If NFL.com’s mock draft is correct, the Vikings’ NFC North Division rivals will do them no favors during the first round of the college draft on April 25. Analyst Pat Kirwan has Detroit, Chicago and Green Bay, who all draft players on the first round before the Vikings, choosing offensive tackles.
Right offensive tackle is arguably the Vikings’ biggest need in the draft but picking at No. 22 makes coach Brad Childress and company late to the party. Detroit, with the first choice in the draft, will take Baylor offensive tackle Jason Smith, according to Kirwan. Green Bay, at No. 9, will pick Alabama’s Andre Smith, while Chicago, with the No. 18 choice, will go for a third offensive tackle, Arizona’s Eben Britton.
Further thinning the offensive tackle pool, St. Louis and San Francisco will also take offensive tackles before the Vikings pick comes up at No. 22, according to Kirwan’s predictions. The Rams will draft Virginia’s Eugene Moore with the No. 2 pick, while the 49ers are projected to choose Mississippi’s Michael Oher at No. 10, according to https://www.nfl.com/draft/story?id=09000d5d80f330d5&template=without-video-with-comments&confirm=true&campaign=Google_MockDraft
With perhaps five of the first 21 picks being offensive tackles, common sense speculation is the Vikings will try to fill another major need, wide receiver. A popular prediction on multiple mock drafts, including by Kirwan, is that the Vikings will choose Florida junior wide receiver Percy Harvin.
Don Banks wrote this comment about Harvin as part of his draft preview for Sports Illustrated/CNN: “Having come close but failing to land T.J. Houshmandzadeh in free agency, the Vikings need an injection of play-making at receiver. Harvin and North Carolina’s Hakeem Nicks are the two best remaining available pass-catchers.”
Banks has Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree, projected to Oakland at No. 7, Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin, at No. 16 going to San Diego, and Maryland’s Darrius Heyward-Bey, a No. 17 pick by the Jets, being the first three wide receivers selected in the draft. More at https://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/don_banks/03/12/mock1/index.html
Harvin is small for a wide receiver, perhaps generously listed at 5-11, and has a reputation for injuries, but his speed and elusiveness have been impressing since high school in Virginia where some considered him the best prep prospect in the country. Harvin may not only help the Vikings have a second reliable big play receiver with Bernard Berrian, he could take handoffs as a running back, and probably more likely return punts or kickoffs.