Florida State’s Christian Ponder was thought of by many as a high second-round pick. But the Minnesota Vikings, in need of a quarterback to replace Brett Favre, took him with the No. 12 pick in the draft.
Analysis: That’s four quarterbacks gone in the first 12 picks, a possible consequence of the lockout. With no free agency or trades permitted yet, teams like Minnesota that need QB help can’t be sure they’ll get the veteran they need (i.e., Donovan McNabb). So they’re taking quarterbacks to make sure they don’t get left without one. Minnesota was interested in trading up to No. 9 and take Blaine Gabbert, or trading down out of the 12 spot. But when they couldn’t do that, the Vikings took the top QB left on their board.
