Who do we draft?

[dead_poet]

This would be good news for the Vikings.

Andrus Peat - T - Player
TFY Draft Insider Tony Pauline reports Stanford OT Andrus Peat will be a top-10 pick.

Per Pauline, Peat "won't get past the Rams" at No. 10 overall. Chatter coming out of St. Louis recently has the Rams really liking Peat, who we assume would replace free agent Joe Barksdale at right tackle with last year's No. 2 pick Greg Robinson sticking on the left side. Peat could also go to the Giants at No. 9.
Source: TFY Draft Insider

[fiestavike]

This would be good news for the Vikings.

Andrus Peat - T - Player
TFY Draft Insider Tony Pauline reports Stanford OT Andrus Peat will be a top-10 pick.

Per Pauline, Peat "won't get past the Rams" at No. 10 overall. Chatter coming out of St. Louis recently has the Rams really liking Peat, who we assume would replace free agent Joe Barksdale at right tackle with last year's No. 2 pick Greg Robinson sticking on the left side. Peat could also go to the Giants at No. 9.
Source: TFY Draft Insider

Good news unless the Vikings were planning to draft him

[dead_poet]

Denzel Perryman - LB - Hurricanes

Miami ILB Denzel Perryman "doesn't have ideal speed or quickness but his range is more than adequate because of his instincts, and he hardly ever fails to make the tackle once he's in position," wrote ESPN's Todd McShay.

"Perryman was the vocal leader of the Hurricanes' defense, acting as their quarterback on D," McShay wrote. "He puts in a lot of work in the film room and it shows up on the field, with his ability to pick up on tendencies and quickly read and react to make plays." As we've wrote before, Perryman must go to the correct team. He's a throwback happy to do the dirty work of taking on blockers and happier still to deliver viscous hits to ball carriers, but if your team trusts linebackers to cover receivers in space, he's probably not for you.
Source: ESPN Insider

[dead_poet]

Albert Breer's latest draft nuggets:

1) Changing attitudes towards drugs? LSU CB Jalen Collins is a test case. Had multiple failed tests in college, per sources with 4 teams.

2) Likelihood now is Marcus Mariota goes 2nd overall. My feeling is Tennessee likes him more than most think. Very well could be a Titan.

3) Watch DeVante Parker. Some prefer him to Kevin White, bc he’s more pro-ready. Parker is closer to Cooper/White than to the pack at WR.

4) In the teens, there'll be guys drafted who other clubs have much lower grades on. So last 20 picks of 1st round = unpredictable. Reason for that? Lots of disagreement on rank of players at certain positions (DE, OL, CB). Reason for THAT: More young juniors (20 y.o.)

5) RB class is outstanding, and that could hurt those guys’ first-round chances, with clubs believing they can get a solid player later.

6) Safest player? Leonard Williams – the one non-QB you hear trade-up buzz on. But “safest” not always best (i.e. Gallery, Curry, etc.)

7) Cooper could go anywhere 3-6. White/Parker good shot at Top 10. After that at WR? Wide open, and Nelson Agholor could well be next.

The crapshoot on the OL is particularly intriguing. Florida OT DJ Humphries took 15 visits, a sign of work lineman-needy teams are doing.

[S197]

Albert Breer's latest draft nuggets:

That would be interesting, the top 2 picks in the draft and both are not attending

What is the commish going to do, hold up the jersey by himself? Cut to a live feed for 10 minutes?

[dead_poet]

Kevin Johnson - DB - Player

Profootballtalk.com reports "multiple teams" rate Wake Forest's Kevin Johnson as the top cornerback prospect on their draft boards.

These teams have Johnson ahead of Michigan State's Trae Waynes, who's been seen as the top corner for most of the draft process. This is not a rich cornerback class, but the need for the position in the NFL is strong, which could push corners up the board. Johnson stands 6-foot and 188 pounds. He has a 41 1/2-inch vertical jump and is experienced in both man and zone coverage.
Source: Profootballtalk on NBC Sports

---
Dante Fowler - DL - Player

In a poll of 12 NFL personnel men, Florida's Dante Fowler was the leading vote getter as this year's top 4-3 defensive end prospect.

Fowler can also play 3-4 outside linebacker, of course, but the polled scouts view him as this year's top 4-3 end prospect, as well. Fowler received six first-place votes out of 12, while Missouri's Shane Ray and Kentucky's Bud Dupree each got two first-place votes at 4-3 defensive end. Nebraska's Randy Gregory and USC's Leonard Williams each landed one first-place vote.
Source: Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

[dead_poet]

Interesting. Worth the read. I don't think Peterson will be traded at this point (and if he is, I'd be surprised if he could net what the author is suggesting, but it's still possible) and I don't know if we'd wait until R5 before drafting a guard but that seems to be Rick's tendency.

Rick Spielman’s Mock Draft 1.0

http://vikingsterritory.com/2015/guest- ... -draft-1-0

Three weeks ago, I did an eight-year study of Rick Spielman’s draft tendencies with the Vikings. You should probably check it out, because this mock is based solely on the findings of that study, and I’ll be referencing it throughout. Again, these aren’t my picks. This is essentially an automated Spielman simulation, so please direct your complaints to SlickRick@Vikings.NFL.net.

Note: All trades are based on this value chart.

[dead_poet]

I'm starting to come around with Anthony as a R2 target.

Stephone Anthony - LB - Tigers

Clemson ILB Stephone Anthony "might be the most well-rounded player at the position," observed Gordon McGuinness of Pro Football Focus.

ESPN's Todd McShay ranks Anthony as the No. 51 player in the draft. "His marginal change-of-direction ability is the biggest knock on him, but he shows off a nice burst and reads plays well," McGuinness wrote. "When he gets to ball carriers he almost always gets them on the ground, missing just two tackles from Week 2 on, after an out-of-character three missed tackles in Week 1. He was an effective blitzer in 2014, too, and looked comfortable in coverage. All of that makes him an ideal three-down linebacker in today's NFL." At the combine, the 6-foot-2, 235-pound Anthony recorded a 4.56 forty, a 1.57 10-yard split, a 37" vertical, a 10'2" broad jump, a 7.07 3-cone and a 4.03 20-yard short shuttle. It wasn't quite as good as teammate Vic Beasley's show, but it was a sensational performance in its own right.
Source: ESPN.com

[Texas Vike]

Interesting. Worth the read. I don't think Peterson will be traded at this point (and if he is, I'd be surprised if he could net what the author is suggesting, but it's still possible) and I don't know if we'd wait until R5 before drafting a guard but that seems to be Rick's tendency.

Rick Spielman’s Mock Draft 1.0

http://vikingsterritory.com/2015/guest- ... -draft-1-0

Great read. Insightful picks based on Rick's tendencies. I would be pretty content with the results he projects, but I think even while he accurately assessed Rick's patterns or tendencies, it will undoubtedly turn out very different from what he forecasts.

This was my thought this morning: our off season moves make OG and MLB by far our biggest holes. I don't back a need-based drafting strategy, but I really hope they address these needs via the draft, and not in the 7th round.

[dead_poet]

Worth a read.

There are only five can't-miss players in the 2015 NFL Draft

"This is it," he said. "I've got five, I don't have 10. I don't have six. This is the five, and then there is everybody else."

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jas ... -nfl-draft

[dead_poet]

Trae Waynes - DB - Spartans

Pro Football Focus is concerned that Michigan State CB Trae Waynes' 20-yard shuttle (4.39 seconds) was slower than his 40 time (4.31).

That occurrence is such an anomaly that the group couldn't recall seeing it before. "That poor change-of-direction ability was evident on tape, and is a problem at a position where change of direction is vital," wrote Mike Renner. PFF is also troubled that a corner with such great recovery speed (thus not having to worry about getting burned deep) was so average on intermediate routes, only breaking up three passes on 59 targets. Waynes' yards per coverage snap allowed was average (1.04) and he struggled against Oregon, allowing 113 yards and a score on seven targets.
Source: ESPN Insider

---
I know I sound like a broken record, but I don't want Waynes at 11.

[DK Sweets]

I couldn't agree more. The more I read, the more I'm convinced that Waynes in our defense is about as good of a match as butterscotch and sour cream on a bed of rice.

[dead_poet]

Idiot.

---
Shane Ray - LB - Player
Missouri edge rusher Shane Ray was arrested Monday morning for possession of marijuana in Cooper County, Mo.

What a bonehead move by Ray, who was later released from county jail. His stock was already crashing some because of a foot/toe issue that may require surgery and force him to miss rookie minicamp. Early in the pre-draft process, Ray was talked about as a possible top-three pick. Now, he may find himself lasting until day two. Ray has a high motor but lacks ideal size at 6'3/249.
Source: Brandon Kiley on Twitter

[John_Viveiros]

Has anyone heard of this guy before:
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/livin ... aft-class/

Pass-Rushing Nerd Addendum: Hau’oli Kikaha, Washington

No pass-rusher in college football was more productive over the past two seasons than Kikaha. He had a Division I–best 19 sacks last season after racking up 13 the year before. He didn’t impress during the draft process — not after running a 4.9 at his pro day, while facing questions about the two ACL surgeries he underwent in college — but the guy just knows what he’s doing.

Read the full article. Sounds like an absolute steal in the 3rd or 4th round. Not on Mayock's top 100. At 98 on the CBS board.

[fiestavike]

Has anyone heard of this guy before:
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/livin ... aft-class/
Read the full article. Sounds like an absolute steal in the 3rd or 4th round. Not on Mayock's top 100. At 98 on the CBS board.

He'd be good in a tampa 2 DE position. Not a match for the Vikings.