The first pick of the Leslie Frazier era was a surprising one, it looks like coach Frazier wanted to start his tenure with the Minnesota Vikings selecting his guy. The pick may not be as bad as Brad Childress trading up to get Tarvaris Jackson, but picking Christian Ponder out of Florida State with the 12th pick is head scratching.
The Vikings had to address the quarterback situation in this draft, but with Andy Dalton and Ryan Mallett still on the board, why would they reach for Ponder so early? We as fans are not in the Minnesota war room, and maybe the Vikings had Ponder rated as the best quarterback in the draft? The more likely case is the fact that three quarterbacks were selected in the first 10 picks, and the Vikings did not want to take a chance on missing out.
The Vikings could have gone many different ways maybe even drafting defensive tackle Nick Fairley, a player once considered worthy of the number one pick. They could have picked any number of players that would have made more sense than Ponder, but Frazier wanted to make the stamp of who his guy is with his first draft pick as head coach. Ponder is a player who not going to get into any off the field trouble, and is intelligent and has decent enough physical tools.
The Vikings have major deficiencies at offensive guard, and the offensive line that was once the strength of the team almost had Brett Favre wheeled out of a few games last season. Ponder has good mobility and can throw on the run, which is why he was picked over a player like Ryan Mallet whose 40 time was abysmal.
Even if they had their heart set on Ponder, trading down would have made sense. The Vikings either drafted for need rather than best available or they miscalculated the number of quarterbacks that would go in the first round. Perhaps when Jake Locker went to the Titans and the Jaguars traded up for Blaine Gabbert, they started to feel the pressure.
Ponder did more than any other player to improve his stock after the season was over. He played well at the Senior Bowl, had a great combine, and had a fantastic score on the Wonderlic test. Ponder has questions of course, he never got over the hump in big games with the Seminoles and has some forgettable performances (see South Florida). Ponder also battled injuries all through his collegiate career, but hopefully those won’t materialize for him in the NFL. We will see if Leslie Frazier made the right selection, linking yourself to a rookie QB can make or break your coaching career.
