WCG Mock Draft- Minnesota Vikings

by Adam T on Apr 4, 2008 12:13 PM CDT in News

CURRENT SELECTION
	Calias Campbell Defensive End Miami (FL.)
ANALYSIS: The pick here was Derrick Harvey until the Cardinals unexpectedly grabbed him first, so Calais Campbell gets the nod instead. The Vikings are extremely thin at defensive end and have had horrible luck trying to fill the spot between injuries to Erasmus James among others, and even Kenechi Udeze being diagnosed with Luekemia. So while Campbell may be a reach at this point in the first round, the Vikings are forced to take a defensive end and the upside of Campbell outweights the productivity of Phillip Merling from Clemson. In terms of pure athletic ability, Calais Campbell is a freak for how big he is. At 6-8 and 290 lbs, he has the long arms (35.6 inches) and bulk to man-handle offensive linemen but also possesses solid athleticism. Interstingly, he only benched 225 pounds 17 times which is pretty low for a man of his size. But he plays with power and again his long arms and big build allow him to move offensive linemen. He also showed the ability in college to break up passes (2 last year, 3 in '06) and even grabbed an interception. He plays the run really well, which is obviously a focus of the Vikings' defensive linemen. Recorded 80 tackles in '06 and 50 last year, compared to Harvey who only had 32. So while the Vikings would be somewhat dissapointed to miss out on Harvey, who they seem to be in love with, Calais Campbell may actually fit their scheme better as a big run defender who can also get to the QB with power and a deceptive quickness. He is a bit raw, which would scare the Vikings because they need somebody to step in and start early on but they will take a chance on the great potential of Campbell and hope that it pays off like Mario Williams did, who some compare Campbell to due to size (Williams is 6'6" 290 lbs) and overall athletic ability for a big man.

Pick	Team	Player	Drafter	Analysis
1	Miami Dolphins	Jake Long	McRipper	Details
2	St. Louis Rams	Chris Long	Chad	Details
3	Atlanta Falcons	Glenn Dorsey	mas12	Details
4	Oakland Raiders	Vernon Gholston	Doctor Chicago	Details
5	Kansas City Chiefs	Sedrick Ellis	whitebearsox23	Details
6	NY Jets	Darren McFadden	DaNate23	Details
7	New England Patriots	Leodis McKelvin	tyger1147	Details
8	Baltimore Ravens	Matt Ryan	McRipper	Details
9	Cinncinati Bengals	Keith Rivers	tomas21	Details
10	New Orleans Saints	Mike Jenkins	sirus19x	Details
11	Buffalo Bills	Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie	Chad	Details
12	Denver Broncos	Ryan Clady	Arctic Bronco	Details
13	Carolina Panthers	Jeff Otah	DaNate23	Details
14	Chicago Bears	Chris williams	tyger1147	Details
15	Detroit Lions	Rashard Mendenhall	Doctor Chicago	Details
16	Arizona Cardinals	Derrick Harvey	Gillrowdy	Details
17	Minnesota Vikings	Calias Campbell	Ando	Details

See a list of the mock draft participants

The Houston Texans (whitebearsox23) are on the clock...

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Comments

Not his picture

I think that is Xavier Adibit from Virginia Tech. Campbell is #81 and doesn't wear a VT jersey.

by Ando on Apr 4, 2008 2:45 PM CDT reply actions

Yup

this was actually caught prior to the posting, but for some reason it is still holding the wrong pic. Working on it.

by Adam T on Apr 4, 2008 3:27 PM CDT up reply actions

jersey

since when was VT jersey colors orange and green.

by SuperBowlXX on Apr 4, 2008 9:16 PM CDT up reply actions

the picture

changed after the post was posted.

by Chad @ Windy City Gridiron on Apr 4, 2008 9:19 PM CDT up reply actions

isnt this kind of a reach

I know they need it but I havent seen anything that projects campbell going this high, I could be wrong though.

-leopoldjones

by leopoldjones on Apr 4, 2008 8:59 PM CDT reply actions

as said in the writeup

this is definitely a reach. they want harvey, but if he's not there i think they go defensive end no matter what and i liked campbell over the other guys (merling and jackson)

by Ando on Apr 4, 2008 10:33 PM CDT up reply actions