INDIANAPOLIS — The Vikings have arrived in Indianapolis. I know this because I sat behind several Vikings VIPs, including head coach Mike Zimmer and assistant GM George Paton, on an airplane from MSP this morning. I would like to thank Zimmer for not reclining his seat during the flight.
The Vikings are eager to check out the 300-plus prospects who will be here in Indianapolis over the next week for the NFL scouting combine. Sure, they will be there with stopwatches for the televised portion of the event, but the 15-minute formal interviews with players and physical examinations are also important pieces of the puzzle when it comes to completing a draft profile for each player.
Of course, what these guys do in spandex — the players, not Zimmer and Co. — will get the attention of fans. Some of these feats of athleticism don't always translate to the football field, but you can't help but marvel at how fast some of these guys are and how much air they can get.
The Vikings, especially in recent years, have coveted athletes, and current players such as Adrian Peterson, Cordarrelle Patterson, Everson Griffen and Anthony Barr come to mind. But which current Vikings players fared the best in each of the major combine drills? Some answers may surprise you.
(Note that I compiled this information mostly from the NFL's website along with some other online sources. I think these top performers are accurate, but feel free to alert me to any omissions.)
40-yard dash: This one is a little deceiving. The top performer for the Vikings has only been with the team for a few weeks. That would be cornerback DeMarcus Van Dyke, who was signed to a futures contract last month. Van Dyke has bounced around the league, but he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.28 seconds in 2011, the fourth-fastest time since 2006.
Bench press: Nose tackle Linval Joseph pumped out 39 reps on the bench in 2010, tied for the 10th most since 2006. He was drafted by the Giants in the second round and signed here last year.
Vertical jump: Running back Jerick McKinnon was a workout warrior at last year's combine, finishing as a top performer at his position in most of the events. One of those was the vertical jump. He leapt 40.5 inches, tied for fifth among all players. Cornerback Xavier Rhodes also jumped 40.5 inches back in 2012. Peterson measured 38.5 inches in the vertical jump in 2007 — ridiculous considering he wasn't fully healthy after breaking his collarbone.
