With the Minnesota Vikings drafting in the lofty third spot of the NFL Draft there's been much debate as to which position is the best choice. The discussion really should be about what player is the best choice. In that case the Vikings can hardly go wrong. Offensive tackle Matt Kalil, receiver Justin Blackmon and cornerback Morris Claiborne are all terrific football players. They all just happen to play at positions of need for the Vikings. Convenient. Since the first two choices will be quarterbacks Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III, all three players will be available for the Vikings. Personally, I like the selection of Kalil the best. I see him as the best non-quarterback in the draft and he's in the conversation of the best player in the draft.
Recently, in an effort to show the folly of selecting a lineman so early in the draft a columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune researched all the offensive tackles taken among the top-10 selections of the draft in the last twenty years. Starting with Atlanta's selection of Bob Whitfield at #8 in 1992 all the way to Dallas' selection of Kalil's former teammate Tyron Smith last year. This collection of tackles is highlighted by Hall of Famer Willie Roaf, likely Hall of Famers Orlando Pace, Jonathan Ogden and Walter Jones and current stars Joe Thomas and Jake Long. The columnist went on to blame these linemen for the pathetic win totals of their teams. It's ridiculous to blame one player for a teams success or failure, even the quarterback. Despite the overall lack of wins, Pace and Ogden played important roles on championship teams. Elite players can't win championships on their own in football but they can help their team get there. The unfortunate thing for players selected in the top-10 is that the teams that select them are there for a reason. They suck! One player can't turn the team around by themselves. They can help create the change but they'll need some help.
Most coaches and team builders say that you start a team with a quarterback, a left tackle, a pass rusher and a cornerback. You want that guy with the ball and someone to protect the guy with the ball on offense. You want players that disrupt the guy with the ball on defense. Personally, I don't think that there's any one blueprint to creating a champion. The NFL is all about the quarterback right now. In five years a team running the veer might take it all. The only sure thing is that you need talented players that play well as a team to be a talented team. You can find talented players throughout the draft, even after the draft, but there's usually a bunch of them at the top. It's important for a team to make it count when they have a top-10 pick. It's even more important that they never select there again. Twenty years of draft picks isn't going to accurately predict the skills and potential of Matt Kalil or any of the players in this draft. It's fine to discuss the respective merits of Kalil, Blackmon and Claiborne. It just seems to be a waste of time to let twenty years of offensive tackle history impact that discussion. If you're going to do that, do the same with receivers and cornerbacks. I know that Matt Millen and the Detroit Lions shot the hell out of the receiver data.
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