Mock NFL drafts have been flying fast and furious for quite a while now. . .heck, some of them started the day after the 2010 NFL draft concluded. . .but it's time to really start paying attention to some of them. The draft combine will be upon us before we know it, and soon we'll be waiting for the Vikings' card to go to the podium for the No. 12 overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft.
↵The folks at SB Nation have been putting together weekly mock drafts, and they've just released the latest incarnation. In this particular draft, they have the Vikings selecting a defensive end, Ryan Kerrigan, out of Purdue University. The logic behind it. . .which, on the surface, is pretty tough to argue. . .is thus:
↵↵↵Leslie Frazier and the Vikings are yet another team in serious need of help at the quarterback position, but with Newton and Gabbert off the board, they're in a no-win (or trade down) situation here. Ray Edwards is an impending free agent, and Kerrigan has dominated the Big 10 for three straight years.
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See, that I can understand. However, I've stated on more than one occasion over at The Daily Norseman that I believe that there are four quarterbacks that are going to go in the first round. . .Missouri's Blaine Gabbert, Auburn's Cameron Newton, Arkansas' Ryan Mallett, and Washington's Jake Locker. The folks at the mothership apparently disagree with this assessment, as they don't have Mallett or Locker anywhere to be found in their mock draft.
↵Mock drafts are nice to talk about and everything. . .heck, I love them. . .but they don't really make a whole lot of sense until after the combine and after the workouts and things of that nature. I think that if one of the four quarterbacks I've mentioned above is available when the Vikings select at No. 12, that's the direction they'll be going in, but we shall see.