With the 2012 NFL draft and stadium drama behind us, I have been looking feverishly for "real" Vikings football news. I stumbled upon this article today from the Pioneer Press which discusses the Vikings offseason strength and conditioning program. There's a few gems in there so I hope you read it, but I will share some of the highlights after the jump.

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Well with the draft set to begin in less than 3 hours, I figured it would be too late to pump out a last minute mock. So I thought I would be fun to go back and review all the mocks that I did this season thus far. I had forgot that the 3-13 season had afforded me the opportunity to start mocking as early as November; what else was I to do to lift spirits?

So after the jump I included a season's worth of mocks. Many of them were done before the compensatory picks were announced, so ultimately they won't be very accurate. But I still think it is fun to reflect on the picks. By Saturday I will know just how crazy I am with my evaluations.

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So yesterday I posted a little ditty from our friends over at walterfootball.com which stated several reasons why the Vikings MUST draft USC left tackle Matt Kalil with the 3rd overall pick in Thursday's draft. Today, I want to share with my Daily Norsemen bretheren, perhaps an alternative point of view. Mike Mayock doesn't necessarily say the Vikes should take someone other than Kalil at #3, but he does have a few other players ranked ahead of him. And I know that many of you really respect Mike Mayock, so with that in mind, I am curious to hear your thoughts.

Mayock's top 100 after the jump.

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I'm a fan of walterfootball.com. I enjoy the site, especially all the emphasis on the NFL draft that they provide. I stumbled upon this article today so I thought I'd share it here on the DN. Rather than doing a fanshot and linking the article, I pasted it after the jump. Let's hear your thoughts. Try not to focus on the little things like whether or not Gerhart was a wasted pick or if Everson Griffen is a bust. I'd rather us focus on the heart of the article. Do the Vikes need to draft Matt Kalil #3 overall on Thursday night?

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According to this article from the Pioneer Press, Viking's GM Rick Spielman has cut the list of potential draft choices at #3 to three candidates. To no one's surprise those 3 are: USC offensive tackle Matt Kalil, Oklahoma St. receiver Justin Blackmon and LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne. According to the article, Spielman has essentially told the other members of the Viking's war room that these 3 players have a similar grade and so their focus between now and the draft will be to re-evalute the game film of each player.

Spielman is also quoted as saying that he has received interest from other teams to trade out of the #3 spot, but that they will wait until draft night to commit to any such scenarios.

Thoughts?

The name Adam Schefter tends to make Vikings fans groan as a result of his "Schismgate" non-story back in 2009. Now he has stuck his neck out again and made another bold statement involving the Vikings. According to his latest ESPN Insider mailbag blog, he believes, contrary to popular demand, that the Vikings will not draft Matt Kalil. Even if they stay at #3 they will pass on the USC standout according to Schefter.

Schefter answered a hypothetical question from a Bills fan about the possibility of trading up for Kalil shall he fall past the Vikings at #3.

It could be that Kalil falls and if Buffalo wants to go trade up to No. 5 (Tampa Bay) or No. 6 (St. Louis), those teams would be all ears in terms of listening to offers. If Buffalo stays where it is, the sense around the league is that the Bills will have their choice between Kuechly or DeCastro and other good players who will be available at that spot. But I like your Kalil idea, Jake. It makes sense to me. The key to that would be Minnesota passing on Kalil, which I happen to believe the Vikings will. I'm in the minority there, and the Vikings are still deciding what to do, but I don't think Kalil is the lock that others do -- even if Minnesota stays at No. 3.

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According to Jeremy Fowler of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Vikings have signed another player this offseason. And like most of the other signings, it isn't a big name. This time the Vikings have added former Saints and Dolphins linebacker Marvin Mitchell. At this point it's hard to tell where Mitchell will fit in, but most likely he will be a Special Teams player at best and a camp body at worst.

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Well the Vikings haven't exactly made a splash in free agency thus far. You might even argue that they haven't really addressed their biggest needs. Re-signing Erin Henderson caused me to tear up my rough draft was necessary, and adding oline depth with the Schwartz was a good deal too. John Carlson returns home and is expected to take over for the recently departed, fan-favorite Visanthe Shaincoe. The curious moves involved the signing of 2 fullbacks. One will most likely provide the competition for D'Imperio, while the other might get a chance as our 3rd down back. Nevertheless, we still have a lot of holes.

My latest attempt to fill those holes after the jump.

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According to Jeremy Fowler of the pioneer press:

The Minnesota Vikings agreed to a one-year contract with former Miami Dolphins running back Lex Hilliard, providing depth and capable blocking to a deep yet injury-plagued backfield.

Hilliard, who wasn't tendered by the Dolphins as a restricted free agent, had 41 rushing yards and a touchdown on 16 carries last season. The Vikings signed the 5-foot-11, 240-pound Hilliard primarily for his blocking but consider him a capable runner as well.

Hilliard joins Adrian Peterson, Toby Gerhart, Caleb King, Jordan Todman, Ryan D'Imperio and Matt Asiata in the Vikings' stable of running backs and fullbacks.

Hilliard will have a chance to earn the No. 3 job behind Peterson, who is recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament, and Gerhart, who suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in the season finale against Chicago. The Vikings did not place a tender on restricted free agent running back Lorenzo Booker, who is unlikely to return.

Hilliard is the Vikings' second free agent signing from another team. On Wednesday, the team signed former Seahawks tight end John Carlson to a five-year, $25-million deal.

Hey everyone! I had planned on getting this out on Sunday or Monday at the latest to beat the Free Agency craze, but I got busy doing some stuff around the house so I had to put my free agency plan on hold until today. Originally I wanted to include the Franchise tag and restricted free agent tenders but the post became very long so I cut it down to Vikings free agents and my own plan. I start off with a season summary:

Minnesota Vikings (3-13) Season Summary: (walterfootball.com)
If going 3-13 and seeing Christian Ponder regress on a week-to-week basis wasn't enough, Viking fans had to endure watching Adrian Peterson tear his ACL and MCL in late December. With Peterson unlikely to be ready for the opener, the 2012 campaign is shaping up to be another lost year for this franchise.

So that was pretty bad. Join me after the jump for my latest edition of offseason moves to help right the longship.

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Here is my latest Vikings mock draft. The reason I put such an emphasis on the Senior Bowl is because last year the Vikings drafted 5 players who participated in the All-Star game. This year the Vikings staff coached the North Squad so I expect them to go back to the well this year.

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With the NFL Scouting Combine wrapping up and Free Agency set to begin, I though I would share my thoughts on how I would go about righting the ship for 2012 and beyond. I will begin by offering some suggestions for players that I would consider in Free Agency, as well as provide explanations why I wouldn't pursue others (hint: Brandon Carr is not in my plan). Finally I provide my latest mock draft, Combine/Senior Bowl style.

Join me after the jump for my offseason plan to revamp the Vikings roster.

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I stumbled upon this article over at Viking Update. John Holler paints quite the discouraging picture with this statistic.

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I really enjoyed doing the recap of the East West Shrine game, and Chris was gracious enough to put it up on the front page, so I thought I would continue with the theme now that it's Senior Bowl week. After the jump I will include the rosters from both squads and their weigh in results.

Why are these weigh ins important? Pro scouts want to know each prospect's height, weight, hand size and arm length. Keep in mind the position each player plays and how his measurements might affect him. For example, arm length is crucial for offensive tackles, DBs and WRs. Arm length helps OT's keep pass rushers further away from the pocket (34" is typically the cut off point for OT prospects), and it helps DBs and WRs win the battle at the LOS (jam) and win the battle for catching the ball. For QB prospects, I always look at height and hand size.

I put some of the more surprising (good or bad) measurements in bold font. For example Iowa St. DB Leonard Johnson measured in at 5'9" and his arm length is 28.75". I am officially off the "draft Leonard Johnson" bandwagon.

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With all the talk about the Vikings coaching in the Senior Bowl, we missed one of the other college all-star games. Have no fear, though, as NMVike has us covered. - Chris

Happy Championship Sunday everyone! I just wanted to share some thoughts about this past week's East West Shrine game. I know this game isn't quite as prominent as the Senior Bowl, but there were several players that made a name for themselves and are very likely to become solid players in the NFL. I focused primarily on the positions that I think the Vikings need to address in this year's draft. Those positions are offensive line, defensive secondary, wide receiver, defensive tackle, and linebacker. I also threw in a couple of names of players that might be worth taking a flier on as developmental prospects.

Join me after the jump for the players who I thought stood out.

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