NEW YORK (AP) -- The Minnesota Vikings have picked Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder with the 12th overall selection in the NFL draft.
With Brett Favre retiring and Tarvaris Jackson not expected back, the Vikings needed to find a potential long-term solution at the game's most critical position. Vikings fans, gathered at a draft party last night inside the team's practice facility, groaned when Washington's Jake Locker went with the eighth pick to Tennessee. Missouri's Blaine Gabbert was gone at No. 10 when Jacksonville traded up.
Ponder was the fourth quarterback taken in the first 12 picks. He's only the third quarterback the Vikings have taken in the first round, with Tommy Kramer and Daunte Culpepper the others.
Defensive tackle Nick Fairley was taken by the Detroit Lions with the No. 13 overall pick. Detroit drafted the Auburn standout to strengthen perhaps the best part of an improved team.
The Lions took defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh with the second pick of the 2010 draft and he was the only rookie on The Associated Press All-Pro team. They also have standouts Kyle Vanden Bosch and Corey Williams on the defensive line.
The 6-foot-4, 298-pound Fairley entered the draft after winning the Lombardi Award as a junior with the Tigers. The native of Mobile, Ala., was once projected as a possible No. 1 overall pick. His stock seeped to slip because of questions about his work ethic.
The Chicago Bears picked Outland Trophy-winning tackle Gabe Carimi with the 29th overall pick. The 6-foot-7, 314-pound Carimi started 49 games for Wisconsin over four years. He will be counted on to shore up a Bears offensive line that allowed a league-high 56 sacks last season.
Carimi and the rest of the Wisconsin line paved the way for a rushing attack that came up four yards short of producing three 1,000-yard rushers last season. The four-time Big Ten all-academic pick will graduate in May with a degree in civil engineering.
The Green Bay Packers were hoping to beef up their offensive line with the final pick in the first round of the NFL draft, taking Mississippi State tackle Derek Sherrod.
The Super Bowl champions now have used their first-round pick on an offensive tackle in back-to-back drafts. Green Bay took Iowa's Bryan Bulaga last year, intending to make him their left tackle of the future. But Bulaga ended up filling in at right tackle after an injury to veteran Mark Tauscher.
Veteran Chad Clifton played well at left tackle for the Packers last year, but Green Bay needs a long-term replacement plan for him.
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