The Minnesota Vikings picked 10 players in last April’s NFL Draft, but only seven of them got into games last year.  As of right now only two of the players the Vikings picked (Christian Ponder and Kyle Rudolph) project to be starting players down the road.  Here is a look at how the rookies did in 2011:

23-year old QB Christian Ponder came to the Vikings in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft.  He played in 11 games for the Vikings last year and he completed 158 of 291 passes (54.3%) for 1,853 yards with 13 TD passes and 13 INTs (70.1 QB Rating).  Ponder also carried the ball 28 times for 219 yards (7.8 ypc) last year.  Ponder needs to improve his game if he wants to remain the starting QB of the Vikings as he threw too many pickoffs last year.

22-year old TE Kyle Rudolph was a second round pick of the Vikings last April.  Rudolph played in 15 games for the Vikings last year and he caught 26 passes for 249 yards (9.6 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  The Vikings think that Rudolph will eventually replace Visanthe Shiancoe as the starting TE.

23-year old DT Christian Ballard was selected in the 4th round by the Vikings.  He played in all 16 games for the Vikings last season and he had 13 tackles and 2 tackles for a loss.  The Vikings hope that Ballard will show improvement in the near future.

22-year old CB Brandon Burton was picked in the 5th round of the draft.  He played in 10 games for the Vikings last year and he had 8 tackles.

23-year old OT Demarcus Love was picked in the 6th round.  Love didn’t get into any games for the Vikings last year.

24-year old safety Mistral Raymond was also picked in the 6th round.  Raymond played in 10 games for the Vikings last year and he had 22 tackles, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception and 3 passes defensed.  He could earn a bigger role with the Vikings in the near future.

23-year old center Brandon Fusco was a 6th round pick last April.  He played in 3 games (0 starts) for the Vikings last year.

24-year old linebacker Ross Homan was picked in the 6th round by the Vikings.  He was cut before the season started and he didn’t hook on with another team.

24-year old DE D’Aundre Reed was picked in the 7th round by the Vikings.  He didn’t play in any games for the Vikings last year.

22-year old WR Stephen Burton was also picked in the 7th round by the Vikings.  He played in 3 games for the Vikings last year and he finished up with 2 grabs for 38 yards (19.0 avg).

GRADE FOR 2011:  D

GRADE FOR THE FUTURE:  C-

The Minnesota Vikings are inserting rookie 23-year old Christian Ponder into the starting lineup this weekend against the Packers.  Ponder made his NFL debut against the Bears last weekend in the second half.  He completed 9 of 17 passes (52.9%) for 99 yards with 0 TD passes and 0 INTs (70.5 QB Rating).  Ponder also carried the ball 1 time for 8 yards against the Bears.  The Vikings will likely open up the playbook much more with Ponder in charge, because he has the arm strength to get the ball down the field.  34-year old Donovan McNabb looked like he is toast for the Vikings.  He has played in 6 games for the Vikings so far this year and he has completed 94 of 156 passes (60.3%) for 1,026 yards with 4 TD passes and 2 INTs (82.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 14 times for 59 yards (4.2 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  This was the right move for the Vikings are they aren’t going anywhere fast at 1-5 on the year.

The Minnesota Vikings reached a little bit in the first round and then they made a lot of value picks the rest of the way.  The first pick that the Vikings made was QB Christian Ponder out of Florida State.  No one doubts that he has the skills to be a starter in the NFL down the road but a lot of draft “experts” had him going in the second round.  In the 2nd round came TE Kyle Rudolph who was rated as the top TE in this draft.  His game is making tough catches over the middle of the field, so he will help Ponder develop as a QB.  The Vikings got deals on falling offensive linemen as they picked OT DeMarcus Love and C/G Brandon Fusco in the 6th round.  With hard work, they could each develop into starting linemen in the NFL.  DT Christian Ballard (4th round) and CB Brandon Burton (5th round) were supposed to be long gone by when the Vikings drafted them.  The could be impact players down the road for the Vikings’ D. 

PROJECTED GRADE:  C+

The Vikings took WR Stephen Burton out of West Texas A&M with the 236th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Burton is 6’1″, 221 pounds and he runs a 4.52 40.  Burton played in 12 games (10 starts) at West Texas A&M last year and he caught 70 passes for 1,021 yards (14.6 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  In his two years with West Texas A&M, Burton played in 24 games (17 starts) in which he caught 132 passes for 1,909 yards (14.5 avg) with 13 TD grabs.  He also returned 12 kickoffs for 259 yards (21.6 avg) and 10 punts for 98 yards (9.8 avg).  Burton will likely have to earn a spot on special teams if he’s going to make the Vikings’ roster in 2011.

The Minnesota Vikings took DE D’Aundre Reed out of Arizona with the 215th overall pick (7th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Reed is 6’4″, 258 pounds and he isn’t athletic enough to play outside linebacker.  Reed was a backup in college so he’s going to have to work hard to stick in the NFL.  Reed played in 47 games (8 starts) in his four years with the Wildcats and he had 83 tackles, 11.5 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, batted down 3 balls and he forced 2 fumbles.  Reed will be a longshot to win a job on the Vikings’ opening day roster in 2011.

The Minnesota Vikings picked 24-year old OLB Ross Homan out of Ohio State with the 200th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Homan is 6’0″, 229 pounds and he runs a 4.75 50.  Homan is a solid player on plays in front of him but he has issues when asked to cover a back or TE.  He also isn’t much of a blitzer.  Homan played in 11 games (all starts) for Ohio State last year and he had 72 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1 sack, he broke up 4 passes and he had 1 interception.  In five years with the Buckeyes (he had a medical hardship year for turf toe), Homan played in 54 games (30 starts) in which he had 287 tackles, 17 tackles for a loss, 5 sacks, he broke up 11 passes and he had 7 interceptions.  Homan will likely have to make the team on special teams and he will have to work his way into the defense.

The Vikings took 23-year old center Brandon Fusco out of Slippery Rock with the 172nd overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Fusco is 6’4″, 302 pounds.  Fusco has good speed in his set-up in pass protection but the Vikings will need to teach him how to be mean.  Fusco doesn’t get much push in the running game and that was against inferior competition, so he has a long way to go before he’s ready for action in the NFL.  Fusco played in 11 games (all starts) at Slippery Rock last year and he played in 44 games (all starts) in his four years there.  This was a pick with an eye on the future.

The Minnesota Vikings took CB/S Mistral Raymond out of South Florida with the 170th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Raymond is 6’2″, 192 pounds but he’s a tad slow as he runs a 4.67 40.  Raymond projects more as a safety due to his lack of speed but he could be used at corner in a pinch.  He played in 12 games (11 starts) for South Florida last year and he had 56 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss, he broke up 7 passes and he had 1 interception.  Last year was Raymond’s first as a full-time starter and he was a walk on just three years ago.  That means that hard work doesn’t scare him off.

The Vikings took 23-year old OT DeMarcus Love out of Arkansas with the 168th overall pick (6th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Love is 6’4″, 318 pounds.  DeMarcus Love should have been gone before the Vikings took him, so they once again got good value.  Love is not a power player despite his size, but he’s a good athlete.  He played in 13 games (all starts) at Arkansas last year and he played in 45 games (37 starts) in his four years with the Razorbacks.  Love is a developmental project as he’s a little rough around the edges, but the Vikings’ coaching staff might be able to get the best out of him down the road.

The Vikings took 22-year old cornerback Brandon Burton out of Utah with the 139th overall pick (5th round) of the 2011 NFL Draft.  Burton is 6’0″, 185 pounds and he runs a 4.45 40.  Burton isn’t a physical player and he is not a good run defender, as he’s a tad soft.  But, he’s a solid cover corner who can make big plays down the field.  Burton played in 13 games (all starts) at Utah last year and he had 51 tackles, broke up 8 passes, had 2 interceptions and he forced 1 fumble.  He played in 37 games (25 starts) in his three years with the Utes and he had 101 tackles, he broke up 18 passes, had 3 interceptions and he forced 1 fumble.  The Vikings caught another sliding player to help out on defense.  This was another really solid pick for them.