PV's Draft Comments

A Fantasy Football Correlative
When I participate in Fantasy Football Snake Drafts, I now have one rule above all others:

Draft the player, not the value.

That means that if you are really excited about a player, and you don't think he'll be available the next time you pick, you should take him. The converse is true: if a highly projected player falls to you but you aren't excited about him, you shouldn't feel obligated to take him.

Maybe the Vikings reached on Ryan Cook. And maybe they badly wanted him and didn't think he'd be there the next time they picked.

Tarvaris Jackson
A few reports say he has the strongest arm in the draft. A strong arm is like height--there's not a whole hell of a lot you can do to teach it. It becomes very clear now that Brad Johnson will be the 2006 starter. But the Vikes didn't just fall upon Jackson. According to Fran Foley on KFAN this morning, they did a lot of work with him that included a private workout. They traded up to get him. He was the QB they wanted badly, so they made the necessary moves to get him.

Filling needs
The Vikes filled a desperate need with first-round OLB Chad Greenway. They filled another big need of nickel CB with second-round DB Cedric Griffin. In the off-season, the Vikes have now brought in 4 different interior offensive linemen, filling another huge need. I'm having trouble seeing why a team that was 9-7 in 2005 shouldn't be better in 2006. The real problems of last season appear to have been dealt with. Now if the WRs and RBs can fulfill their potential (that means Chester Taylor is as good as the Vikings think, that Koren Robinson becomes the #1 WR and Troy Williamson doubles his production from last season), and Brad Johnson holds up, the Vikings should be able to win the NFC North. Though the Vikes' draft was a bit defense-heavy, wasn't it?

Optimism
On New Years Eve, I was the one running around the party reminding everybody how big the universe is and saying, "It's all bullshit." My friend Abe says I'm the most pessimistic person he knows, yet I get overly optimistic about the Vikings. It's all true.

Houston Texan fans should be barricading the streets.
Count me among those who believe selecting Mario Williams ahead of Reggie Bush will go down as one of the epic mistakes in the draft history of any sport.

But then the Texans wait until the 3rd and 4th round to pick offensive linemen? They basically wasted a pick on David Carr by putting him behind atrocious offensive lines for four seasons. Will their offensive line be any better in 2006 than it has been in their history? I doubt it. Kubiak better be a smart, smart coach.

Jets fans should be cheering in the streets
It's not often you go into a draft knowing your offensive line is utterly terrible, then get two offensive linemen in the first round.

Packers
Good for the Packers; they drafted 12 players this weekend. In 2005, they drafted 11 players. Maybe they'll play them all. I'm extremely hopeful now that Favre can indeed break the all-time INT record while failing to break the all-time TD record.