Boise State cornerback Kyle Wilson tumbled down the draft board during the first round Thursday. His fall, however, wasn't as far as the Vikings would have liked.
The ESPN New York Web site reported that about five minutes before Wilson was selected 29th by the Jets he received a call from the Vikings, sitting on the 30th pick. "I don't know if they were trying to hold me on the line, but I got a call, and then somehow the phone hung up," Wilson told reporters.
While it wasn't clear what happened, ESPN New York surmised the Vikings might have hung up when the Jets chose Wilson. The Vikings turned around and traded the 30th pick to Detroit for second selection in the second round, which they used on Virginia cornerback Chris Cook on Friday.
Vikings vice president of player personnel Rick Spielman admitted Thursday that he did make one attempt to move up to grab a player that was around the 30th pick. That likely was Wilson.
Asked about the call, Vikings coach Brad Childress said: "We call people during the course of the draft saying, 'Who are you hearing from? How many phone calls have you gotten?' We check temperatures throughout. And usually in this day and age I see guys wearing three cell phones on their belt. So usually they can be contacted."
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That explains it
Cook was only able to bench press 225 pounds seven times at the NFL Scouting Combine last February but he explained that was because of torn ligaments in his shoulder. "They flared up while I was on the bench press," said Cook, who is 6-2, 212 pounds. "I am not giving any excuses or anything because it is not an excuse. I am a strong guy; it is just that was a problem for me when I got on the bench press."
Let's make a deal
This draft marks the ninth time in the Vikings' 50 seasons that they have traded away their first-round pick and had no selection in the opening round.
The most recent case was two years ago when they shipped a first- and two third-round selections to Kansas City for defensive end Jared Allen.
Three of the Vikings' first-rounders were sent to Dallas in 1989 in the infamous Herschel Walker trade that saw the Vikings give up five players and eight picks. The Vikings also traded out of the round in 1962, '69, '81, '89.
Thursday's trade was only the second time the Vikings have traded their first-round pick in a deal that didn't involve a player coming to Minnesota. In 1981, the Vikings traded their first-round pick to Baltimore for two second-round selections and a fifth-round choice.
Etc.
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—The Vikings will begin a celebration of their 50th season Saturday with an event in the rotunda at the Mall of America that will include autograph sessions from alumni representing each decade, Vikings highlight films, and a live KFAN broadcast from noon to 2 p.m. The first autograph session is scheduled for 11 a.m.
—The Vikings had two opportunities to grab Notre Dame's Jimmy Clausen or Texas' Colt McCoy in the second round but decided against it. "I think we really had the guys identified (that we wanted)," Childress said when asked about the quarterbacks.
