With The 30th Pick in the Arrowhead Pride Mock Draft, the Minnesota Vikings Select...

There are plenty of positions that need to be filled on the Minnesota Vikings to push them over the edge into their first Super Bowl win. The first question that needs to be answered is Brett Farve coming back, or will he retire again. Riding on Farve's arm the Vikings were 2nd in points...yet it was also this arm that threw a crucial interception when all they needed to do was run the ball and get it close enough for a field goal. The only person from the backfield that is missing is Chester Taylor.

via starlifter.zoomshare.com

The Vikings arguably have the best running back in the game in Adrian Peterson, yet why did the Vikings running game struggle so badly. On reason is because of an increased focus on the passing game. The Vikings went from the 25th most effective passing game to the 8th most productive. The addition of offensive Rookie of the Year, Percy Harvin also helped. Bernard Berrian, Sidney Rice, and Visanthe Shiancoe are all receiving threats so they are stacked at Wide Receiver and Tight End.

The holes in offense appear to be in the offensive line. Specifically the center and guard positions. John Sullivan has been sub-par, as has right guard Anthony Herrera. If Farve is to come back he will want these positions solidified, and the only way it appears this is going to happen is from the draft.

On the defensive side of the ball lets start off with the defensive line. This has to be the Vikings strongest areas as they have Jared Allen, Ray Edwards, Pat, and Kevin Williams creating a huge wall up front. This wall allowed an average of 87 yards rushing (2nd in the NFL). One could argue that Pat Williams isn't going to be around for much longer, but for value, and best player available no DT really strikes my fancy, especially when one in the later rounds can be groomed by these 2 studs in the middle.

The linebackers are average at best, but a solid middle linebacker in the middle could make the linebackers look stellar. The same could be said about the defensive backfield... no real shutdown corner or safety's can be found on the team. Yet this team came up 19th with an average of 218.4 passing yards per game. The Vikings do have some talented QB's to face twice each year, Jay Cutler, Aaron Rodgers, and Matt Stafford. This means that the defensive backs should get a major upgrade in the offseason.

 

The Vikings need to get better run and pass protection on the offensive line for Adrian Peterson, and Brett Farve. If Brett Farve does decide to retire, Sage Rosenphals, and Tarvaris Jackson will need even more added help. If the Vikings want to make it to the Super Bowl next year they need Brett Farve, and to keep him here they need upgrade the center of the offensive line.That is why with the 30th pick in the Arrowhead Pride Mock Draft I'm selecting Maurkice Pouncey.

via www.sptimes.com

The Vikings really struggled to run the football last year. Both center John Sullivan and right guard Anthony Herrera struggled in that department. Maurkice Pouncey has the ability to play both positions, and has been talked about playing RT. This versatility creates competition on half of the offensive line. As a result the whole offensive line should play better.

Some Minnesota fans will want a corner like Devin McCourty here, but this current Vikings regime has shown us that they go with the best player available over need. Pouncey fits the BPA profile. With how the draft is currently unfolding most of the offensive line talent has been absorbed, and there should be plenty of servicable defensive backs available during the 2nd round.

 

 

Number	Team	Position	Player	Selected by
1	St. Louis Rams	QB	Sam Bradford	UCrawford
2	Detroit Lions	DT	Ndamukong Suh	upamtn
3	Tampa Bay Bucs	DT	Gerald McCoy	Larryemcdaniel
4	Washington Redskins	OT	Russell Okung	ChuckDiesel
5	Kansas City Chiefs	S	Eric Berry	ChiefsFan90s
6	Seattle Seahawks	OT	Bryan Bulaga	Matt Conner
7	Cleveland Browns	QB	Jimmy Clausen	HIV2Elway
8	Oakland Raiders	OT	Bruce Campbell	mushin
9	Buffalo Bills	OT	Anthony Davis	ArrowDread
10	Jacksonville Jaguars	DE	Derrick Morgan	GenericBrand
11	Denver Broncos	WR	Dez Bryant	kcnos56
12	Miami Dolphins	DE	Jason Pierre-Paul	Sam D
13	San Francisco 49ers	CB	Joe Haden	jterry
14	Seattle Seahawks	RB	C.J Spiller	Matt Conner
15	New York Giants	LB	Rolando McClain	CHIEFER
16	Tennessee Titans	S	Earl Thomas	justinmayhugh
17	San Francisco 49ers	OT	Trent Williams	jterry
18	Pittsburgh Steelers	CB	Kyle Wilson	Godlovetheredman14
19	Atlanta Falcons	LB	Sean Witherspoon	IamthreGreatest
20	Houston Texans	RB	Ryan Matthews	ChiefsDude
21	Cincinnati Bengals	TE	Jermaine Gresham	PSUkegreen
22	New England Patriots	DE	Jared Odrick	stagdsp
23	Green Bay Packers	OT	Charles Brown	craig in calgary
24	Philadelphia Eagles	G	Mike Iupati	fairmont
25	Baltimore Ravens	DE	Sergio Kindle	Ben S
26	Arizona Cardinals	NT	Terrence Cody	kirkismerff
27	Dallas Cowboys	FS	Nate Allen	dbowefosho
28	San Diego Chargers	NT	Dan Williams	tomahawk44
29	New York Jets	OLB	Jerry Hughes	Matt_Grbac
30	Minnesota Vikings	C	Maurkice Pouncey	RavenHawk
31	Indianapolis Colts			TheAngelsColts
32	New Orleans Saints			King of the Cassel

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Do you agree with Maurice Pouncey with the #30 pick?

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