On3Op1n1on

Was it to take Ponder so early in the draft ? Now I'm not mad that the Vikes went out and got a QB in this draft, but I was very perplexed as to where we selected him. The way I saw it, we could have waited till the 3rd or 4th rd to find a QB. I thought there were players still on the board that could have made a much larger impact their first year on the field than Ponder. My only real question is, how serious are the Vikings when it comes to attaining McNabb ? If we're serious, and we land him, then Ponder can sit at least a year, possibly two behind a veteran who can show him what it takes to go from rookie QB to legit starter in the league. If we're not serious about McNabb, then who's our security blanket ? Joe Webb ? Look, I'm as impressed by his overall athleticism as anyone, but let's face it, he's still very raw, with many questions about him still to be answered.

This is just a curious pick to me. Ponder probably would have been gone by the 3rd rd the way teams were mad scrambling and reaching due to the uncertainty of the upcoming season, but I just can't find a legit reason as to why the Vikes decided to be one of those scrambling teams and reach at 12 when they could have waited till the 3rd, or if they were in scramble mode, trade up back into the 2nd and take someone like Dalton. Hell, we probably could have taken Ponder then too, I even believe we could have landed Ponder in the 3rd.

I just don't think the Vikes needed to take such a reach, even without the 2nd rd pick. Maybe because we didn't have a 2nd round pick the Vikes felt a need to reach in the 1st rd because they weren't drafting till the 3rd. Who knows. All I know is I feel we could have waited on selecting the QB, and done a much better job with our first rd pick. Again, I'm happy about it, because we've brought in a young QB to build around (if he pans out), but my only question is, if he falters, if he stumbles, who's our security blanket ? If it's just Webb, and there isn't a veteran presence to help out our young QB's to develope, I see a very long, difficult road for Viking fans whenever the season does get under way. But who knows, maybe Ponder will surprise everyone, and pull a Matt Ryan out of his hat. Man that'd be sweet. But until I see that happen, I'm still under the belief that we definitely took a reach, we definitely could have waited, and we definitely have taken a gamble with our first rd pick this year, a gamble I feel we could have avoided, but instead chose not to.

So if any Vikings fans read this and want to put in their two cents, please do, always nice to read the feedback from fellow MN'sotans. And even if you're not a Vikings fan, but love the NFL, put down your insight as well if you'd like about Ponder and the Vikings selection of him. Because currently as it stands, I'm still trying to figure out a way to turn this reach into more positives than negatives