The Minnesota Vikings took some of their cadre of picks and moved back into the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft on Thursday evening. They sent their second-round pick, the 35th overall selection, and their fourth-round pick, which is #98 overall, to the Baltimore Ravens in order to move into the first round at the 29th overall spot.
With that choice, they took Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith. As we all know, the Vikings' secondary was a disaster in 2011, with injuries and a general lack of talent making a defense that led the NFL in sacks somehow be absolutely horrible in the passing game. Smith is a very athletic safety that should be able to jump into the starting lineup and contribute immediately. He was a team captain for the Fighting Irish, and ended his career with Notre Dame with over 300 tackles, seven interceptions, and 28 pass break-ups. He actually played as a strong-side linebacker for the Irish in 2009.
The Vikings needed to get help for the secondary at some point in this draft, and it appears that all the corners that they liked at this point were off the board. Harrison Smith is a solid selection, in my opinion. ESPN's scouting services have him as the 29th-best player in the draft overall, and as an "89" on a scale of 1-100.
With that, the Vikings are done in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, and don't have a pick until the third round, #66 overall.