vikesfan89 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I thought this would interesting topic to discuss. The 1999 draft was near the beginning of my Fandom and long before I started following the draft. All I know is that 3 QBs went in the first 3 picks and the Vikings had the 4th pick and drafted Culpepper. I also heard that the eagles bood the McNabb pick. For those that followed the draft at that time, did it feel like the Vikings needed to get a QB and how was Culpepper perceived before and after being drafted? Was there surprises with how the QBs were drafted? Also was there much draft coverage at the time or did most people just find out about it in the paper the next day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikingsrule Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I started getting into the draft in 1997 when they took Dwayne Rudd. I remember a fair amount of draft coverage but it was mostly just ESPN and Mel Kiper. As for the 1999 class, I was only 13 at the time. I know there was a need for a long term QB solution since they had Cunningham and moved Brad Johnson. So why not take the one with the biggest arm to pair with Moss? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worm Guts Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 30 minutes ago, vikesfan89 said: I thought this would interesting topic to discuss. The 1999 draft was near the beginning of my Fandom and long before I started following the draft. All I know is that 3 QBs went in the first 3 picks and the Vikings had the 4th pick and drafted Culpepper. I also heard that the eagles bood the McNabb pick. For those that followed the draft at that time, did it feel like the Vikings needed to get a QB and how was Culpepper perceived before and after being drafted? Was there surprises with how the QBs were drafted? Also was there much draft coverage at the time or did most people just find out about it in the paper the next day? The Vikings took Culpepper with the 11th pick. I think a lot of us thought the Vikings should have taken Javon Kearse to push them over top after the 98 season. I don’t necessarily remember what the predraft predictions were like but the draft was pretty big even in those days. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vikesfan89 Posted March 15 Author Share Posted March 15 36 minutes ago, Worm Guts said: The Vikings took Culpepper with the 11th pick. I think a lot of us thought the Vikings should have taken Javon Kearse to push them over top after the 98 season. I don’t necessarily remember what the predraft predictions were like but the draft was pretty big even in those days. Was Culpepper well known. Didn't he go to a smaller school? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArcticNorseman Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Culpepper climbed draft boards like crazy given his massive size and truly cannon arm. His speed open some eyes too. There were questions about him being a small-school guy . . . UCF if I recall correctly. Denny Green of course couldn't draft Kearse because he didn't believe in defense . . . And he was horrible at gauging defensive players. However he thought 3-Deep and cannon arm -- what could be better? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wcblack34 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 15 minutes ago, ArcticNorseman said: . Denny Green of course couldn't draft Kearse because he didn't believe in defense . . . And he was horrible at gauging defensive players. However he thought 3-Deep and cannon arm -- what could be better? It was fun at times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I really preferred Jevon Kearse, but I was just glad they didn't take Cade McNown...the Josh Rosen before Josh Rosen was Josh Rosen (well, not exactly because Josh was a toddler then). However, I was happy that he finally decided to draft a QB rather than continue to recycle old free agent guys. Of course, I believe this was shortly before he failed to bring in Marino because he wasn't ready for Daunte to start yet in 2000. But, all that goodwill was lost when he drafted Dimitrius Underwood, who if I recall correctly really wasn't projected to go before the 3rd rd, but was an athletic freak....that pick continued to show just how piss-poor Denny was at identifying defensive talent, especially since longtime Falcon Patrick Kerney was taken a pick later and longtime Bronco Al Wilson the pick after that. It's really comical in retrospect at how bad Denny was regarding that. He was a brilliant offensive mind and was fantastic identifying good players on that side of the ball. He wasn't even competent on the defensive side of the ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Relax Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I remember thinking "Daunte who?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelKing728 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I'm glad they took Daunte. He and Moss are the reason I'm a Vikings fan haha Granted, I didn't start watching until 2004 and they were both gone by 2006. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Daunte, as others have written, was the 11th pick of the draft (Vikings have never picked a top ten QB) which is why he wore jersey #11. In college and high school he always wore #8, and his nickname was Eightball. Personally, I think Screwball or Nutcase would have been more appropriate, but he was fun to watch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Worm Guts Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 I wasn't a fan of the draft as it happened, but I was even more upset during the season after we cut Underwood before the season even started, Culpepper was glued to the bench and Kearse won defensive rookie of the year. Daunte ended up having a few great seasons and Kearse's best year was probably his rookie year, so from that perspective, it wasn't a terrible pick. But I still wonder how much better we could have been in '99 if we drafted to make that team better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 21 minutes ago, vike daddy said: Daunte, as others have written, was the 11th pick of the draft (Vikings have never picked a top ten QB) which is why he wore jersey #11. Except that was not the number he originally wore.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Just now, swede700 said: Except that was not the number he originally wore.... Which was...? I remember reading a quote from Daunte about why he chose jersey 11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swede700 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 1 minute ago, vike daddy said: Which was...? I remember reading a quote from Daunte about why he chose jersey 11. He originally wore #12. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vike daddy Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Another fun fact about Daunte and 11... He was at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii one year, and wore a big, gaudy, diamond encrusted #11 necklace. I mean, like bad pimp quality. He said it cost him $75,000. He let a little kid wear it and the kid asked if he could have it, jokingly. Daunte said, "Sure, it's yours" and the kid's eyes lit up! Then Daunte had to embarrass himself in front of the kid, his mother, and the press in insisting the kid give it back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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