None of the Vikings draft choices have put on pads yet, but the impression of Rick Spielman, the team's vice president of player personnel, is that the team became much more athletic as a result of the picks.

"Looking at these young guys, and I know we're only in shorts, we look like we have a lot better speed and athletic ability out there," Spielman said Sunday. "There still is a long way to go yet. These guys are young guys who are going to make their mistakes. There is a lot of athletic ability and speed from where we were."

Then he gave his impressions of the draft.

• On first-round pick Adrian Peterson, a running back from Oklahoma:

"He is even more of a threat in the passing game than we anticipated because we never got to see it," Spielman said

"We saw in the workouts that he could catch the ball, but putting him out here and putting him in our scheme, he can do some special things in the passing game. The other thing you notice about him, everybody talks about his upright running style, but this guy has made some moves in space and on people at the second level [in the secondary] that are pretty unique. He's been pretty exciting to watch."

• On second-round pick Sidney Rice, a receiver from South Carolina:

"He has gotten better. He is a tall, lanky receiver that has made some outstanding catches here," Spielman said. "He is becoming more and more comfortable in the offense. [Saturday] he made about three diving catches, and you see the uniqueness in his body control, in his range and the way he catches the ball."

• On third-round pick Marcus McCauley, a defensive back from Fresno State:

"Right now we have a heck of a battle," Spielman said. "It's going to be Cedric [Griffin] and Antoine [Winfield] as our two starters," Spielman said. "Then we have a heck of a battle going on for that nickel spot, and McCauley is right in the mix.

• On fourth-round pick Brian Robison, a defensive end from Texas:

"Saturday we had him and Ray Edwards rotating in with the [first unit], and we wanted to see him go up against Bryant McKinnie," Spielman said. "He held his own. The one thing that is unique about him is the high motor and high energy he brings to the defense. He has some exceptional athletic ability. All these guys we've been very impressed with how they are fitting with what we want them to do."

• On fifth-round pick Aundrae Allison, a receiver from East Carolina:

"That is a kid we actually had first-day grades on. He has some potential to be our punt and kickoff returner," Spielman said. "We have a heck of a battle going on at receiver, and that's one area we wanted to address. We could have all three of these receivers making it on our 53 [roster] before it's all said and done."

• On sixth-round pick Rufus Alexander, a linebacker from Oklahoma:

"He is rotating in there. He is a guy who is extremely smart and extremely instinctive," Spielman said. "The one thing we wanted this offseason was not only upgrade our depth at linebacker, but give us some help on special teams, especially the coverage unit. He definitely fills that role."

• On their first seventh-round pick Tyler Thigpen, a quarterback from Coastal Carolina:

"Thigpen is rookie who is going to learn. He is 6-2, almost 230 pounds and runs a 4.6 and fits exactly what we're looking for from an offensive standpoint at the quarterback position," Spielman said.