A Punter?!?

Most Minnesota Vikings fans are very pleased with their team's draft. They should be. It's not often that a team ends up with three first round selections. When the players chosen with those selections are thought to be the top one or two at their respective positions, the happiness grows. Florida's Sharrif Floyd was the top defensive tackle in the estimation of many. Florida St. cornerback Xavier Rhodes was the second or third at his position. Tennessee receiver Cordarrelle Patterson was #1 or #2 through most of the pre-draft process. The Vikings were very fortunate. They were also very aggressive. As is usually the case, many fans have to bitch about something. Some Vikings fans were disappointed with the team trading all of their Day 2 picks despite those picks making the selection of Patterson possible. Those fans mostly loved the trade on Thursday. They hated it a day later when they had nothing to do. Many fans had their favorite players. When the Vikings neglected to select those players, those fans protested loudly. One of those players was Tennessee Tech receiver Da'Rick Rogers. Some fans wanted him taken as early as the second or third round. The fact that the Vikings had traded away those picks likely added to the fan's frustration. It's interesting that Rogers was passed over on all 254 draft selections. Rogers was thought of so highly that no NFL team decided to spend a draft pick on him. The "must have" receiver signed with the Buffalo Bills as an undrafted free agent. There was grumbling over several things that the Vikings did or didn't do but one selection drew more complaints than the rest.

The Minnesota Vikings drafted nine players in the 2013 NFL Draft. In the fifth round they selected UCLA punter Jeff Locke. A punter?!? It doesn't matter that Locke was probably the best punter in the draft. It doesn't matter that his left-footed boots might prove to be difficult for returners to handle. It doesn't matter that he can also kick off effectively. All that matters is that Locke is a punter and fifth round picks are for football players. The funny thing about all this bitching is that it is all so familiar. I heard the very same thing last year when the Vikings spent a sixth round pick on Georgia kicker Blair Walsh. Fans tore the Vikings apart for "wasting" a sixth round pick on a kicker. The 2012 NFL Draft produced franchise cornerstone players in tackle Matt Kalil and safety Harrison Smith. Several other players started games and provided an early and consistent impact. Walsh might have had the best season of them all. He was the best kicker in the league last year. He was invited to the Pro Bowl and more significantly was named All-Pro. It can be argued that he had the greatest kicking season ever. His impact was felt immediately. In the season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Walsh made a 50+-yard field goal to force overtime. He kicked the game winner in the extra period. No one is complaining about the drafting of a kicker in the sixth round now. You'd think that the fans might have learned something last year. No, they are doing the same bitching about a punter this year that they did about a kicker last year. The Vikings had Ryan Longwell as their kicker when they drafted Walsh. An older, yet still extremely accurate kicker. His kickoffs were short. He was automatic from 45-yards and in, but the 50-yarders were a little iffy. The Vikings have Chris Kluwe punting now. He's younger than Longwell was last year but he's still on the wrong side of thirty. Statistically, Kluwe is the best punter in team history. He's still punting very well but he did have a rough couple game stretch in the middle of the season. Kluwe is also one of the most intelligent, interesting, and outspoken players in the NFL. His comments on equal rights and same sex marriage has done more to bring the NFL into the 21st century, on a social level, than any other person. His views and the manner in which he presents them is remarkable. The Vikings should be proud to have him. On a personal level, I hate that the Vikings drafted a punter. Kluwe is one of my favorite players. Even if he is "only" a punter. On a football level, drafting a punter is an excellent move. If Locke proves to be an improvement over Kluwe, great. If the presence of Locke forces Kluwe to step up to the competition and keep his job, great. Either way, the Vikings are improved at an often ignored aspect of the game. Field position is one of the most important aspects of any football game. The team that wins the field position battle often wins the game. The punter is one of the prime weapons in tilting the field position edge in your team's favor. This is the first threat that Kluwe has ever faced for his job. I hope that he steps up. No matter what happens in this punting battle, the Vikings will come out of it a better team. That's more than many teams get out of their fifth round pick.