The 2012 NFL Draft is still a few months away, but with the end of the NCAA bowl season comes every football pundit under the sun fanning the flames with speculation about which top college players will end up with what NFL team. With a rash of players announcing their intentions of entering the draft following their schools' bowl games comes a brand new wave of rampant speculation.
One player that has long been announced as making himself eligible for the draft is Matt Kalil of the USC Trojans. Unanimously regarded as the best left tackle in the NCAA, Kalil could instantly improve any of a number of pitiful offensive lines. Seeing as weak o-lines generally make for losing teams, it has long been thought that Kalil will go early.
Most early NFL mock drafts had Kalil going as the second overall pick, which belongs to the St. Louis Rams. A new mock draft on Friday, however, presents a slightly different opportunity. New NFL Draft suggests that the Rams might instead opt for wide receiver Justin Blackmon in an attempt to shore up their offense, but doesn't rule out that they might still select Kalil.
Here is what they have to say about the possibility of Kalil ending up as the third overall pick, which would send him to the Minnesota Vikings:
This year has been a disappointment for the Vikings. However, it hasn't been all bad because Christian Ponder has shown flashes that he is going to be the QB of the future for the Vikings. Additionally they have looked ok at time on both offense and defense. With this selection I think they could go 1 of a couple ways.. first off I think they could go with one of the top tiered skilled players such as Morris Claiborne as a CB or Alshon Jeffery as a Wider Receiver. With this being said I think they need a Left Tackle of the future and Kalil would be this player fo the Vikings in the 2012 NFL Draft.
It's an interesting take. We shall see where all of this leads as more and more players announce their intent to go pro.
For all news and information regarding USC athletics, please visit Conquest Chronicles. To discuss Matt Kalil potentially becoming a Minnesota Viking, please visit the Daily Norseman.