RandBall Q&A: Tim Tebow-mania and a possible Vikings fit

Vikings coach Brad Childress is slated to watch QB Tim Tebow work out today, and it is no secret the Vikings coach is a fan of the Florida lefty. It's not out of the realm of possibility that Tebow could wind up in purple, and to explore the implications of that we enlisted the help of Dan Shanoff, editor of the TimTeBlog. (That's not to be confused with the TimTeaBlog, which we're told has ex-MLBer Tim Raines' thoughts on oolong and other such matters). Shanoff has been chronicling everything Tebow-related for almost a year on that blog, and he was kind enough to answer a few of our quetions pertaining to Tebow and the Vikings. Here we go:

RandBall: For the uninitiated, could you please describe the current level and status of Tebow-mania?

Dan Shanoff: Off the charts. He is the most talked-about player in the draft (arguably any draft ever), made all the more remarkable by the fact that he may not even be a first-round pick, let alone a top pick. Even the mere hint that your team might be considering Tebow drives reporters, radio hosts, bloggers and fans into a frenzy of pros and cons. Oh, and he has just signed national endorsement deals with Nike and EA, with plenty more on the way.

RB: If Tim Tebow and Brett Favre were on the same team, what would the ensuing ESPN specialty site look like?

DS: ESPN[Infinity Symbol].com. The Venn diagram of Favre fatigue and Tebow backlash could rip a hole in the space-time continuum. But make no mistake: It would be hugely popular.

RB: Do you think the healing powers of Tebow could restore a thick, lustrous head of hair to Brad Childress?

DS: Not even Tim Tebow can work that miracle. But in the event of coaching turnover, it gives the Vikings the inside track for Jon Gruden, who gushingly described Tebow as "concrete cyanide" (and has a much nicer head of hair).

DS: Yes, it is true that Tebow spent most of his college career dropping the ball below his hip while winding up to throw. To be fair, over the past three years, he also had the best passer rating of any college QB. The big issue was keeping his hands up and speeding up his release. Has he fixed it? Not entirely. Has he shown enough progress in a couple of months to show that his mechanics will be fine? Yes. No one will work harder than Tebow to become a good NFL player.

RB: If the Vikings do draft Tebow, what would be his greatest cultural contribution to Minnesota?

DS: Two words: Bris appearances.

RB: In all seriousness, do you see a fit between the Vikings and Tebow?

DS: I do, for a couple reasons: They need a quarterback for 2011 and beyond, and I think Tebow can be developed into a productive starting QB in the NFL. If Childress is a friend of Urban Meyer, he will give a lot of weight to Meyer's unequivocal endorsement of Tebow. Tebow-to-Percy worked out pretty well at the college level. And while drafting Tebow is a risk -- particularly in the first round (as the Vikings would have to do to get him) -- no player available at No. 30 has more "face of franchise" upside.

DS: Here is how I'd rank the possibilities, as of today:
(1) Browns at No. 38 overall
(2) Bills trading up from No. 41 to 33-36
(3) Bills trading up from No. 41 to No. 30
(4) Raiders at No. 39 overall
(5) Bills trading up into mid-20s
(6) Jaguars trading up to 33-36
(7) Vikings at No. 30

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