Rick Spielman was practically invisible to fans and the media as the Vikings' vice president of player personnel. Now that he has become just the fifth general manager in franchise history, his profile and visibility will greatly increase, as will the amount of scrutiny he receives.
As general manager, Spielman has many duties and responsibilities. He primarily will be judged, though, on whom he drafts and whether those players help the Vikings win.
He is in a great situation when it comes to the NFL draft. The Vikings have the third overall pick. What Spielman does with that pick will help establish how he is viewed and regarded by fans and the media.
Spielman was non-committal when I asked him if he would keep the pick or trade it to acquire more picks. That's what you'd expect. General managers rarely like to publicly commit to anything.
While being tempted to trade the third overall pick for multiple picks is understandable, doing it would be a mistake.
With the third pick in this draft, the Vikings will have the opportunity to select a player who could become a perennial all-pro and one of the best players at his position in the entire league.
It's pretty much a slam dunk that Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck will go first overall. After that, it's possible another quarterback will be selected with the second overall pick. Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III could be coveted by enough teams that one of them offers a combination of picks too tempting for the St. Louis Rams to pass up.
That would be a mistake on the Rams' part, too.
It also would be a good thing for the Vikings because if Luck and Griffin go first and second, that would mean the Vikings could choose between Southern Cal left tackle Matt Kalil and Oklahoma State wide receiver Justin Blackmon. Either one would be an enormous help to the Vikings and quarterback Christian Ponder.
Kalil would protect Ponder's blind side, which would make the Vikings' passing game better. Blackmon, teamed with Percy Harvin, would give the Vikings' a terrific 1-2 punch at receiver.
The Vikings can't go wrong with either Kalil or Blackmon.
Where Spielman can go wrong is if he trades the third overall pick.
