The Minnesota Vikings find themselves in a valuable position with the third pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. The Indianapolis Colts expect to take a quarterback, most likely Andrew Luck, with the top pick in the draft, while early projections have the St. Louis Rams looking to fortify their offensive line to keep Sam Bradford upright, targeting Southern California left tackle Matt Kalil.
Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III has become the most intriguing player and he will likely become more and more valuable as the draft process plays out. Assuming the Vikings are ready to move forward with Christian Ponder, they will be looking to find him some additional weapons to utilize.
WalterFootball.com's latest mock draft has the Vikings taking big-time wide receiver Justin Blackmon out of Oklahoma State. He would certainly help Ponder and create a nightmare combo with Percy Harvin for opposing defensive coordinators.
But if RG III, wows the world at the NFL combine and in workouts leading up to the draft, should the Vikings trade back to gather more picks to fill more needs? Mocking the Draft makes the case for this strategy since the Cleveland Browns with the fourth pick could covet Griffin forcing teams to jump to the third pick if they want the dynamic young quarterback.
It also means the Vikings have more options with the third overall pick. If the St. Louis Rams draft Southern California left tackle Matt Kalil, the Vikings will be prime trade partners for anyone wanting to leapfrog the Cleveland Browns to take Griffin. That could give the Vikings numerous picks, to help fill their needs along the offensive line and the defensive backfield. The worst case scenario would be the Rams trade the second pick to a Griffin-wanting team and the Vikings get Kalil.
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