I wrote earlier about the 2014 NFL Draft puzzle. More than any year in recent memory I haven't a clue as to which player I expect or even hope is selected in the first round by the Minnesota Vikings. I usually have this narrowed down to a particular position, sometimes to a particular player, about a month before the draft. With nearly two weeks to go, I have whittled the choices down to three players and one great, seemingly impossible, dream. So, I haven't really narrowed it down much at all. What a puzzle this is.
I hope that a miracle happens on May 8 and the Minnesota Vikings are able to select:
Kahlil Mack LB Buffalo
I seriously doubt that Mack makes it to the Vikings pick at #8. I have doubts that he makes it past three teams. Strange things can happen in the draft so you never know. Maybe there's a run on three, even four, quarterbacks and the top three tackles. Throw Sammy Watkins in there somewhere and suddenly Mack is there at #8. Wow! Wouldn't that be great? Maybe the Vikings trade up to grab Kahlil Mack. Who knows?
As far as my more realistic hopes, I've narrowed my choices for the Vikings first pick down to three:
Teddy Bridgewater QB Louisville
Anthony Barr LB UCLA
Justin Gilbert CB Oklahoma St.
I really think that Teddy Bridgewater is the best quarterback in this draft. He's been killed by the media since the end of his college career. His last throw that counted was part of his shredding of Miami in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Immediately after the game, a lot of the draft talk revolved around Bridgewater being the top pick in the upcoming draft. His draft stock has been dropping ever since. I guess that it really had nowhere else to go but he's been in a free fall since January. Some media hacks even have him falling out of the first round. What's changed? I didn't see a lot of his games at Louisville but I saw enough to be convinced that he can play at a high level at the next level. He simply gets this game. I became a real believer while viewing his appearance on Jon Gruden's "Gruden's Quarterback Camp" series. I've seen Gruden put a lot of quarterbacks on the board to diagram and explain plays and schemes and to dissect defenses. I've never seen another quarterback take to this task like Bridgewater. Most quarterbacks seem to be reading from a script. Simply regurgitating information. Bridgewater really seems to enjoy this part of the game. Most quarterbacks just say what they are expected to say to get through this apparent torture. Bridgewater says a whole lot more. I thought that Gruden was going to have to take the pen away and pull Bridgewater from the board. Again, he gets this game. I really like this kid.
I'm sold on Teddy Bridgewater as the top quarterback in this draft. I'm not sold that quarterback should be the Vikings pick at #8. This is what makes this draft such a puzzle. This is such a deep draft at so many positions. There are some unique defensive players available early in the draft and there are some really talented quarterbacks that should be available in the second and third rounds. The value might be such that picking one of those defensive players early and a quarterback later is the best path for the Vikings. If that is the path that they take, Anthony Barr and Justin Gilbert are at the top of my list. Barr has the natural athletic ability to match Mack. The only real knock on Barr is that he's played defense for only two seasons. He started his college playing career as a running back. Since he's very raw he's considered by many to be a boom-or-bust candidate. He's also considered by many to be mostly an edge rusher. His ability to drop into coverage is questioned. The Vikings would probably be looking at him as a linebacker so dropping into coverage would be a desired ability. I think that people get too hung up on assigned roles. They have a vision of the traditional responsibilities of a particular position and a player has to fit that position perfectly to be able to play football. I think that new Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer would find a position and a role for a defensive player like as physically gifted as Anthony Barr and just turn him loose. It may be an entirely new position. It may be a traditional position with a few extra responsibilities. Zimmer and his defensive staff would find a way for Barr to be an effective football player. When it comes to Justin Gilbert, you just have to put him opposite a receiver and let him do his stuff. Gilbert is an incredibly fluid, tall corner. He's a terrific runner with the ball in his hands. Great punt returner. I cry when I think of the possibilities of Xavier Rhodes at one corner, Gilbert on the other side, and Captain Munnerlyn in the slot.
So, there you go. I dream of Kahlil Mack. I've narrowed my realistic hopes to Teddy Bridgewater, Anthony Barr, and Justin Gilbert. Probably in that order. At least for now. Or, maybe Aaron Donald, Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Darqueze Denard.
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