The Minnesota Vikings were a bad football team in 2011. . .hence the reason that they're picking third in the 2012 NFL Draft. However, they appear to be in a very solid position to help themselves, based on a couple of scenarios that appear to be playing themselves out in numerous mock drafts.
With Andrew Luck appearing to be a lock to go in the top overall spots to the Indianapolis Colts, the real interest will start with the St. Louis Rams' pick at second overall. The Rams also need a lot of help, but their target appears to be USC offensive lineman Matt Kalil. . .who, it just so happens, appears to be the Vikings' main target as well.
However, many teams are said to be coveting Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III, and it sounds like those teams are going to have to move up ahead of the Cleveland Browns, who hold the fourth overall pick. With that being the case, it appears as though two different scenarios are playing themselves out, both of which are highly advantageous for the Vikings.
The first scenario would be where the Rams would snag Kalil at number two overall. If that happens, the Vikings would have the ability to pretty much auction off the third overall pick to the highest bidder. . .whichever team wants to get ahead of Cleveland at number four for the rights to select Robert Griffin III. That would give the Vikings a few extra picks to play with. . .and team that is rebuilding on the level that the Vikings are could certainly use them.
The other scenario would be the one where the Rams would actually be the team trading back with a team that wants Griffin III, in which case Kalil falls directly into Minnesota's lap at number three, giving Minnesota the best non-Andrew Luck player in the draft (in this writer's opinion) without having to move around too much.
In any case, the Vikings appear to be in a very solid position to help themselves this April. We'll have plenty of time to discuss all of that before then, however.