Months upon months of speculation will come to an end later this week as the 2008 NFL Draft will be held on Saturday and Sunday in New York City. For football fans, part of the fun of the NFL draft is piecing together player evaluations and team needs to try and figure out which teams will take which players.
The draft will occur in late April and only then will we find out the next generation of Vikings players. But until then we have the mystery of who the Purple will select and the chance to take a guess at who that selection will be.
Who will be there for the Vikings at pick #17? Will Minnesota select an offensive player or will they instead choose to fortify their defense?
While no one can provide a concrete answer to those questions just yet, everyone can certainly take a guess. And instead of spending an endless amount of time searching the internet for ideas on what will be available when the Vikings are on the clock, you can check vikings.com each week to get an update on what everyone is projecting.
NFL.com – Vic Carucci/Pat Kirwin/Mike Mayock
For a second consecutive week, the NFL.com experts all agree that the Vikings will take a defensive end in the first round. But there is a slight disagreement on which one will be wearing purple in 2008. Last week, Kirwin projected Calais Campbell as the pick for Minnesota, but this week he has the Vikings taking Phillip Merling. Carucci and Mayock keep their projection the same, with Derrick Harvey as their choice for the Vikings.
ESPN.com – Mel Kiper, Jr.
ESPN’s draft expert also sees the Vikings addressing defensive end in the first round. However, a familiar name reemerges in Kiper’s mock draft. Harvey, whom both Carucci and Mayock have going to Minnesota, has a complete game and would add depth to the Vikings defensive line.
ESPN.com – Todd McShay
It’s always fun to add a new name to the mix, and McShay did so last week by projecting Mike Jenkins as the Purple’s pick. This week, McShay adds another new name to the fray. Tennessee State defensive back Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is who McShay sees the Vikings taking with their first-round selection. McShay says that Derrick Harvey will be the pick if he happens to fall that far, but if Harvey is not available, McShay sees Rodgers-Cromartie as the selection.
Scout.com – Chris Steuber
Scout.com’s Steuber hasn’t changed his selection for the Vikings and sees Merling landing with the Vikings in the first round. Originally, Steuber had Campbell going to the Vikings but now Merling has emerged as Steuber’s selection. Steuber says that “despite having sports hernia surgery, Clemson's Phillip Merling is one of the best all around DEs in the draft and is a perfect fit for the Vikings.”
You can read Steuber’s mock draft of the second round by clicking here…after you finish reading this story, of course. http://min.scout.com/a.z?s=63&p=2&c=744790&ssf=1&RequestedURL=http%3a%2f%2fmin.scout.com%2fa.z%3fs%3d63%26p%3d2%26c%3d744790
VikingUpdate.com – John Holler
Citing defensive end as a priority position for the Vikings to address in the draft, Holler keeps this week’s projection the same as last week’s, predicting the Vikings take Merling at #17.
DraftInsiders.com – Frank Coyle
For the previous four mock drafts, Coyle had Vanderbilt offensive lineman Chris Williams going to the Vikings. This week, however, Coyle has changed his mind and projects Texas receiver Limas Sweed as the pick.
Originally, Banks predicted the Vikings would take a receiver with their first-round pick, but now Banks projects Williams as his pick.