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NFL Mock Draft 2012: Draft Tek Has Morris Claiborne Heading To Minnesota

The Minnesota Vikings have been getting mocked various offensive tackle prospects almost exclusively in the past few weeks, with the biggest alternate selection usually being WR Justin Blackmon so that they could have a big weapon for Christian Ponder.

Draft Tek is a site that focuses on doing simulated NFL mock drafts, and their newest consensus 2012 draft has the Vikings going a slightly different route than the Blackmon or Riley Reiff path after the St. Louis Rams take Matt Kalil out of the picture. They've brought back the old choice of LSU Cornerback Morris Claiborne, perhaps a high selection for a CB but perhaps the best player available for the Vikings at the time since they will have no interest in Robert Griffin III.

After fielding numerous emails on why the Vikings can address WR in free agency, I've officially bought in and put a grab on Morris Claiborne to fill a gaping hole at corner. To say the Vikings had a porous secondary last year would be a compliment at this point. They finished last in the league in Opponent QB Rating (107.6), Percentage of passes that went for a 1st down (39.6%) and INTs (8). They also ranked 31st in ProFootballFocus.com's "Pass Coverage" grade.

There are no trades allowed in Draft Tek's formula, so they don't have the possibility of the Vikings trading down included. If Kalil is out of the picture and a team like the Washington Redskins are desperate to get Robert Griffin III before the Browns can pick him up, don't rule a big trade out.

For more on the Vikings, check out The Daily Norseman. For more on the draft in general, check out Mocking The Draft or just head to the SB Nation NFL hub at sbnation.com/NFL.

Photographs by Micah Taylor, clairity, and Fibonacci Blue used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.