work out terrific, however, if there are no trade partners or the Vikings dont think they can trade and get a coveted player, I hope they pick in their spot. "Value" in a trade is tough to measure, we pass on Kalil (or whoever) drop down a few spots and pick up another late first or early second, but miss on the players the Vikings "thought" would be there in a trade down, diminishes the "value", IMO.

From all of the "experts" I have read, as close to a "sure thing" should be available at #3 (kalil, Blackmon, Luck, Clairborn, ect), that wont be true if we trade out of #3. I realize we need players, but we need good players, Im not saying I hope we dont trade for more picks, just that doing so might not turn out the best in the end.

Here's one school of thought ...

If Kalil is gone by the time we draft, it means RGIII will still be available. So if there's a team in the back of the draft that feels they need to upgrade the QB position, maybe Denver at 25 (don't have a kitten, Tebow fans ... it's just a for-instance), then the Vikings could be looking at something close to what Atlanta paid to move up to get Julio Jones last year. The Falcons gave the Browns their first-, second- and fourth-round picks in last year's draft, and a second- and fourth-rounder in this year's draft. Atlanta gave up five picks to move up from 27 to 6. That's very similar to a 25 to 3 move. The Vikings could potentially get even more than Cleveland did ... if not more picks, higher picks.

So Spielman's interest in RGIII may simply be gamesmanship. He might be making other teams believe he's interested in RGIII in order to get maximum value out of a potential trade.

I'm like you, PG. If we can get a game-changer, I want us to do that. At the same time, the possibilities are pretty intriguing.

[purple guy]

Here's one school of thought ...

If Kalil is gone by the time we draft, it means RGIII will still be available. So if there's a team in the back of the draft that feels they need to upgrade the QB position, maybe Denver at 25 (don't have a kitten, Tebow fans ... it's just a for-instance), then the Vikings could be looking at something close to what Atlanta paid to move up to get Julio Jones last year. The Falcons gave the Browns their first-, second- and fourth-round picks in last year's draft, and a second- and fourth-rounder in this year's draft. Atlanta gave up five picks to move up from 27 to 6. That's very similar to a 25 to 3 move. The Vikings could potentially get even more than Cleveland did ... if not more picks, higher picks.

So Spielman's interest in RGIII may simply be gamesmanship. He might be making other teams believe he's interested in RGIII in order to get maximum value out of a potential trade.

I'm like you, PG. If we can get a game-changer, I want us to do that. At the same time, the possibilities are pretty intriguing.

Im certainly not trying to say trading down is a bad idea, I just dont think its a lock to be a good idea. And that the "value" of the pick can change, it can change from the time we trade the #3 pick, to the pick we get, if the "the guy" the Vikings hoped was still there, is gone. Obviously we wont know any of this for a few seasons, Im just not going to be upset if they dont trade down, simply because I dont think getting more picks is automatically better. I have A LOT more faith in Speilman picking a player at 3 than I do 5 or after. JM2C.

[VikingLord]

If Kalil is gone by the time we draft, it means RGIII will still be available.

....

I'm like you, PG. If we can get a game-changer, I want us to do that. At the same time, the possibilities are pretty intriguing.

Based on what I've seen both from RG III and from Ponder to this point over their respective college careers), if RG III is there at #3 I say the Vikes should take him. No gamesmanship necessary - he'd be the best player at #3.

That isn't going to happen because someone will make a deal with the Rams, but if it were to happen, the Vikes would be very foolish to trade that pick and move back IMHO.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Colts shock everyone and take RG III 1st overall ala how they took Edgerrin James in front of the more heralded Ricky Williams way back when. The main reason I say that is because while Luck will probably be the better pocket passer over his career, RG III gives you a dimension Luck simply doesn't have and never will have. If one accepts that RG III can be an effective pocket passer and is accurate in that role, then his added dimension of being able to move and run should make him more valuable than Luck if everything else is considered. Given that RG III should wow at the Combine and he put some amazing stuff on tape in his college career (especially in big games), he may very well hear his name called before anyone else's this April.

[dead_poet]

Blue, red and purple players: The Vikings' rebuilding plans will be color coded

http://www.startribune.com/sports/vikin ... 96733.html

[dead_poet]

Spielman said #Vikings plan to have their finalized plan for who stays and who goes by next Friday, after meetings with ownership.

Tom Pelissero on Twitter

[Demi]

Spielman said he counted contract extensions in the past six months...as free-agent signings