"The Vikings were stunned with Jake Locker and Blaine Gabbert off their board, but GM Rick Spielman, who watched all the rookie quarterbacks, predicted that seven would go before they picked in the second round (43th overall). So, they rolled the dice with Florida State quarterback 6-foot-2 Christian Ponder over TCU's Andy Dalton. Ponder is equipped to run the West Coast offense, but many teams had him at the bottom of the round or later in the second round."

-- John Czarnecki, Fox NFL Sunday

"Ponder was one of the top quarterbacks available for this draft, but it was a surprise to some personnel evaluators that Minnesota didn't trade back. However, because so many teams are in need of help at quarterback, the Vikings probably felt that they couldn't take the chance of trading down and missing out on him. Look for the Vikings to sign a veteran quarterback to compete for the starting job this season, but Ponder should be in the mix right away as well."

-- Adam Caplan, FoxSports.com

"Before fans could catch their collective breath, the Minnesota Vikings continued the early run on passers, taking Florida State's Christian Ponder. Ponder, despite having his arm strength questioned by many evaluators, is widely considered the most pro-ready of this year's quarterbacks due to the pro-style offense he ran with the Seminoles. Despite being the fourth quarterback selected, he could wind up the first to actually win a starting job in the NFL."

-- Rob Rang, NFLDraftScout.com

"I've been using a baseball analogy for years to describe the Minnesota Vikings' increasingly desperate future at quarterback. After years of band-aid solutions and poorly conceived development plans, the time had come to take a swing for that elusive franchise quarterback. Thursday night, the Vikings saw it the same way. Finally."

-- Kevin Seifert, ESPN.com

"It's not Christian Ponder's fault the Vikings took him too high. But life in the NFL isn't always fair, and the NFL minted four new 'franchise quarterbacks' in the top 12 picks on Thursday night that aren't likely to be ready for the role. Ponder, taken No. 12 overall by the Vikings, was the night's biggest surprise. Coming off an injury-plagued senior season without a great arm, Ponder doesn't fit the profile of a top-15 pick."-- ProFootballTalk.com