WE HAVE A TRADE!!
That's right, the Broncos and EJRuiz777 have decided to trade down. Who stepped up to get into the Top 12? None other than the Minnesota Vikings and jontollerud. Here are the details of the trade --
Vikings Get - #12 Pick
Broncos Get - #17 Pick, #73 Pick(3rd Round)
Here are the GM's thoughts on the deal --
Broncos G.M. - EJRuiz777 -- Earlier today I was approched by Jon Tollerud (representative of the Minnesota Vikings in this MHR Community Draft) with a trade offer for the #12 overall pick. Though we were comfortable with our probable selection there, we opted to accept his proposal to trade down to #17 and acquire the #73 pick as compensation. The extra selection replaces the one we previously traded in order to attain DT Marcus Thomas in last year's draft and puts us in a position to snag one of several intriguing prospects that we would otherwise be unable to get at reasonable value. Moreover, we feel as though we'll be able to acquire a useful piece of the puzzle at #17, but we will explore the possibility of trading further down in the first round or even entirely out of it if the right offer were to present itself (I'm looking at you, Dolphins and Falcons!). This was not an easy decision, but I feel as though it is in the best interest of our franchise.
Vikings G.M - jontollerud -- After much deliberation the Vikings were willing to do the trade for a few reasons:
- It benefits Minnesota by going up ahead of a few teams that are drafting for the same positions we are.
- We already have a third round pick so we don't lose anything too horrible by trading one away. We can also couple a few of our later picks perhaps and go for another trade with someone else.
- it appeals to Denver who originally had the 3rd rounder we are trading to them and ,they get back in the third round which as I said in another post is absolutely something they will want to do because currently there are 66 players that will go between Denver's 2nd and 4th round picks.
With the 12th pick in the MHR Community Mock NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings select...
DERRICK HARVEY, DE -- FLORIDA
Vikings G.M. - jontollerud -- This was Hard. I almost didn't want to trade but after looking at other Mock Drafts, Team need for those drafting before us and our personal needs I opted to trade. I could have gone with River (LB, USC) as well but found that our pass rush was much more in need from the front three than the back four. Also Harvey is a machine at 6'4" 271lbs., and looked very solid at the combine as well as during the past two years. He was a huge part of Florida's Nation Championship Game Win, as he sacked the elusive Troy Smith Twice in the Game. With 49 total tackles, 17 Tackles for Loss, 8.5 Sacks, 3 hurries 1 forced fumble and 5 passes defended in 07 to follow up his stellar sophomore year performance ( http://www.cfbstats.com/2006/player/235/77199/index.html ), This seems to be a logical choice for a team who need to hurry up the QB and scare a few RB's into hiding. This should pan put to be a wonderful pick for us and I truly hope this is the first of many picks this year with Championship Caliber TEAM written all over it. No one player can make a Championship Team, but Harvey is one of the many pieces we feel fits in the Viking Puzzle.
The Draft So Far --
#1 - Miami Dolphins - DE Chris Long, Virginia
#2 - St. Louis Rams - OT Jake Long, Michigan
#3 - Atlanta Falcons - DT Glen Dorsey, LSU
#4 - Oakland Raiders - RB Darren McFadden, Arkansas
#5 - Philadelphia Eagles(via Trade w/ K.C. Chiefs) - DE Vernon Gholston, Ohio St.
#6 - New York Jets - DB Leodis McKelvin, Troy St.
#7 - New England Patriots - CB Dominique Rogers-Cromartie, Tennessee State
#8 - Baltimore Ravens - QB Matt Ryan, Boston College
#9 - Cincinnati Bengals - DT Sedrick Ellis, USC
#10 - New Orleans Saints - CB Mike Jenkins, USF
#11 - Buffalo Bills - WR Malcolm Kelly, Oklahoma
The Next 5 Picks --
- Carolina (7-9) -- Jaxon
- Chicago (7-9) -- WCG
- Detroit (7-9) -- tbell61
- Arizona (8-8) -- Broncofornia
- Denver (7-9) -- EJRuiz777