Vikings eliminate 78 players from draft list

The Vikings have eliminated 78 draft prospects from consideration, and that number could grow before the April 25-26 draft.

Vikings vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman said the prospects earned "red dots" primarily because of character and/or injury issues and were taken off the board. Spielman said that number is similar to that in previous drafts, and that the team conducts an extensive background check before deciding to eliminate players.

"Can't take the dot off," he said Friday. "It's a big scarlet tag, and you can't take it off."

Spielman said the next step in draft preparation comes this week when the coaches provide their evaluations based on film study, personal workouts and interviews with the prospects. Spielman said their draft board is mostly set, although it will be tweaked.

"You don't want to bring a guy in that the coaches don't want," Spielman said. "That's where you kind of get into some scenarios that, 'OK, why don't we want this guy in? Does he fit our offense? Is it the type of character guy [we want]?' ... Everybody gets to weigh in their opinions, and we decide what's best for the organization."

The Vikings have the 22nd pick and are expected to target an offensive tackle, receiver or defensive back.

Said Spielman: "There's two or three guys there that we would feel very happy to get."

The Vikings played host to 28 prospects this week and still can bring in two more to reach the NFL maximum for pre-draft visits. The group included receivers Darrius Heyward-Bey (Maryland), Percy Harvin (Florida) and Hakeem Nicks (North Carolina); quarterback Josh Freeman (Kansas State); tackle Eben Britton (Arizona); and defensive backs D.J. Moore (Vanderbilt) and Alphonso Smith (Wake Forest).

The players met with coaches and staff members, watched film, took physicals and had a dinner together. Spielman said the visits give the organization more information in the decisionmaking process.

The Vikings had attendance of nearly 95 percent for the first week of their offseason conditioning program, and three players who are not present have a very good reason.

Cornerback Cedric Griffin, fullback Naufahu Tahi and defensive end Kenechi Udeze are all attending school in an effort to further their education. Udeze, who is attempting to return after missing last season while he battled acute lymphoblastic leukemia, has been attending classes and working out at Southern Cal. He has said he plans to take part in practices that will be part of the Vikings Organized Team Activities starting next month.

Spielman declined to confirm a report by Yahoo! Sports that the Broncos had contacted the Vikings in their initial process of shopping Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler, who ultimately was traded to the Chicago Bears.

"They felt very strongly about Jay and what he was as a quarterback," Spielman said during a KFAN Radio interview. "[They] felt they had an opportunity -- I don't want to put words into their mouth -- but probably felt that this guy can get us where we need to go because he's so unique as a quarterback and therefore were willing to give up whatever it took."

The Bears gave up two first-round picks, a third-rounder and quarterback Kyle Orton in order to get Cutler.

"It was a big splash this offseason in the media," Spielman said. "And time will tell whether that was a good move or not. But you never judge. I don't think you'd ever judge anything. If he ends up becoming a great player for them, that was a great move. If he doesn't, I'm sure you people will be talking about it on the radio."