The question was brought up in the weeks leading up to the 2012 NFL Draft: In today's NFL, how important is a left tackle?
With the a gaping hole on their offensive line, as well as issues in the secondary, there were many who believed that the Minnesota Vikings should use the third pick in this year's draft to take cornerback Morris Claiborne from LSU instead of USC's Matt Kalil.
The Vikings showed on Thursday night, that a left tackle was still important in their sights and used their draft pick on the 6'6" 308-pound Kalil.
He went a pick later than expected. Before the draft began, the Vikings traded away the third overall pick to the Cleveland Browns for the fourth overall pick, a fourth round draft pick, a fifth round draft pick, and a seventh round draft pick.
With perhaps some insight to how things would unfold on Thursday night, Kalil took the stage in a gray suit with a gray and purple tie once his name was called by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Kalil, a 1st team AP All American in 2011, will now have the responsibility of protecting the blindside of quarterback Christian Ponder, who the team selected in the first round last year, and run block for Adrian Peterson, who many feel is the best back in the NFL.
Ponder was sacked 30 times in 10 starts for the 3-13 Vikings last season.
As the fourth pick in the draft, Kalil is the highest Trojan drafted since Reggie Bush was taken second overall by the Saints in 2006. He's the 474th Trojan to be drafted in the NFL, which is the most of any school.
Kalil's brother Ryan is an All-Pro center with the Panthers after being drafted in the second round in 2007. His father, Frank, was a 1982 draft pick of the Bills before electing to play in the USFL.
USC head coach Lane Kiffin is in New York at the draft as a guest of Kalil.
