Best for the Vikings: Making it a December not to Remember

It is a reality that will not be easy for the mouth-breathing, Helga-Horn-wearing, purple-Zubaz-clad Vikings faithful to accept, but finishing this season with a 5-11 record is in the team's best interest. In other words, the more Joe Webb, the better. Even my wife, who is more excited about the continuous loop of the Yule Log on Ch. 45 than any Vikings game the rest of this decade, understands this.

Why? Because it is all about draft position and finding the right quarterback for the next seven to 10 years. All but two of the 12 current playoff teams have quarterbacks that were chosen in the first round of their respective drafts. It is obvious that the quarterback of the future is NOT currently on the Vikings' roster. Finding the future signal-caller is the most important task this offseason. Yes, even more than hiring a coach.

Talk to anyone who covers the NFL draft and you will hear next year's edition will have the strongest group of quarterbacks since 2004, which had Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, and Ben Roethlisberger.

If the Vikings finish 5-11, it will likely land them with a top-11 draft pick. That selection, or by trading up a few spots, could give them the second choice on their draft board. They have no chance of getting to No. 1 for Stanford's Andrew Luck.

BREAKDOWN

Local draft expert Shawn Zobel, who watches more video than the editors of Jersey Shore, and who provided scouting reports for Gophers' coaches this year (please, no jokes), was kind enough to provide a breakdown of the top quarterback prospects:

**Zobel provided an additional sentence or two on how each would work in a West Coast Offense. Obviously, it's not a lock that interim coach Leslie Frazier is kept, but with a lockout looming, he's a decent bet. If Frazier is hired full-time, some form of the West Coast would likely be retained.

(1) Andrew Luck – Stanford – 6-4 – 235 – Redshirt Sophomore

(2) Ryan Mallett – Arkansas – 6-6 – 238 – Junior

This gunslinger from Texas can throw the ball a country mile. Last year, I had the opportunity to speak with an experienced high school scout in the state of Texas, and I asked him which player in his 35 years of scouting had the strongest arm. He told me "Ryan Mallett, and it's not even close." Mallett, with a flick of the wrist, can toss the ball upwards of 70-80 yards with no trouble. His velocity may be the best I've seen in the past five years, and his ability to drive the ball down the field in the passing game is extraordinary. Mallett began his career at Michigan, but transferred to Arkansas after Rich Rodriguez came to Ann Arbor and implemented the spread offense. Mallett needs to be drafted by a team that likes to throw the ball and wants to throw it early and often. He will need to have a good receiving corp in order to reach his full potential. Having a go-to receiver would really help his development, which was shown this season as Greg Childs caught 46 passes for 659 yards and six touchdowns in eight games before going down with an injury. Mallett's improved accuracy and completion percentage were a nice surprise for scouts in 2010, as he improved his completion percentage from 55.8 in 2009 to 66.5 in 2010. Other than accuracy questions coming into the season, scouts have also questioned Mallett's decision-making and attitude. He's thrown 11 interceptions this season, with three coming against Alabama and two against LSU. Mallett is an extremely confident quarterback who loves to have the ball in his hands in high-pressure situations, and is the type of signal-caller that is capable of carrying his team on his shoulders. Overall, Mallett's unbelievable arm strength is sure to win teams over at the scouting combine in February, which should result in him going as high as the Top 10 in April. Mallett isn't quite as nice of a fit in the West Coast Offense as others on this list. He can sling the ball to any part of the field, but in terms of short-to-intermediate throws, I'd rather have others on this list, especially when you'd consider that the Vikings would likely have to trade up to draft Mallett.

(3) Cam Newton – Auburn – 6-6 – 250 – Junior

Where to begin? Cam Newton took the country by storm in 2010, throwing for 2,589 yards, with 28 touchdowns, six interceptions and a 67.1 completion percentage. Newton has been as efficient as any player in the country this season, which is a large reason why he won the Heisman Trophy. Another reason why he won the Heisman is his ability to run the ball; Newton has rushed for 1,409 yards and 20 touchdowns this season, becoming only the third player in NCAA history to throw for 20 touchdowns and rush for 20 touchdowns in a season. As a runner, former Texas Longhorn Vince Young is the best comparison; Young is a bit more shifty and elusive than Cam, however Newton is a stronger player than Young was, with a better ability to run through defenders at the second and third level. I also believe that Newton's arm and accuracy are both better than Young's were when he was drafted third overall in 2006, fresh off a National Championship. Newton's arm strength isn't quite on Mallett's level, but it's as close as you'll find in this year's draft. His delivery and release are very quick, and while some scouts may want to tinker with his mechanics, I have no problem with them. While his 67.1 completion percentage would suggest he has excellent accuracy, there is still work to do, as he needs to continue to work on consistently being able to deliver the ball accurately, both in short throws and down the field and outside the numbers. Against the top teams on his schedule this season, Newton's completion percentage was only above 65.0 on two occasions, with a sub-65.0 against Alabama, LSU, Clemson, Kentucky, Mississippi State, and South Carolina. The reason for so much skepticism surrounding Newton is what happened before he landed at Auburn. Accused of cheating three different times at the University of Florida, Newton transferred to Blinn College where he won a National Championship at the JUCO level. In 2010, he was considered the top JUCO player in the country and signed with Auburn. That's where things got fuzzy, as reports claim that his dad was offering his son to colleges in a "pay-to-play" plan. Whether or not that happened is not the question here; the question is whether or not he'd be a good fit for the Vikings. In my opinion, he'd be the sexy pick and the one that would make the fans extremely excited, but he's a work-in-progress. Having played at Florida, and then at Auburn, Newton has no experience playing in a pro-style offense and would need time to adjust to playing in the West Coast offense, which is far from the spread offense he ran at Auburn. He also has only one year of starting experience at the collegiate level, and while his success this season has been quite the storybook tale for Auburn fans, it would be in the best interest of Newton's development if he sat out for most, if not his entire rookie season to learn the new offense and adjust to the speed of the NFL. Newton could play in the West Coast offense, I have no doubt about that, but if I were in position to make a selection, he wouldn't be at the top of my list for the Vikings.

(4) Jake Locker – Washington – 6-3 – 226 – Senior

(5) Christian Ponder – Florida State – 6-3 – 227 – Senior

Another prototypical prospect with the arm and the intangibles to lead a team in the future, Florida State's Christian Ponder is a player who has been under the radar compared to more high-profile prospects like Luck, Mallett, and Newton. Like the top four quarterbacks, Ponder has the arm strength that scouts look for. He can deliver the ball all over the field. A relatively efficient quarterback who makes good decisions and is rather intelligent, Ponder has dealt with an injury to his throwing arm this season, which has lowered his chances of being a first round prospect. A projected second-to-third rounder, Ponder has thrown for 2,038 yards, 20 touchdowns, and eight interceptions with a 62.2 completion percentage, down from 68.8 last year. Ponder is a player who has the natural talent and skill-set as well as the intangibles and intelligence to develop into a starting quarterback in the NFL, but up to now, he has yet to be able to put everything together, and stay healthy. He's shown flashes of being an elite prospect, but those have been inconsistent and scouts never got a chance to see him do it consistently this season because of the injury. Ponder can make all of throws and would have no trouble in the West Coast offense at the next level. I have Ponder graded out as a second-to-third rounder who will need at least a year or two of development to get ready to compete for a starting job in the NFL. In the event that the Vikings don't land a first round quarterback, Ponder would be a guy to target.

SLEEPERS:

(1) Pat Devlin – Delaware – 6-4 – 220 – Senior

A former Penn State transfer who is following in the footsteps of former Delaware quarterback Joe Flacco in his attempt to jump to the NFL, Pat Devlin has led the Blue Hens to the FCS National Championship this season. A spread quarterback who is intelligent and makes quick and precise reads, Devlin would be an intriguing fit in the Vikings' offense, as he's at his best making short-to-intermediate throws. Devlin has thrown for 2,812 yards, 22 touchdowns, and just two interceptions this season with a 68.3 completion percentage. Devlin is clearly a great decision maker, having thrown only two INTs and his ability to read a defense quickly and make a strong, accurate throw is what scouts love to see; his efficiency this season has been outstanding. The only question that I have with Devlin is how he'll adjust from playing in a gimmicky spread offense at Delaware to a pro-style offense in the NFL. His ability to make those quick throws should win him over with coaches that run the West Coast offense.

(2) Nathan Enderle – Idaho – 6-5 – 233 – Senior