Dan Wiederer began covering the Vikings in 2011, enthusiastically delivering insight on the team across the Star Tribune's print and digital products. Prior to joining the Access Vikings team, he spent seven seasons covering ACC basketball at The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer. He also covered the Chicago Bears in 2003 and 2004. Follow him on Twitter @StribDW.
Mark Craig has covered football and the NFL the past 20 years, including the Browns from 1991-95 and the Vikings and the NFL since 2003. Since 2008, Craig has served as one of the 44 Pro Football Hall of Fame selectors. He can be followed on Twitter at @markcraignfl.
Posts about NFL draft
Vikings use back-to-back 7th-round picks on linebacker, guard
Posted by: Kent Youngblood Updated: April 27, 2013 - 5:40 PM
Two of the Vikings' three seventh-round picks are in.
First, with the 213th overall pick, Penn State linebacker Michael Mauti. Mauti -- whose father and brother also played at Penn State -- was a very highly-touted player coming to Penn State. But a series of injuries derailed much of his college career. Among those injuries are three ACL tears. The first, sustained before the 2009 season, wiped out that year for him. He came back with a very strong 2010 season, with 67 tackles -- 5.5 for loss -- and two sacks. But another ACL tear four games into the 2011 season ended that year.
He came back to play in 2012. He had 96 tackles and three interceptions before yet another ACL tear, sustained against Indiana, ended the season with one game to go. After the final injury he sent a letter to every NFL team expressing his love for the game and determination to return from yet another surgery and play in the NFL.
Mauti, who played both strongside and middle linebacker at Penn State, said he hopes to be cleared for practice in time for training camp.
When healthy Mauti is considered a very instinctual player, stout at the point of attack. Lack of speed and his injury history will work against him.
With the 214th pick the Vikings took North Carolina guard Travis Bond, a huge (6-6, 329-pound) right guard.
Bond was the starter at right guard his final two seasons at North Carolina. His size and strength make him an intriguing prospect, but his tendency to play high and difficultly using his hands effectively made him last until the seventh round.
And, finally, with the 229th pick in the draft, the Vikings drafted Florida State defensive tackle Everett Dawkins.
Vikings take UCLA guard in sixth round
Posted by: Kent Youngblood Updated: April 27, 2013 - 4:51 PMThe Vikings used the 28th pick in the sixth round (the 196th overall) on UCLA lineman Jeff Baca, who grew up in California going to Bruins games with his father, who is now deceased.
Baca made 45 career starts at UCLA, including eight at left tackle as a true freshman. Overall, he started 25 at guard and 20 at tackle. He also played some center at the Senior Bowl. He was a second-team all-Pac-12 by the coaches in 2012 and was named the team’s outstanding senior of the year on offense.
He was academically ineligible in 2010. In 2011 he hurt his ankle during spring practice and needed surgery. He returned in time for the second game of that season, starting at tackle the rest of the year.
Baca is considered to be one of the more tenacious blockers in this draft class, especially adept at pass protection. But, even at 6-3 and 302 pounds he is not overly large by today’s offensive line standards.
Baca said in a conference call that he was thrilled with the prospect of blocking for Adrian Peterson, was comfortable playing any position on the offensive line and said his versatility and athletic ability were his strongest points.
About that 2010 ineligibility? He said he was a pre-med major his first two years at UCLA. In the spring quarter of 2010 he took Spanish, biology and chemistry, failing two of the three. After that? "I changed my major to political science and ended up making the honor roll seven of the eight quarters after that," he said.
So, the moral of that story is that being a politician is easier than being a doctor? "Absolutely," he said.
Vikings take punter in fifth round
Posted by: Kent Youngblood Updated: April 27, 2013 - 2:22 PM
With their fifth-round pick -- the 155th overall -- the Vikings took UCLA punter Jeff Locke in a move that seems eerily reminiscent of last year's decision to draft kicker Blair Walsh.
That decision to take Walsh ultimately meant the end of veteran Ryan Longwell's time with the team. Will the decision to take the left-footed Locke mean Chris Kluwe's time with the Vikings is over?
Locke compiled a career 44.23 punting average in his career at UCLA. As a senior he was named first-team all-Pac-12 and was an honorable mention all-America by SI.com while being a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award. He led conference punters with 34 punts inside the 20-yard line (21 of which were downed at or inside the 10) and added 68 touchbacks on 86 kickoffs.
Kluwe is coming off a season in which his 39.7-yard net average was the best in his eight-year career with the team. Kluwe, of course, is also well-known for his very public stances on the issues of the day. Kluwe is due to be paid $1.45 million this upcoming season.
Vikings draft Penn State linebacker in fourth round
Posted by: Kent Youngblood Updated: April 27, 2013 - 1:20 PMThe Vikings used their pick in the fourth round Saturday – the 120th overall choice – on Penn State outside linebacker Gerald Hodges.
Hodges is a converted high school quarterback and wrestler who started his college career at safety before moving to linebacker during his true freshman season due to injuries on the Penn State defense.
The 6-2, 237-pound Hodges was a two-time all-Big Ten Conference selection. He was named to the second team in 2011 and the first team in 2012. He led Penn State in tackles both in 2011 (106) and 2012 (109), with 18.5 tackles for loss in that time.
He is good at dropping in pass coverage – he had seven pass breakups and was tied for second o his team with two interceptions in 2012 -- and can play the run physically.
Hodges was a leader on a Penn State defense that finished second in the Big Ten and 16th nationally in scoring defense (19.1 points per game).
Hodges played weakside linebacker in 2011 and was on the strong side in 2012. In a conference call with reporters this afternoon, Hodges said he'd never played inside linebacker until he played ILB as part of a 3-4 defense in the East-West Shrine game.
That said, he said he's willing and able to play inside should the Vikings want to try him there: "I feel very comfortable with my potential, with my ability to move quickly and hit gaps," he said.
Here are some other tidbits from his conference call:
--He admitted he had hoped to go earlier in the draft, and was feeling rather stressed by the process. So he decided to take a shower in an attempt to relax. "As I came out of the shower my phone was ringing," he said. "It was Minnesota on the phone, and I saw they were on the board with the next pick. It was an amazing feeling."
--On being recruited by and playing for Joe Paterno: "It's like being coached by a legend while he's still coaching," Hodges said. "He taught you a lot about playing football, but at the same time he taught you a lot about being a man and showing respect."
--Hodges was among a handful of Penn State seniors who worked to keep the team together as the Jerry Sandusky story unfolded. He called it a maturing process.
Spielman: Vikings looking to trade back but not up on Thursday
Posted by: Dan Wiederer Updated: April 23, 2013 - 4:15 PMADVERTISEMENT
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