Whoa, whoa, whoa.
If you've authored one of planet Earth's roughly 11 trillion NFL mock drafts and you have the Vikings taking a receiver at No. 23, Rick Spielman says hold your horses, fellas.
"As I sit there, I enjoy reading the mock drafts and everybody out there trying to determine what we're going to do, but we are in a position to take the best player," the Vikings' general manager said Tuesday during his annual pre-draft news conference. "I'm sure I'll get a receiver question, but we are not honed in on a receiver in the first round. We'll look at the best potential player, regardless of position."
Yes, Spielman has final say on the pick. No, full disclosure isn't the best policy for general managers two days before the NFL draft.
Maybe it's misdirection. Or maybe honesty is the misdirection. Either way, Spielman did raise a good point about the receiver group being deep while reminding reporters that Stefon Diggs, the Vikings' best receiver in 2015, came out of the fifth round a year ago.
Then Spielman dropped a bit of news that two teams had called him Tuesday looking to potentially trade for the 23rd pick. One of the teams is looking to trade up from the final eight spots in the first round, while the other was looking to trade up from the second round. For obvious competitive reasons, Spielman didn't name the teams.
"It will be interesting at the 23rd pick," Spielman said. "So we're going to have to make some determinations, and usually those determinations aren't made until we're actually on the clock.
"One, who's available there? Is he too good to pass up? Two, what is the depth behind that position so if we do pass him up, do we have another swing at a guy at that same position in the second round? Or, three, don't move out of the first round because of that fifth-year option. Maybe try to move down in the first round and still get a player that you feel very excited to get."
