Vikings II...

Signings:

• Pat Williams – discussed in this space previously (under the heading Jason Ferguson) Yes, this is a great signing. Yes this was an obvious signing. No, you didn’t have to be Miss Clio to see it coming. I understand.
  
  Hopefully this will free up Kevin Williams a bit and take the edge out of opposing run games for the first two downs. Two things to watch for are his weight and how many downs he plays.
  
• Fred Smoot – discussed in this space previously. This is a fantastic signing and has now shored up our cornerbacks. This frees up Brian Williams to move into the nickel back role, which he is much more suited for. Now, we have two cornerbacks who can step up to the run and Smoot is on his way to becoming a legitimate shutdown corner (or as much of a shutdown corner that the new pass interference rules will allow).
  
  I like the fact that Smoot is a talker. We need some people like that in the secondary. Especially some people who can back up the talk (I’m looking at you Brian Williams). We don’t need Shooter McGavin back there, we need Happy Gilmore; someone who can play the game and back that up with his talk, not talk big and shrink under pressure.
  
• Darren Sharper – This is a much needed signing. The safety position needed to be upgraded and Sharper is a huge upgrade over Brian Russell. It’s like we’re getting rid of Creed and replacing them with Pearl Jam. I can’t put into words how much I’ve wanted a different safety back there.
  
  Ideally, we would have upgraded this position with the second first round pick (I’ll discuss that later) but there were indications that Thomas Davis wouldn’t have been available in that spot anyway. As long as Sharper can come back from the injury that held him back last year, this should be a bang up signing.
  
• Travis Taylor – This is a guy who had to go around and beg for a job. He asked the Vikings to bring him in. So, is this a good signing? Depends on what the contract is. Is it the veteran minimum? Then it's fine. He's going to be relegated to 4th receiver once they draft Williams or Edwards (to be discussed more later). I think this ends the Plastico talk also (though Drew Rosenhaus pretty much ended that when he became the new agent).
  
  Now, could Taylor be good? I think so. Look at the QB's and offense he’s had in at Baltimore. Gawd awful. Dilfer, Banks, Boller, Cunningham, Grbac...these are some of the starters he worked with. It's like having Jerry Rice have to catch passes from the QB from Little Giants. It’s not going to work.
  
  As much as I hate saying it about a guy this old, I think he has upside. I know he's about 27 and potential should not be said about people that old, but he has potential, because he's never played in a passing offense or with a QB who was better than the QB's at Florida.
  
  So, he has a chance to move up to the number 3 receiver (ahead of Robinson) and make a bit of a difference. For the price (if it is as low as I think it is) it's a good deal. Otherwise, it's probably a wasted bit of money. But they have the cap room, so why not?
  
• Brad Johnson – Ahhh…reliving the glory days. Maybe they can bring Randall back too and make it a good 1-2 punch. Hopefully Culpepper doesn’t get hurt because Johnson has nothing left in the tank and Shaun Hill could barely start in the Arena League. I would have tried to shell out a bit more to keep Ferotte around.
  
• I think this should be about it on the free agent front. As mentioned, there is very little chance they will sign Plaxico now. Once he switched over to Drew Rosenhaus as an agent, it became apparent the Vikings weren’t in the plans. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him land in Miami or San Francisco with a 4 or 5 year deal. Rosenhaus has huge ties all over the league.
• There is also very little chance they will still complete a trade for Rod Gardner. He pretty much has to be traded though. His stock is down and the Redskins have treaded all over him. He will not be back with them and he will probably fetch a 4th round pick. He could end up in Seattle.

Draft

• The Vikings currently hold 2 first round picks. Mike Williams tore it up during his pro day and I would be shocked if Braylon Edwards doesn’t do the same thing. So, what does that mean for the Vikings? That means that the Randy Moss trade might not net them a starting receiver from the draft. Which means their plan will go down the drain faster than Ben Affleck. There are strong indications that both of them will be gone by the 6th pick (Edwards to the Bears and Williams to the Bucs).
  
  So, what can they do about it? They’re going to have to package together their first two picks (7 and 18) and trade them with the Browns for their first two picks (3 and the 3rd in the second round). This way, they have a chance to pick Edwards if they want to, or they can take Williams. Or, possibly, take Edwards and work on a trade with the Bears for Williams.
  
  Either way, this makes sense for both parties involved. The Browns are not sure who they want at number 3 anyway and odds are Smith will still be there at 7 if they want him. If he’s not, they can select a franchise back in Cadillac Williams, which I’m sure they will be fine with. They will also have the second first rounder to mess around with.
  
• The other option I see is to keep the pick and hope Williams falls. If he doesn’t, they draft Johnson from Texas with the number 7 and hope Williamson falls to 18, which is a distinct possibility. I don’t like this option as much, since I am now firmly planted on the Mike Williams bandwagon, but this is an option that is worth at least exploring.