Rick Spielman, general manager of the Vikings, was as coy as ever during a pre-draft conference Tuesday. The GM hinted that the team isn’t locked in on drafting a wide receiver with their first-round pick (23 overall), as some around the league have assumed.
“As I sit there, I enjoy reading the mock drafts and everybody out there trying to determine what we’re going to do, we are in a position to take the best player,” Spielman said, via Vikings.com, “I’m sure I’ll get a receiver question here, but we are not honed in on a receiver in the first round. We’ll look at the best potential player, regardless of position.”
Spielman, who had previously earned the nickname “Trader Rick” for his draft-day maneuvers, also mentioned that he has fielded calls from at least two other teams about the possibility of trading down for a lower pick.
“It will be interesting at the 23rd pick because I’ve already had two calls that I can verify today about teams potentially coming up our way,” Spielman said. “And one may be potentially in the second round. So we’re going to have to make some determinations, and usually those determinations aren’t made until we’re actually on the clock.”
We’ll have a full load of draft coverage coming Wednesday and Thursday, along with coverage of the second and third day of the draft.
