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WCG Mock Draft- Minnesota Vikings

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

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