Some people insist San Francisco's Michael Crabtree will have the biggest impact among this year's rookie wide receivers. Others push Philadelphia's Jeremy Maclin. Me? I'm taking Percy Harvin, and I'll tell you why.
Because he's in Minnesota.
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| As he had at Florida, Percy Harvin will have a superstar to catch most of the spotlight in Minnesota. (US Presswire) |
Someone like ... uh-huh, Percy Harvin.
I know Harvin's character might be a concern. I'm also aware he has an injured foot that scared off some suitors. But I don't care. The foot will heal, and the no-nonsense Vikings won't let the guy stray, which means Percy Harvin is my early frontrunner for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
"He's a phenomenal playmaker," said one head coach. "I thought he was the best player in the draft."
I didn't. But I thought he was one of the most intriguing. He's fast. He's explosive. He's productive. He's versatile. And he's a risk. He tested positive for marijuana at the February scouting combine, and he was suspended from his high school basketball and track teams.
That is why the Vikings seem like the last team that should be interested. Only there are a few factors here that minimize Harvin's chances for screwing up. First, there's Peterson. He's the lead dog on this team. Not Harvin or Rosenfels or Jared Allen. The Minnesota Vikings are Adrian Peterson, period, and that's a good thing for Harvin.
In fact, when he met with the Vikings he told them one of the things he enjoyed most about playing at the University of Florida was that the attention wasn't focused on him; it was focused on quarterback Tim Tebow. Harvin not only didn't mind; he was grateful.
"He just wanted to be a piece of the puzzle," said Vikings receivers coach George Stewart.
Well, welcome to Minnesota. In two years Peterson has become the league's premier back, leading the NFL in rushing last season, getting named to the All-Pro team and producing 27 percent of Minnesota's touchdowns in 2007-08. Peterson is to the Vikes what Tebow is to Florida, which means Harvin is in the right place at the right time.
"He doesn't want to carry the flag," said Stewart. "He wants to help Adrian carry that flag."
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Then there's Stewart. I don't know of a position coach more able to steer a young man clear of potential hazards, and Harvin is young (20). That comes from years of knowing Stewart, watching him mentor players and observing him challenge Terrell Owens when the two were in San Francisco. Owens is a load, but not around Stewart he's not. He respects and admires the guy. More important, he listens to him, and I would expect Harvin to do the same.
Stewart first caught Harvin's act when the receiver was a freshman in the 2006 SEC championship game. The opponent was Stewart's alma mater, the University of Arkansas, and all Harvin did was "demolish" the Razorbacks -- Stewart's description, not mine. Anyway, he scored on a 37-yard pass, scored again on a 67-yard run and was named the game's MVP.
"I marked it down then," said Stewart, then with the Atlanta Falcons, "that I'd love to have the chance to get him."
Now he does, which takes me to Minnesota head coach Brad Childress. It took him a couple of years to rid the Vikings of locker-room problems, but his moves paid off last season when the Vikings won their first division championship in eight years. Childress doesn't tolerate problem players, and he might have hesitated signing off on this pick had he not listened to Stewart and Rick Spielman, the team's vice president of player personnel, and gone to visit Harvin before the draft.
He and Harvin spent an afternoon together in Florida last week, with Childress taking a last-minute flight to check out his prospective draft choice. He met members of Harvin's family and spoke with coaches on the Florida staff, including Urban Meyer. Mostly, though, this was about sitting down with Harvin, getting to know him and understanding what the Vikings might be taking on.
"If you're going to spend millions on a guy," said Childress, "I'd like to know about him. And 15 minutes at the combine and 20 minutes in my office wasn't going to do it. I had to allay any fears I had in him. When you're not on the clock it allows you to ask a lot more questions."
So he asked ... about everything. Friends. Family. High school. College. Character. Injuries. You name it.
And what he got satisfied him. When Childress flew back to Minneapolis the following morning, he was sold that the Vikings had their man -- provided, of course, that Harvin was able to make it to the 22nd position.
"Sometimes, you just listen to what's in your gut," said Childress.
If Childress and Stewart and the Minnesota Vikings are right, they may have pulled off the second biggest draft-day steal in the past three years. Having Peterson slip to the seventh spot in the 2007 draft was lucky, basically because the clubs that should have been interested in him and that drafted ahead of Minnesota were nervous about his durability.
Clubs that drafted ahead of the Vikings last weekend were nervous about Harvin, too, but the concerns were different. Character was the buzz word with Harvin, and it pushed him down the board. But Minnesota wasn't concerned because the Vikings had done their homework, believe he's not an accident waiting to happen and believe they have the resources to keep Harvin in line.
"This is no risk at all," said Stewart. "We're going to use him. We're not going to work him in gradually. He's going to play right now."
So maybe the Vikings get lucky again. It happens. But maybe Percy Harvin gets lucky, too. I don't know if Percy Harvin works out, but I think he can and I think he will for this reason: He's with a team that can help him as much as he can help it.
And that's what I'd call an ideal fit.
SKOL! VIKINGS 
