The draft was falling the way the Minnesota Vikings needed and had cornerback Justin Gilbert available to them with the No. 8 pick. However, the Vikings decided to trade with the Cleveland Browns to move down to the No. 9 pick. Cleveland took Gilbert with that eighth pick and it left Minnesota with linebacker Anthony Barr with the ninth pick. It was really a mistake by the Vikings considering what kind of wide receivers are in the NFC North.
Gilbert could have slowed down Brandon Marshall and Calvin Johnson being the best cover corner in this year’s draft. However, the Vikings didn’t see it that way and the Browns moved back up to grab Gilbert. Minnesota got a fifth-round pick in the move and adding a pick isn’t always a bad thing but when it means losing out on the best cornerback in the draft, the move is a mistake.
In Barr, the Vikings get a player who can rush the quarterback and will definitely improve the defense in Minnesota. New coach Mike Zimmer obviously saw something in Barr that made him convince people like general manager Rick Spielman to go with an edge rusher. It is another interesting choice but Barr does fill a need. The team had to release Erin Henderson due to his legal problems and Chad Greenway isn’t getting any younger. Barr can be plugged right in to start from day one of the 2014 season.
The next few seasons will be key to see whether or not this pick was the right one to make but for the time being, it would appear that the Vikings should have went with Gilbert instead of Barr. That’s just one person’s opinion though and Spielman and Zimmer know more than any of the fans do about what is best for the team going forward. The NFC North is going to be hard to conquer without having the ability to slow down top-flight wide receivers however. The team still needs a cornerback at some point in this draft and that could be in one of the later rounds. Maybe Barr can be the next great linebacker however and all this talk will look silly three or four years from now.
Xavier Rhodes did a great job against Brandon Marshall in our last meeting with the Bears,so I think Zimmer is happy to go with Xavier,Captain Munnerlyn and whoever steps up to claim the 3rd CB spot.I was happy with the Barr selection,we haven't had a great edge rushing LB in Minny for years.Also,by putting more pressure on opposing QBs will help the secondary.I do agree with you that adding another CB would be a prudent move.
Getting Teddy was awesome,a great first day for Rick Spielman
Barr is a DE in a 4-3. Will probably be a LEO as a rookie and then come into his 2nd camp 265-270 ( which wont be any problem for him) If I was a Vikings fan I would havr murdered an entire race og human beings if they picked Gilbert over Barr
Vikings basicly replaced and old Jared Allen with young Demarcus Ware. Long term I wouldnt be surprised one bit if Barr winds up better then Clowney and Mack. He has there level talent, only 2 years on D killed his chances to be tiered the same place on draft day
Vikings win the first round hands down