The Minnesota Vikings pulled a shocker last night when they used the #12 overall pick (first round) last night on 23-year old QB Christian Ponder out of Florida State.  Now, the Vikings were desperate for a QB but I think they could have traded back a little bit and still picked him.  Ponder is a big guy at 6’2″, 222 pounds and he runs a 4.7 40 as he is a solid athlete.  He played primarily in a shotgun at Florida State so he’s going to have to make adjustments to succeed in the NFL.  Ponder doesn’t have a great arm but he has the intangibles that remind me a lot of Chad Pennington.  Ponder played in 12 games (all starts) for Florida State last season and he completed 184 of 299 passes (61.5%) for 2,044 yards with 20 TD passes and 8 INTs.  Ponder played in 35 games (all starts) in his four years with the Seminoles and he completed 596 of 965 passes (61.8%) for 6,872 yards with 49 TD passes and 30 INTs.  This is going to be a boom or bust pick for the Vikings.  Hopefully they won’t throw Ponder to the wolves in 2011, at least to start the year, so they will need to sign a veteran to keep the position warm until he’s ready.

The Minnesota Vikings need WRs and a QB this weekend and I think they will fill up both those needs.  Here is who I saw the Vikings landed in my mock draft:

1st round (#12 overall) – Julio Jones, WR, Alabama

2nd round (#43 overall) – Andy Dalton, QB, TCU

4th round (#106 overall) – Terrance Toliver, WR, LSU

5th round (#139 overall) – Akeem Dent, ILB, Georgia

5th round (#150 overall) – Ricky Elmore, DE, Arizona

6th round (#172 overall) – Lawrence Guy, DT, Arizona State

6th round (#200 overall) – Virgil Green, TE, Nevada

7th round (#215 overall) – Scott Tolzien, QB, Wisconsin

7th round (#236 overall) – Stanley Havili, FB, USC

The Vikings would get a couple nice WRs (Jones and Toliver) to develop along with a QB of the future in Andy Dalton.  This would be a great draft for the Vikings.

The NFL Draft is an inexact science.  The Vikings didn’t do too well last April and the prospects aren’t too good for the guys they picked.  Here’s a look at how the rookies did in 2010:

Chris Cook:  CB Chris Cook came to the Vikings in the 2nd round (#34 overall) out of Virginia.  He played in 6 games (5 starts) for the Vikings and he had 21 tackles and 2 passes defensed.  Cook’s season ended early due to injury.  Cook has a lot to learn to become a solid CB in the NFL, but at the same time he does have the potential to succeed.  Only time will tell if Cook turns into a good player for the Vikings or a bust.

Toby Gerhart:  RB Toby Gerhart out of Stanford came to the Vikings in the 2nd round (#51 overall).  Gerhart played in 15 games (1 start) for the Vikings last year and he carried the ball 81 times for 322 yards (4.0 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 21 passes for 167 yards (8.0 avg) out of the backfield.  Gerhart is a solid running back but he needs to work on his fumbling.  Gerhart will be a solid backup for Adrian Peterson down the road.

Everson Griffin:  DE Everson Griffin came to the Vikings in the 4th round (#100 overall) out of USC.  He played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Vikings last year and he had 11 tackles.  He didn’t show a whole lot last year, so he’s going to have to step up if he wants to get more P.T. in 2011 for the Vikings.

Chris DeGeare:  The Vikings took OG Chris DeGeare in the 5th round (#161 overall) out of Wake Forest.  He played in 8 games (5 starts) for the Vikings last year as he replaced Chris Hutchinson when he was injured.  DeGeare was kind of soft last year so he needs to get a tad meaner.

Nathan Triplett:  Inside linebacker came to the Vikings in the 5th round (#167 overall) out of Minnesota.  The former Golden Gopher got cut in the preseason before getting a chance with the Colts.  He played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Colts last year and he had 4 tackles.  The Vikings shouldn’t miss him too much, if at all.

Joe Webb:  The Vikings took QB Joe Webb in the 6th round (#199 overall) out of UAB last April.  They took him with the idea of converting him to WR but it just didn’t work out that way due to injuries to the Vikings’ #1 and #2 QBs.  Webb played in 5 games (2 starts) for the Vikings last year and he completed 54 of 89 passes (60.7%) for 477 yards with 0 TD passes and 3 INTs (60.9 QB Rating).  Webb also carried the ball 18 times for 120 yards (6.7 ypc) with 2 TD runs for the Vikings last year.  Webb looks like a developmental project for the Vikings at QB.

Mickey Shuler:  TE Mickey Shuler came to the Vikings in the 7th round (#214 overall) out of Penn State.  Shuler was cut before getting into any games with the Vikings.  He played in 6 games (2 starts) for the Miami Dolphins last year and he caught 2 passes for 44 yards (22.0 avg).

Ryan D’Imperio:  The Vikings took inside linebacker Ryan D’Imperio with the #237 overall pick (7th round) last April out of  Rutgers.  He didn’t get into any games for the Vikings last year as he is converting to fullback.

GRADE FOR 2010:  D

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C-