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 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 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.