Rick Spielman took to the podium on Thursday in Indianapolis at the NFL Combine. The Vikings general manager said that the team is focusing “heavily on the draft.” It is obvious that new coach Mike Zimmer is having a major impact and will have a huge voice in what the team is going to do in May during the draft along with new offensive coordinator Norv Turner.
Spielman mentioned that the team could consider the idea of trading the No. 8 overall pick as well to move down possibly. That wouldn’t be a surprise due to the number of holes that the team has right now before free agency begins. The team would like to bring quarterback Matt Cassel back as well which could lead to Minnesota not needing to draft a quarterback early in the draft.
There are many things that need to happen for the Vikings though if they are going to make a move like this to move down. Is it a smart move? Will the same player at No. 8 be there later in the first round? This is a very deep draft and there will still be a great player at No. 11 or 12 than at No. 8 for Minnesota to take. Spielman needs to be working on getting as many picks as he can get to add some depth to the team moving forward. They can’t afford to make a mistake in the first round and could be best-served finding a way to have two first-round picks like they have the last two years.
Obviously, there is still nearly three months to until the NFL Draft arrives in early May but the planning process needs to be in place now with a good handle on what players the Vikings want to target. Spielman, Turner and Zimmer have a big job ahead of them if they want to get this team into playoff contention sooner than later.
The rest of the NFC North looks loaded with strong offenses in Chicago, Detroit and Green Bay. While a quarterback is something that the team will be looking very hard at, defense should be the name of the game at least early in this draft. That is what will help win Minnesota games until their offense is clicking on all cylinders outside of Adrian Peterson.
