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1. (7) Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma
2. (44) Sidney Rice, WR, South Carolina
3. (72) Marcus McCauley, CB, Fresno State
4. (102) Brian Robison, DE, Texas
5. (146) Aundrae Allison, WR, East Carolina
6. (176) Rufus Alexander, LB, Oklahoma
7. (217) Tyler Thigpen, QB, Coastal Carolina
7. (233) Chandler Williams, WR, Florida International
The Vikings have re-signed DT Spencer Johnson, RB Artose Pinner and OG Anthony Herrera to 1-year contracts. Johnson played in 14 games last season and he made 15 tackles. In three seasons with the Vikings, Johnson has played in 33 games and he’s made 84 tackles, has 1 sack and he has defensed 3 passes. He was re-signed for depth as the Vikings’ don’t consider him starting material. Artose Pinner did a good job as one of the Vikings reserve running backs. He played in 12 games (1 start) and he carried the football 43 times for 190 yards (4.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs. He also caught 2 passes for 15 yards (7.5 avg) and returned 4 kickoffs for 76 yards (19.0 avg). Pinner is a solid reserve running back for the Vikings and they were smart to re-sign him. Anthony Herrera played in only 2 games last season and he didn’t start either one of them. In his career, he’s only played in 12 games (6 of them starts) but the Vikings’ like Herrera’s 6′2″, 315 pound size at guard so they decided to keep him around as a backup.
The Vikings have signed TE Richard Owens to a new 1-year deal. He played in all 16 games last season (2 starts) and he caught 6 passes for 45 yards (7.5 avg) with 1 TD catch. He might see his role in the offense expand a little bit this season.
I have conducted a complete 7 round draft for every team in the NFL. If you want to see what I have projected for any other team in the NFL, click on the team name in the right hand margin and go to the team’s Draft Report page if you don’t see the article on the front page of the site. This was a lot of work so I hope you enjoy it.
The Vikings really need offensive help and they will get a lot of it after the first round. This is who I see the Vikings selecting later in the month:
1. (7) Adam Carriker, DE, Nebraska
2. (41) Craig Davis, WR, LSU
3. (72) John Beck, QB, BYU
4. (106) David Clowney, WR, Virginia Tech
5. (146) Kenneth Darby, RB, Alabama
6. (182) Kevin Boss, TE, Oregon
7. (217) Thomas Clayton, RB, Kansas State
The Vikings will resist taking a receiver in the first round because it will not give them good value for the pick. Still, Craig Davis and David Clowney would definately inject some talent into the WR corps of the Vikings. John Beck could win the starting job for the Vikings if they take him because Tavaris Jackson did nothing last season to suggest he can be a starting NFL QB.
The Vikings have signed WR Cortez Hankton formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Last season he played in 12 games (1 start) for the Jags and he caught 5 passes for 48 yards (9.6 avg). Over his 4-year NFL career, Hankton has played in 46 games (1 start) and he has caught 34 passes for 310 yards (9.1 avg) with 2 TD grabs. His main contribution to the Jags was covering kicks on special teams and that will probably be his best role for the Vikings this season.
