As I was pondering the NFL Draft that commenced Thursday evening in New York, it brought back horrific memories of the Minnesota Vikings handling of the Herschel Walker trade. This move created the Dallas Cowboys dynasty prior to the turn of the millennium. While the team did not mortgage their future in the same way that the Atlanta Falcons did with their blunder acquiring Julio Jones, the organization did come up with some egg on its face at the conclusion of the first round.
Just when I thought that nothing could get worse than last year, the team totally inflated the value of a brittle quarterback who does not know how to slide yet. It is not a good sign for a player who is picked in the top half of the first round when numerous pundits continuously say how smart that he is. It’s like hearing your blind date has a great personality.
By Patrick Herbert
Christian Ponder has completed some graduate work, but that will certainly not assist him in completing a pass down the middle in the third quarter of an intra-divisional game coming down the stretch. In fact, this aptitude can contribute to the paralysis by analysis scenario that I have seen in the past from athletes gifted mentally and physically.
Reacting and predicting are more valuable in the NFL game.
Teams always say that the player they picked was the highest one on their board at that given time. That may be the case for Minnesota, but they should have taken a break from their tunnel vision and at least traded down and selected Ponder with a pick somewhere around the beginning of the second round when Andy Dalton and Colin Kaepernick were selected by the Bengals and 49ers respectively. At least they could have received more picks from this potential transaction.
Ponder may be a good fit for offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave and his west coast offensive tendencies in some minds, but the team didn’t receive full value for the twelfth pick in the first round.
Tight End Kyle Rudolph was a quality player for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Even though his hamstring injury hampered him late in his career there. This pick was also peculiar because the team is stacked at that particular position with Visanthe Shiancoe. They are two bright spots from an otherwise dismal season. Ryan Mallett or Da’Quan Bowers would have made more sense in this selection. They have tremendous potential in spots that the team needs the most assistance. The thought process is questionable at best.