The Vikings have by far the worst QB situation in the NFL right now.  The starter will probably be second year man Tavaris Jackson out of tiny Alabama State.  The Vikings are wrong in throwing this kid to the wolves before he’s ready and the results could wind up pretty darn awful.  Jackson has the physical skills (good runner, strong throwing arm) to be a success, but the mental part of the game is his big problem.  Lucky for Jackson is the fact that the Vikings will be a running team first which should take a lot of pressure off of him in the passing game.  Jackson played in 4 games as a rookie (2 starts) and he completed 47 of 81 (58%) passes for 475 yards with 2 TDs and 4 INTs (62.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 15 times for 77 (5.1 ypc) yards with 1 TD run. 

Brooks Bollinger will be the backup, but the Vikings will likely let him split the reps in practice as if he was QB 1A.  Bollinger has the look of a career backup because he just doesn’t have the arm strength to drive the ball in tight spots.  He probably is a better passer overall than Jackson is, but he doesn’t have the all around upside.  Bollinger is good as a play action passer and that would seem to work well in the Vikings’ style of run first offense.  Bollinger played in 2 games (no starts) for the Vikings last season and he completed 13 of 18 (72.2%) passes for 146 yards with 0 TDs and 1 INTs (72.9 QB Rating).  Bollinger does have the most experience of the Vikings’ QB roster and that’s scary.  He has played in 14 games (9 starts) in his NFL career and he completed 168 of 293 (57.3%) passes for 1,764 yards with 7 TD passes and 7 interceptions (73.0 QB Rating).  He also has carried the football 36 times for 137 yards (3.8 ypc).

The battle for the #3 QB will pit rookie Tyler Thigpen out of Coastal Carolina vs. Drew Henson.  The Vikings hope that Thigpen wins this battle.  Thigpen does not have a strong arm and he’s played against weak competition, but he was efficient in college so he will get a chance.  Drew Henson has had a rough time since leaving the University of Michigan, where he was a fine college QB.  He took the big money and played baseball and it didn’t turn out too well.  He played a lot of his minor league games in Columbus, Ohio so he took abuse from Buckeye fans in his home park and that couldn’t have been good for his baseball career.  When he quit baseball and resumed playing football he had a lot of rust in his game and he still hasn’t been able to shake it off.  Henson has played in 7 NFL games (1 start) and he’s completed 10 of 18 (55.6%) passes for 78 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception (61.8 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 1 time for 7 yards.

The Vikings felt that they needed to draft the best player available in the 7th round so they chose Chandler Williams.  He’s on the small side at 5′11″, 184 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40.  Williams even plays faster than he times but he’s soft due to his size.  He will likely have trouble getting off of the line in the pros but he could excel in the slot.  He played in 41 games (24 starts) at Florida International and he caught 203 passes for 2,519 yards (12.4 avg) with 8 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 9 times for 52 yards (5.8 ypc).  Williams also might be able to help the Vikings as a kick returner.  In college, Williams returned 6 punts for 90 yards (15.0 avg) and he returned 26 kickoffs for 542 yards (20.8 avg). 

Tyler Thigpen was an interesting pick by the Minnesota Vikings.  He has nice size at 6′2″, 223 pounds and he’s fast enough (4.73 40) to take off out of the pocket if he has to.  Thigpen doesn’t have a big arm but he’s good at hitting short and medium distance passes.  In 41 games (39 start) at Coastal Carolina, Thigpen completed 486 of 879 (55.3%) of his passes for 6,598 yards with 53 TD passes and 25 interceptions.  He also ran the ball well as he carried the ball 346 times for 1,626 yards (4.7 ypc) with 13 TD runs.  Thigpen would probably be nothing more than a practice squad player on most teams but he might be more than that for the Vikings.

Rufus Alexander could wind up being a steal for the Vikings in the 6th round.  He’s a little small at 6′0, 227 pounds and he’s a tad slow as he runs a 4.7 40 but he’s a good football player.  You can’t measure a player’s heart and Alexander plays faster than he times.  He played in 39 games (36 starts) at Oklahoma and he made 295 tackles, 38 tackles for a loss, had 9 sacks, broke up 16 passes and intercepted 3 passes.  Alexander will likely be a backup linebacker as a rookie but he could be a future starter down the road.  He should also help out on special teams as a rookie.

The Vikings got themselves a player with a lot of upside when they picked Allison.  He is 6′0″, 197 pounds and he runs a 4.5 40 so he should inject speed into a Vikings WR corps that doesn’t have much.  Allison was very productive in his two seasons at East Carolina.  He played in 22 games (all starts) at East Carolina and he caught 145 passes for 1,732 yards (11.9 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  Allison also has returned punts in his career and he could help the Vikings out in that capacity.  If he gets a little bit tougher Allison could be an impact player for the Vikings.