I was off in wine country yesterday, attending a meeting of the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo Railway Historical Society, so I didn’t follow the draft closely. And even if I had, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t have much information about college football players (especially in the later rounds), so my interest was more along the lines of how the Vikings drafted to fill needs on their roster rather than on the actual individual players.
In the first day of the draft, the Vikings picked up defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, cornerback Xavier Rhodes, and wide receiver Cordarelle Patterson. To get Patterson, they traded all their second day picks plus a seventh rounder to the New England Patriots. Some fans were eager to see GM Rick Spielman somehow pull another rabbit out of the hat and trade back into the third round to grab a middle linebacker, but they were disappointed as the Vikings only monitored the second day activities and updated their draft board for the final day.
With their first pick on Saturday, the Vikings selected Penn State linebacker Gerald Hodges with pick 120. Brief profile from Tom Pelissero’s draft class roundup:
A converted safety, Hodges (6-1, 243) looks like a classic Tampa-2 will linebacker — small, fast enough and at his best in space. He’ll primarily compete for time outside and could get a look in the middle, too.
Next was punter Jeff Locke from UCLA, taken in the fifth round with the 155th pick. This is a clear shot across the bows of incumbent punter Chris Kluwe, and the second year in a row that the team has drafted a specialist despite having a high-quality veteran already on the roster.
A left-footer, Locke (6-0, 209) also handled kickoffs in college, though he won’t do that here. He immediately becomes the favorite to beat out veteran incumbent Chris Kluwe, who says he wants to compete for the job but may not even make it to camp.
The sixth round pick was UCLA guard Jeff Baca:
An aggressive blocker with some impressive physical traits, Baca (6-3, 302) split his 45 college starts between guard and tackle. He played some center at the East-West Shrine Game and figures to compete at the three inside positions.
Arif Hasan has a longer profile of Baca here.
In the seventh round, the Vikings had three picks, starting with another Penn State linebacker, this time Michael Mauti:
A productive outside linebacker whose father, Rich, played eight NFL seasons as a receiver, Mauti (6-2, 243) is coming off his third torn ACL in four years. He projects as a mike in the NFL and will compete at the Vikings’ most unsettled position once he’s fully healed.
Christopher Gates’ profile of Mauti here.
Followed by North Carolina guard Travis Bond:
A mammoth inside presence who has dealt with weight issues, Bond (6-6, 329) could get a chance to compete at both guard and tackle.
Christopher Gates on Bond here.
And finally Florida State defensive tackle Everett Dawkins:
A smallish three-technique, Dawkins (6-2, 292) enters an uphill battle competing for a spot behind Williams, Floyd and Christian Ballard.
Arif Hasan’s profile of Dawkins is here.
At the Daily Norseman, Ted Glover provided a list of the undrafted players signed to the Vikings roster after the draft concluded:
- Colin Anderson, TE, Furman
- Brandan Bishop, S, North Carolina State
- Joe Bonadies, OL, Penn
- Duron Carter, WR, Ohio State/Coffeyville JC/Alabama
- Nicholas Edwards, WR, Eastern Washington
- Darius Eubanks, LB, Georgia Southern
- Erik Highsmith, WR, North Carolina
- Marquis Jackson, DE, Portland State
- Zach Line, FB, Southern Methodist
- Anthony McCloud, DT, Florida State
- Robbie Rouse, RB, Fresno State
- Rayon Simmons, RB, Winona State
- Rodney Smith, WR, Florida State
- Collins Ukwu, DE, Kentucky
- James Vandenberg, QB, Iowa
- Camden Wentz, C, North Carolina State
- Jerodis Williams, RB, Furman
- Nathan Williams, DE/OLB, Ohio State
