12. QB Christian Ponder D
I’m not going to give this one an F because they’re at least trying to add a quarterback. But come on, Christian Ponder #12? Really? Ponder has major trouble with anything more than 15 yards downfield and he doesn’t have the upside of a Jake Locker or a Blaine Gabbert so this one is a borderline failure.
43. TE Kyle Rudolph B+
I’m not going to argue that tight end was their biggest non-quarterback need, but Visanthe Shiancoe is a marginal player and going into a contract year. Plus, the Vikings want to run more two tight end sets. Rudolph was also one of the best available.
106. DT Christian Ballard A
Ballard slips because of his positive drug test, but he’s a great value at this point in the 4th round. I’m not making a huge deal about his positive drug test because he is a non-quarterback and it was just weed. Ballard is a great value and fills a huge hole.
139. CB Brandon Burton A
Another great value getting Burton, a borderline 2nd rounder in my book, in the 5th. He also filled a need. Chris Cook struggled as a rookie. Antoine Winfield will be 34 this offseason. Cedric Griffin can’t stay healthy. Burton could wind up a starter for this team in time.
168. OT DeMarcus Love A
I love Love’s upside here in the 6th round. He’s raw, but he has left tackle upside and as a 6th rounder, that’s a great value, especially for a team that needs it. I don’t know how much longer Bryant McKinnie can stay on the left side and on the right side, where Bryant McKinnie could later play, Phil Loadholt is liability and should be moved inside to guard where there’s a giant hole right now. If Love pans out, they can upgrade 3 offensive line spots at once and just ask Brett Favre how badly this line needs to be upgraded. Excellent pick.
170. S Mistral Raymond C+
There were better safeties available as I had Raymond just outside my top 300, but there’s no denying that incumbent starter Madieu Williams is terrible in coverage and needs to be replaced ASAP.
172. C Brandon Fusco A
Another offensive line upgrade. Fusco is a very good value here in the 6th round and can take over for center John Sullivan sometime during year 1. I always say you can find good guard and center prospects in the mid rounds. Fusco is one of them. He can also play both guard spots if that’s where they decide his future is.
200. OLB Ross Homan A
Ben Leber is marginal and a free agent. Homan is a 4th or 5th round value and could end up being a starter for this team long term. Another excellent value.
215. DE D’Aundre Reed C+
Defensive end was a need with Ray Edwards having one foot out the door and Everson Griffen busy getting arrested, but I think there were better ones available. I didn’t have Reed, a rotational end at Arizona behind Brooks Reed and Ricky Elmore, in my top 300.
236. WR Stephen Burton A
Sidney Rice could be a free agent depending on the new CBA rules and given Minnesota’s problems at quarterback, no one would blame him for leaving. Burton helps give them depth behind Percy Harvin and Bernard Berrian and is a great value in the 7th round.
Overall:
I think taking Christian Ponder at 12 might have been the biggest reach of the whole first round (along with James Carpenter at 25), but unlike Seattle, at least they reached for a quarterback and I loved almost every other pick they made. In Kyle Rudolph, they’re getting a future starter at tight end. In Ballard and Burton I think they’re getting future key depth players, if not starters at defensive tackle and cornerback. In DeMarcus Love, they’re getting a guy with the upside to be their franchise left tackle. In Brandon Fusco, I think they’re getting a future starter at center. In Stephen Burton, I think they’re getting a needed depth receiver with the upside to be a starter. That’s not a bad haul at all. They didn’t fill all of their needs, but this team has so many that doing so would have been impossible. They did fill a need with every single selection and they had very few picks that were reaches by my board. They also had a few that were flat out steals. That first round pick sours this draft for me, but I’m still giving it a very high grade and who knows, if Ponder pans out, we could look back at Minnesota as the big winners of the 2011 NFL Draft in a few years.
Grade: B+
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