Jeremy: Draft Thoughts

Nice of Jeff to tell me that he wasn't going to write anything about the draft yesterday. I spent my entire day mulling over my thoughts on the draft... only to come home last night and see Jeff's Kiper-esque take on all 7 rounds of the draft. Thanks Jeff! 'Preciate it!!!
No. 17: Chad Greenway. Watching this against the Gophers last year was painful. If we had to draft a Hawkeye, I'm glad this was the guy. 6'2", 240 lbs, runs a 4.6 $0. Not to mention he can actually tackle. Haven't had a guy like that around here since Jack Del Rio. But you've heard enough about him.
No. 48: Cedric Griffin. I gotta tell ya, I like this pick. Griffin is a big corner (6'0" 200 lbs) who runs a 4.5 40. Here's another guy who is big enough to play his position at the NFL level. He's big, fast, and like Greenway, the kid can tackle. He's a hitter, and you gotta love that in a corner. Anybody who is First Team All Big 12 at cornerback playing for the National Champions is someone who deserves a look. It's nice to get somebody at that position who has played in high-pressure situations against big-time talent. Griffin will be the third cornerback, but if Smoot pulls another crapper like he did last year, Griffin will definitely push him for a starting position.
No. 51: Ryan Cook. A center? In the second round? Who wasn't projected to go higher than the 4th round? Okay. Not sure what happened here. Seems like we could have traded down and gotten another pick out of the deal if this was the guy that we thought we HAD to have. If this is an insurance policy for Birk it's a good idea, but like I think Cook with the 51st pick is overvaluing him quite a bit. Also, Greg Eslinger was VERY available at this pick (and I understand I'm very biased toward Gopher guys) and wouldn't that have been an option later in the draft. I feel like we could have addressed another position here. So, what about Cook? Obviously I know nothing about this guy, but he's big, and word has it he's a hard worker, which is the kind of guy that Childress wants on the roster. A guy this big could plug some holes at other offensive line positions, so this is a definite insurance pick, both for Birk and other line positions. Cook seems like a good pick, just not this early.
No. 64: Tavaris Jackson. Trading two third round picks for a second round was a nice move, but yet again, the Vikings took a guy in the second round who wasn't projected to go any higher than possibly round 4. A strange move, but the Vikes regime seems to know what they want and they aren't afraid to go unconventional to get it. Personally, if they were going to move up to get a quarterback, I would have liked to see Omar Jacobson. Jackson was a D-II standout, decent size (6'2", 225lbs.), good speed for a quarterback (4.7ish 40), and a strong arm. Jackson is a project, but it seems like he's got all of the right tools to be a project worth undertaking.

Overall, there's really no way you can rank the Vikings draft. They made some very unconventional moves, that, obviously, if they pay off will look very good down the road. P.A. from KFAN yesterday was talking about how there is a fine line between arrogance and genius when it comes to the NFL draft. Right now the Vikes look arrogant. But I will say this: it's nice to see a Vikings regime that knows what it wants and actually acts accordingly.