It'll take another Peterson to fix the defense

For some inexplicable reason, for the second time in five years, it is within the Vikings' power to acquire a playmaker who is absolutely the best football player in the entire draft at a spot much lower than No. 1 overall — and they both are Peterson's.

Minnesota should do whatever it takes to trade up and pick LSU's Patrick Peterson before the San Francisco 49er's get a chance to take him at No. 7 overall.

And this makes sense, hear me out. I know the Vikings have holes all over the field, including quarterback and this is the type of year they should probably trade back and stock-pile more picks.

But Peterson is a transcendent talent. He's a taller Darrelle Revis.

Leslie Frazier, a former defensive back himself, has to understand. You draft Peterson and you shut down one-half of the field for the next 10-12 years.

Or you plug him in at safety and he's the "eraser" in the back-end, roaming the field in the Tampa-2 scheme.

He's the playmaker on defense that the Vikings have been starving for since Darren Sharper masqueraded as one during his brief stint with the Vikings. Opposing teams would have to gameplan for Peterson's athleticism and speed.

Maybe all Minnesota has to do is give up its second round pick to swap firsts with Arizona at No. 5. Every "analyst's" mock draft I've come across has Peterson available at the No. 5 spot.

Sure one of the top-four teams — Carolina, Denver, Buffalo or a Cincinnati — could throw a monkey wrench into my plans. But it makes sense for Arizona to do the trade.

The Cardinals could be targeting a quarterback or an outside rush linebacker in a 3-4. They may miss out on Blaine Gabbert if they do slide back, but then Arizona would be equipped with three of the first 43 picks in the draft and still have a chance to pick a quarterback or an impact defensive player in the first round.

For Minnesota? The secondary is immediately upgraded. Either Peterson and Antoine Winfield provide the Vikings with a scary physical corner duo or Peterson locks down a safety position and Hussain Abdullah, Tyrell Johnson and Madieu Williams fight it out to play next to him.

The Vikings do have other, maybe more important needs. But there isn't another player in this draft who is considered as sure of a bet, or who could have as quick of an impact as Peterson could from day one.

Well, at least the Vikings still have Adrian Peterson on offense.

And there's still free agency to take care of the defensive line and find some extra bodies for the offensive line.

Did I mention that Peterson can also be a game-changing punt returner. Imagine that — Peterson returning punts and Percy Harvin on kickoffs.

He'll have his chance to showcase all of his 4.34 40-yard dash speed.

His impact on the Vikings' defense would be enough to potentially overlook not taking a rookie high in this draft. For the defense to take a big step forward, they can't continue to ignore the lack of playmakers in the secondary to complement Jared Allen and Kevin Williams up front.