Reaction to The Minnesota Vikings First Round Selections in The 2012 NFL Draft

Day one came, and gone extremely quick. The Vikings were really aggressive, by making two trades in the first round. First they swapped picks with Cleveland Browns, and traded back into the first round with the Baltimore Ravens to pick Harrison Smith at number 29.

Matt Kalil was a no brainier at number four, yet I am still extremely torn between this selection. If you look at all the top 10 players drafted last night, 9-out-of-10 of the players drafted are game changers. Of course the Vikings pick is considered not a game changer. Before the draft I really liked Justin Blackmon Wide Receiver from Oklahoma State. Blackmon has drawn comparisons to Michael Irvin who is arguably one of the best wide receivers to ever play in the NFL.

Blackmon dropped on my list to second, because I started to watch a lot of film on Morris Claiborne. Claiborne jumped out to me as a guy who could drastically change the Vikings secondary. The Vikings gave up the most 20+ yard passes in NFL last year, and with a division with multiple explosive wide receivers like Gregg Jennings, Brandon Marshall, and Calvin Johnson. You would think Claiborne would easily help to tone down those receivers.

If anything, Kalil will help protect Christian Ponder, and give Adrian Peterson a brick wall to run behind, yet I think Blackmon, and Claiborne would have been the best upgrade, but if Kalil turns out to be as good as the media makes him out to be then you can not blame the Vikings for picking their left tackle for the next decade.

The other player selected was Harrison Smith safety out of Notre Dame. Smith was the second best safety in the draft behind Alabama's Mark Barron. Smith is an ultra-athletic, big and smart safety who has roamed the secondary as a four-year starter and senior captain for Notre Dame. He is the type of safety who is always involved, using his quickness, recognition and overall body control to react effectively to plays. While he has just adequate speed, he makes up for this deficiency with strong play recognition and anticipation, and he is often in a position to make a play on the ball.

The Vikings gave up their second round pick for Smith, who very easily could upgrade their secondary, yet I am still torn between this selection, because Georgia Tech wide receiver Stephen Hill was still on the board, and would have gave Ponder a great target to throw to this year.

My draft grades go like this. Matt Kalil A- and Harrison Smith B. Overall A for the Vikings. The reason for the A grade is because the Vikes were aggressive and for the way the Vikings received more draft picks. With more picks, the Vikings can fill more holes, and create depth on their roster. Lets hope the Vikings draft well, and keep up this aggressive mentality.