With the 35th pick in SB Nation's 2012 NFL mock draft, the Minnesota Vikings select LSU WR Rueben Randle.
2012 NFL Mock Draft: Vikings Pick Up Rueben Randle In 2nd Round
The Vikings picked up Matt Kalil in the first round, and he should help protect Christian Ponder. Now, with this pick, it's time to give Ponder some weapons.
SB Nation’s Vikings blog, Daily Norseman, explains the pick:
With the Vikings making at least some token moves to attempt to upgrade their secondary this off-season, their second-biggest need in this year’s draft appears to be at the wide receiver position. While I was really hoping for Stephen Hill to somehow make his way to this spot, he got snapped up by San Francisco a few spots earlier. So, in an effort to find a player that could help to fill the Vikings’ need for a player that can get deep and potentially open up the offense, we turn to Rueben Randle, the wide receiver from LSU.
At just a shade under 6’3” and around 210 pounds, Randle fits the bill as the sort of receiver that can play on the outside for Minnesota. He has the size to get off of press coverage and better top-end speed than you might expect, averaging a shade over 17 yards/catch for a team that was (largely) saddled with lousy quarterback play. He’ll probably need some time to adjust to the NFL game, as all wide receivers do, and I know some folks might not have him rated quite this highly, but I think he has as much potential as any wide receiver remaining at this point in the proceedings, and could be a big-play threat for the Vikings in the future.
For more analysis of the pick, visit Mocking The Draft. SB Nation’s Bucs blog, Bucs Nation, is on the clock with the 36th pick.
For more draft news on the Vikings, visit Daily Norseman and SB Nation Minnesota. And click here to follow along the rest of SB Nation’s NFL mock draft.
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