Won't get fooled again

The Vikings are back at the scene of the crime -- the NFL Combine, where three years ago they were so dazzled by the speed of an unknown wide receiver from South Carolina that they ignored his pedestrian college stats and drafted him with the No. 7 overall pick.

Well, we've come full circle, as the StarTribune is reporting that the Vikes have given Troy Williamson's agent permission to seek a trade. Never mind the fact that all these other NFL teams have scouts, and they've seen Williamson drop pass after pass (see right) over the last three seasons. The Vikes are convinced that "eight to 10" teams are interested in TW and his shaky hands.

According to the article, in fact, trade offers have already been exchanged. I can only imagine they've gone something like this: "We'll give you Williamson. You give us a bag of used footballs and two kicking tees. One tee? Hmm ... we'll have to get back to you on that."

The fact that this has come to a head at the Combine is perfect symmetry, because the Vikings wouldn't be in this mess if they hadn't fallen for the same trap that snares a few teams every year -- namely, they're so impressed with "measurables" that they ignore past performance on the field. A lot of football guys like to think they're mavericks, they're smarter than everybody else and they're just dying for a chance to prove it. Choosing a diamond in the rough is a great way to pad the egos of these personnel geniuses if it happens to work out. And if it doesn't? There's always somebody to take the fall.

In the Vikings' case, that was head coach Mike Tice -- even though it was pretty clear at the time that Tice wanted to draft Shawne Merriman, who has become the exact player the Vikings most desperately need, a lights-out pass rusher. Merriman went five picks later to the San Diego Chargers, and they're pretty happy with how that's worked out.

Of course, Williamson still might have been the best wide receiver of the class (after Braylon Edwards, who went to the Browns at No. 3). Here's a list of the rest of the WRs who were drafted in the first round that year: Mike Williams (No. 10, Detroit), Matt Jones (21, Jacksonville), Mark Clayton (22, Baltimore), and Roddy White (27, Atlanta). This points to another flaw in the Vikings' draft plan that year -- the No. 7 pick was compensation for Randy Moss, and there was pressure from fans and some in the front office to use that pick to replace Moss.

So Williamson became a symbolic pick, and he never came close to filling Moss' shoes. But hey, he sure looked good in shorts and a t-shirt running in a straight line.