Brad Childress’ Trades

I’ve already discussed head coach Brad Childress, his , and his handling of the .Today, then, I look at the Vikings trades under the Childress regime.

2006 Minnesota Vikings Trades:

Let’s knock them down one at a time.

The Daunte Culpepper Trade

This turned out well for the Vikings. didn’t want to play for the Vikings anymore and as much as I wanted to sit him, let him sulk on the bench until he fully rehabbed and then trade him for more value, trading him immediately was the right move. Culpepper was a disaster in Miami and only this year does he look like he resemble the quarterback he was when he played here.

With the 51st overall pick they got from Miami, the Vikings drafted T/C . Most people thought it was a hell of a reach to draft Cook at that spot; that the fourth round was a more reasonable place to pick him. Cook is starting at right tackle, but he has been extremely raw.

He is improving, though, so so far, so good.

Trade Up For Tarvaris Jackson

The Vikings traded two third round picks to the Pittsburgh Steelers to grab Jackson in the second round. The move surprised a lot of people because Jackson wasn’t anyone’s radar screen and was considered a sixth or seventh round pick.

With the two third rounders, the Steelers chose FS Anthony Smith and WR Willie Reid. Smith has played in 26 games and started nine of them for the Steelers. During the past two years, Smith has made 67 tackles, defended seven passes and intercepted three balls.

Reid has played in three games for the Steelers during the past two years and has a whopping three catches during that period.

Jackson has hardly lived up to his billing and worse, he doesn’t seem to be improving. Meanwhile, the Vikings’ safeties are older and have lost a step. We could use some young depth at the position. With a roster that boasts , , and , Reid is not likely to see much action any time soon, so who knows how good he is. At least with the Vikings, we’d find out.

At this point it sure looks like trading up for Jackson was a bad move.

Vikings Trade Picks To Eagles For Artis Hicks

Artis Hicks is no longer starting and he was pretty bad when he was.

The Vikes traded the 115th and 185th overall selections to the Eagles for Hicks and the 127th overall pick. The Eagles subsequently traded both picks to the Green Bay Packers.

With the 115th pick, Green Bay took cornerback . Blackmon has one tackle in the eight games he’s played for the Packers during the past two years. With the 185th pick, the Packers selected DB , who had one pass defended in 2006. He is no longer on the roster.

The Vikes took DE with the 127th pick. Edwards is great as a starter but between the 115th and 127th picks, the Vikes missed the opportunity to take RB (averaging 4.3 yards a carry this season), WR (55 receptions in 2006, 20 thus far this year), and the diminutive defensive end , who’s blowing it up with the Broncos–8 sacks last year, 8.5 thus far this year).

This was a bad trade.

Hank Baskett For Billy McMullen

A team that has been in dire need of receivers since Childress took over ships off a 6’4", 220 lbs receiver with 4.3 speed for, for…wait for it…Billy McMullen!

McMullen was a fine possession receiver but we didn’t need a possession receiver. We needed an explosive receiver and Baskett was the closest we’ve come to that during the Childress era.

Though his stats are not stellar, is still playing still playing with the Eagles as their third receiver. McMullen, meanwhile, hasn’t played since we cut him.

Bad, bad trade.

Mosely For Bollinger

The Vikings, belatedly, realized they needed another quarterback so they shipped the talented DT to the Jets for Brooks Bollinger. Bollinger has been just okay and Mosley hasn’t cracked the Jets starting lineup. We needed a QB and Mosley wouldn’t have seen much playing time here anyway, so not a bad trade.

Goldberg For Undisclosed

has started four games during the past two years for the Saint Louis Rams, despite losses on the offensive line this season. But we’ve needed as much help at guard as possible, so I’m just sayin’.

We don’t know what we got for Goldberg yet, so it’s too early to tell.

Vikes Trade Down And Pick Sidney Rice

Sidney Rice looks like he’s going to be a fine receiver, maybe even a great one. The Vikes traded the 41st pick for Atlanta’s 44th overall pick and the 121st overall pick.

The Falcons chose CB , who has started six games for them this year.

The Vikings traded the 121st pick to the Denver Broncos for the 176th and 223rd overall picks.

Straight up, this was a good trade. The Vikings didn’t need more corners but they did need a young receiver and they turned the 121st pick into two more selections.

Vikings Trade Up For Brian Robison

The Vikings gave up the  106th and 182nd overall picks  to move up to the 102nd slot to take Robison. Robison is super athletic and has provided the Vikes some much-needed speed rushing from the edge. The Buccaneers took safety Tanard Jackson and linebacker Adam Hayward with their picks. Jackson has started every game this season while Hayward hasn’t done much at all.

As I said above, the Vikings certainly need some youth at safety but they also need some speed from their defensive ends.

This trade is a wash.

Fourth Round Pick For A Sixth & A Seventh

The Vikes trade the 121st overall pick to the Broncos for the 176th and 233nd overall picks which they use to select linebacker Rufus Alexander and wide receiver Chandler Williams, respectively.

Alexander was highly regarded but was placed on injured reserve during the pre-season, so we haven’t seen what he can do. Williams was last seen in a Miami Dolphins uniform, but he has no statistics this season.

The Broncos chose DT , who has started just one game, has only 11 tackles, but does have an interception.

It’s too early to tell whether or not this was a good trade. We’ll have to see whether Alexander pan out.

  • Good Trades: Culpepper, Trade down for Sidney Rice: Two Good Trades.
  • Bad Trades: Trade up for Tarvaris Jackson, Picks for Hicks, Baskett for McMullen, Mosley for Bollinger (though I said it wasn’t a bad trade, I’m docking Childress some points for completely mismanaging the quarterback situation from the start, and the Bollinger trade is part of it): Four Bad Trades.
  • Washes Or Too Early To Tell: Goldberg for Undisclosed, trade up for Robison, fourth round pick for a sixth and a seventh: Three neutral trades.

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