NFL draft: Vikings will wait their turn and be happy about it

Scott Studwell plans to bring a few board games to work today. When he gets to Winter Park, maybe he'll take a jog. "Or watch NASCAR," Studwell said, laughing.

Without a first-round pick for the first time in 16 years, the Vikings will have plenty of time on their hands Saturday as they await some action. After giving up the No. 17 overall pick to acquire defensive end Jared Allen from Kansas City, the Vikings are not positioned to select a player until midway through the second round (No. 47 overall).

So despite new draft rules that limit teams to 10 minutes between picks in the first round and seven minutes in the second, the Vikings likely will remain idle until approximately 9 p.m. -- seven hours after the draft's 2 p.m. start.

But Studwell, who as director of college scouting spends his entire year preparing for the draft, said the idle time means the Vikings already have accomplished one of their draft goals.

"We're not disappointed about losing the picks because we don't feel like we lost them," Studwell said Thursday.

"We traded them for a great player,'' Studwell added. "There were certain positions in the draft that we have targeted that we think would help our football team in certain areas of need, and obviously defensive end was one of them."

Both Studwell and Rick Spielman, vice president of player personnel, said the Vikings have spent long hours discussing the first round even as it grew increasingly clear this week that they would not have a pick. Then they moved on to the second round, spending five consecutive hours on it recently. Spielman said that discussion involved "a little bit more guesswork" but that the Vikings have narrowed their priorities to "four or five guys" they hope will be available at No. 47.

The team's remaining draft needs include offensive line and receivers. Studwell noted that this year's draft is especially deep at offensive tackle but said: "We're going to try and take the best player, and if it fits a need for our team then so be it."

Because they also sent the Chiefs both of their third-round picks, the Vikings have almost no ammunition to move up in the first two rounds. According to one NFL trade chart, which assigns numerical values to each pick in the draft, the Vikings couldn't move up past the No. 34 overall selection even by trading their entire draft -- one pick each in the second, fourth, fifth and seventh along with two picks in the sixth.

The only way to move higher would be to package one or more future draft picks, a possibility Spielman doesn't appear to be entertaining.

"The Wilf family has spent a lot of money this offseason," Spielman said. "And I think we'd have to get clearance from them to get more cash for a first-round pick. But from a strategic standpoint and a football standpoint, you never box yourself out of anything that can happen during the draft."

Nevertheless, teams routinely land high-profile players in the second round and the decisions often spawn heated debated. Last year, for example, the Vikings had "very, very long discussions" on where to rank South Carolina receiver Sidney Rice in relation to Southern Cal receiver Dwayne Jarrett.

"That was a huge discussion," Spielman said.

Ultimately, the Vikings valued Rice more and were rewarded handsomely. Rice finished the season with 31 receptions and ranked second among NFL rookies with four touchdowns, while Jarrett caught only six passes in seven games.

They'll have plenty of time for debate Saturday. While Studwell is playing "Risk" and preparing for Talladega, Spielman joked that he might lapse into his previous career as an ESPN analyst.

"[I'll say], 'Yes, they just took this receiver," Spielman said in a deep broadcaster's voice. "What a great set of hands, but you really don't know about his feet and how he's going to fit into that system.' ... [Studwell] thinks we're going to play board games. He doesn't know that I am going to do the whole ESPN analysis deal as each pick comes off, so they can hear me live and in person."