Vikings drafted for talent, needs

Rick Spielman, the Vikings vice president of personnel, detailed the way the franchise worked this year's NFL draft, saying the team started off by looking at taking the best player available while at the same time looking to fill whatever needs it had.

"We followed our draft board like we normally have, and as best players came down, we tried to fill needs as well," Spielman said. "I know the first part, to get the corner [Virginia's Chris Cook] by moving back in the second round, and then having enough ammunition to come up and get [Stanford's] Toby Gerhart, who we thought is a very good running back and is going to be a great running back for us teamed up with Adrian Peterson.

"Then in the [third] day, [Southern California defensive end] Everson Griffen, for him to be there in the fourth round, when we had a lot higher grades on him, I think most people did, and feeling very comfortable after spending some time with him, that he's the type of football player we want here."

Spielman said the difference between this year from last is the team had eight draft choices compared to only five in 2009. Because the team had fewer draft picks a year ago, Spielman said the team was more aggressive in signing players from its draft board that did not get selected.

He added: "This year, because we had more picks -- we had two picks in the fifth, we had a pick in the sixth, and two picks in the seventh -- a lot of those guys now, we had an opportunity to get some later guys and draft them later, because we had more picks down there. We didn't need as many college free agents as we did in the past. Kind of the theme was in the last couple rounds was to get very good football players."

Will switch positions The Vikings did something different than other years when they drafted a couple of players in the later rounds with the intention of having them play a different position than they did in college.

"Like the quarterback at UAB, Joe Webb was such a phenomenal athlete, he reminds you a little bit -- I'm not going to put him in that class, yet -- but a little bit like when [Cleveland All-Pro returner] Josh Cribbs came out of [Kent State] as a quarterback," Spielman said. "You've got this kid [Webb] down at the Senior Bowl, he played some receiver. You see this kid that's over 6-2, he's almost 225 pounds, and he has great leaping ability and his hand-eye coordination was unbelievable when you're watching him catch the ball. Now, is he raw? Yes. Does he have to learn how to run routes? Yeah, he has to learn how, and learn all the nuances of that position.

"But he has the athletic skills to potentially develop, and I have a lot of faith in our coaching staff and coach [Brad] Childress, because those guys do a great job bringing these young guys along."

Spielman had good contacts with the Rutgers coaching staff, and he was convinced Ryan D'Imperio, who played linebacker for the Scarlet Knights, could play fullback in the NFL.

"D'Imperio, the kid we took from Rutgers, was actually a very good high school fullback," Spielman said. "They moved him to linebacker when he was at Rutgers. I'm very close with Greg Schiano, the head coach there. He and I had worked together when I was with the Bears. He said he had no doubt about this kid can [move] back over to fullback. So, again, we'll see where these guys are when they come in, but we've got some exciting athletes to try to develop."

In rating the Vikings' picks, the website nflmocks.com gave the team an A for the fourth-round selection of Griffen, saying the Vikings got a first-round talent in the fourth round and adding, "Griffen gives some insurance if Ray Edwards holds out this year." As a team, the Vikings got a C-plus for their draft from the website, the same as the Packers and Bears, with the Lions getting a B. Like always, time will tell how good this draft will be. Last year's draft was so good, the fans are going to be spoiled if this one turns out to be as good.

Jottings Robert Bruininks would have to be one of the school presidents to vote in favor of the Big Ten expansion. The University of Minnesota president said that at this point, there hasn't been any serious discussion among school presidents about expansion.

Gerhart, the Heisman Trophy runner-up for Stanford, also played baseball for three years as a Cardinal outfielder, hitting .275. A righthanded hitter, he batted 289 in 2007, .240 in 2008 and .288 last season, his last year in the sport. Gerhart went undrafted in last year's MLB draft, though he was still good enough to be considering a career in baseball. He played two years ago in the College Baseball World Series, with Stanford finishing third.

Gerhart's father, Todd, played college football at Cal State Fullerton and played in the USFL in 1984 and 1985. Todd Gerhart was with the Vikings in training camp in 1986 and in the Houston Oilers training camp in 1987. Now he is the football coach at Norco High School in Southern California. ... Toby's brother Garth was the starting center for Arizona State last fall. His sisters are triplets: Kelsey, Teagan and Whitley. Two of them play softball at Stanford, the other at Cal Poly. Youngest brother Coltin is an eighth-grade quarterback.

Besides wide receiver Eric Decker being drafted by the Broncos and linebacker Nate Triplett by the Vikings, six other Gophers signed free-agent contracts. This could be the biggest number in many years to get that opportunity. Tight end Nick Tow-Arnett went to Dallas, linebacker Simoni Lawrence to St. Louis, punter Blake Haudan to Carolina, cornerback Traye Simmons to San Diego, defensive tackle Garrett Brown to Kansas City and offensive lineman Matt Stommes to Denver. Jeff Tow-Arnett is going to get a tryout with Tampa Bay. And Gophers coach Tim Brewster reported that more than one team is talking about a contract with defensive back Marcus Sherels and linebacker Lee Campbell. Sherels is getting a tryout with the Vikings, but that deal doesn't include a contract yet.

The drafting of Decker and Triplett makes it the first time since 2006 that two Gophers have been selected in the same NFL draft. Triplett is the first Gophers player taken by the Vikings since Tyrone Carter in 2000.

The San Francisco 49ers signed safety Tramaine Brock, who played for the Gophers in 2008 but was academically ineligible for 2009. ... Alex Daniels, a Gophers fullback in 2006 who finished his college career as a defensive end with the Cincinnati Bearcats, signed with the Oakland Raiders.

Sid Hartman can be heard weekdays on WCCO AM-830 at 6:40, 7:40 and 8:40 a.m. • shartman@startribune.com