I’m still stunned at what the Vikings did to get Jared Allen. I know he led the league in sacks last year but I still don’t think he’s one of the true elite playmakers in the game. Minnesota gave up a first-round pick (No. 17), two third rounders and got the bad end of swapping sixth-round picks. For Jared Allen?

To make things worse, the VIkings then gave Allen more than $31 million in guaranteed money on a $74 million deal. For Jared Allen? I just don’t get it.

And forget the fact that I think Allen is a very good but not great player, he also has had issues with alcohol in the past. Any time a player has a red flag like that, in my mind that cuts down on his value. Apparently not for the Vikings.

In the end this deal will kill the Vikings and really help the rebuilding Chiefs. They get rid of a player who wasn’t happy and wanted to be paid too much. They get another first-round pick, a valuable one in a deep draft. And they get two thirds in, as I said, a deep draft. K.C. could get six potential rookies who might play this year in the first three rounds and have the Vikings to thank for three of them. Thise wasn’t exactly like the terrible Herschel Walker trade the Vikings used to build the Cowboys dynasty, but it’s still a very bad deal.

It may also hurt the Patriots. Now the Chiefs may pick a pass rusher, maybe Vernon Gholston, at No. 5 instead of an offensive lineman. So the Vikings hurt two teams with this trade, themselves and the Patriots. Maybe that’s the points. I guess Brad Childress got his revenge on New England for that Garrett Mills war.

Here are the guys that caught my attention for better, and worse, on the defensive side of the ball while watching film of the prospects for this weekend’s draft.

Up Arrows:

DT — Glenn Dorsey, Frank Okam and DeMario Pressley. What’s not to like about Dorsey? He’s doing to make some team, probably the Rams, very happy on Saturday. Not sure if this is a description scouts would use, but Doresey is a sideline-to-sideline defensive tackle. Okam is a guy I think could fit in New England as a potential backup NT. He’s huge, fights blocks pretty well, holds the line of scrimmage and also has a bit of Wilfork-like bigman athleticism. Pressley is yet another guy from N.C. State’s defense that looks good on tape. He controls blockers well and explodes to the ball to make plays.

DE/OLB — Vernon Gholston, Lawrence Jackson, Darrell Robertson. It’s no secret that I fell in love with Gholston at the Combine (as much of the football world seemed to). He’s a freak. He has all the measurables. He made plays for the Buckeyes. My guess is he won’t take plays “off” at the next level and will be a force in the league for a decade. Jackson has nice size, is quick off the ball, closes on plays and finishes. He’s a solid tackler and is going to make plays for somebody as a second-round pick. Robertson is a lean guy who will have to put on more size in the NFL but I think he’s a solid mid-round pick. He doesn’t have a great first step but in an intriguing guy as a developmental hybrid.

ILB — Keith Rivers, Dan Conner, Curtis Lofton, Jerod Mayo, Jonathan Goff, Jameel McClain. I think there is a deep, varied crop of players who would fit the Patriots 3-4. Rivers is a big, speed-based guy who I think is next in line behind Gholston as the top option at No. 7. Conner is a solid player who will make a lot of tackles in the league thanks to quick reads, good instincts and solid range. Lofton, Mayo and Goff all have decent size to play inside. Lofton squares up ball carriers and finishes his tackles although speed is a worry. Mayo is a guy rising up boards. Mel Kiper loves him. He does a great job getting through the wash and finishing plays. Goff is a mean, productive player who looks and fills the ILB role. McClain is a possible free agent. He’s huge, versatile and made plays for the Orange. I’m actually not really sure why he’s so lowly rated. I’m sure there is a reason, but I think he’ll be  a steal for someone.

CB — Antoine Cason, Terrell Thomas, Brandon Flowers, DeJuan Tribble. Cason is Tom Casale’s boy.  Cason is a solid all-around corner who excels in zone work. He makes plays on the ball and is a decent tackler. As a late-first he’s a sure bet. Thomas is a bigger corner on the cusp of the first/second round. He’s got good size, reacts well to the ball and plays with great football speed. He can blitz and just makes plays. Flowers is a physical player for his small size.  He makes plays on the ball and likes to hit. Tribble is the undersized B.C. who also plays bigger than his 5-9 size. He makes good breaks on the ball, was productive, likes to hit and will be a nice late round pick for some team as a potential extra cornerback.

FS/SS — DaJuan Morgan, Quintin Demps. I wasn’t very impressed with the safety crop that will likely land only Miami’s Kenny Phillips in the first round. Morgan is yet another N.C. State defender who impresses on film and will be had in the second round. He’s got decent size, seems to find the ball in both pass and run defense and has good reads/instincts. Demps is a second/third guy with decent range who plays the run well and works through the wash to the ball to make plays.

Down Arrows:

DT — Carlton Powell, Letroy Guion. Both of these guys are mid to late round picks, but they still didn’t impress on tape. Powell is too small and isn’t a great athlete for his size. All he does is use a spin move in pass rush. And he lets guards get to his body. Guion is not great off the ball, doesn’t show up much and gets moved around with ease. Blah!

DE/OLB — Derrick Harvey, Wallace Gilberry, Chase Ortiz, Erin Henderson, Wesley Woodyard. Harvey is a pure 4-3 end to me.  He’s skinny and plays a bit tall and stiff. Gillberry is just guy as a small end with not much chance to play OLB. Ortiz is likewize an undersized end who doesn’t get off the ball well and plays a bit awkward. Henderson are OLBs who might project inside in the NFL, but I don’t see it. Henderson looks the part and has good blood but he has slow reads, doesn’t use his hands well and gets off ballance too often. Woodyard is a guy a lot of people have rising up the charts into the third round. I think he’s short, thin and doens’t really fit as an NFL LB. His ceiling is as a special teamer.

ILB — Phillip Wheeler. He’s too thin up top. Doesn’t play stout. Not a fit for the 3-4 in New England.

CB — Aqib Talib, Patrick Lee, Justin King. Talib is big but he plays like he’s big which is to say not very fluidly. He got beat by too many WRs in college, guys not even close to what he’ll face at the next level. He’ll be playing safety in the NFL in two years. Lee had a lot of cheap picks, got beat too often and just isn’t anything special. And King admitted he wasn’t asked to back peddle at the Combine. They shuffle at Penn State. Good luck with that against Randy Moss and other top WRs the NFL.

FS/SS — Jonathan Hefney. He’s too small to play in the NFL and had a bunch of cheap picks. Nice college player but that part of his life is over. We all have to find careers after college. Even though he’s considered a fifth-round pick, Hefney will have to find another career soon too.

–I’m hearing that the Chiefs prefer Vernon Gholston over Chris Long. So if they go defensive end, like many believe they will at five, it looks like Gholston will be the selection.

–I’m hearing that the Jets are locking in on Arkansas RB Darren McFadden. The reason? Gang Green has done a lot in last year’s draft and this offseason to upgrade its defense and offensive line. They believe if they have a 1-2 punch at RB with McFadden and veteran Thomas Jones, they can get away with having Chad Pennington as their starting quarterback and allow him to manage the game.

–If the Chiefs take Gholston and the Jets McFadden, the key team for New England is the Atlanta Falcons. The Patriots are hoping Atlanta selects BC quarterback Matt Ryan, since New England obviously has no interest in drafting him. I’m hearing the Falcons are torn between Ryan and LSU DT Glenn Dorsey. However, with Dorsey expected to go No. 2, the choice could be made a lot easier for the Falcons. And if this scenario plays out, there is a good possibility that Virginia DE Chris Long could be available when the Patriots are on the clock.

–I’m hearing that the guy flying up draft boards is Auburn DE/OLB Quentin Groves. Many are comparing Groves to Dwight Freeney. Freeney was expected to be a late-first round draft pick but the Colts surprised many when they grabbed Freeney at 11. Don’t be surprised if the same thing happens with Groves. Players who have the ability to rush the passer like Groves can are the second most valuable commodity to NFL teams, right behind the quarterback position.

–I’m hearing the Cowboys have no interest at all in trading up into the top 10. According to the person I spoke with in Dallas, the only way the Cowboys would be interested in trading up to get Darren McFadden would be if he dropped out of the top 10. The chances are very slim of that happening, although with Jerry Jones you can never rule out something being done on draft day that doesn’t make sense.

Thanks to our friends over on the Patsfans.com message boards (I call them friends even though many of them seem to have a strong dislike — OK hatred — toward us) I can’t stop watching that Youtube video of past Jets No. 1 picks with all the morons in the stands reacting as if they just found out they had days left to live. As one of the posters pointed out, the guy who explains how the Jets must know something we don’t after they took Ken O’Brien instead of Dan Marino is particularly comical. Also nice to see old friend Kyle Brady getting killed by the Gang Green faithful.

To quote the “great” Mel Kiper — “It’s obvious the Jets have no idea how the draft works.”

Just priceless.

These are the players regardless of position that I want nothing to do with:

Aqib Talib, CB Kansas - People who follow me will remember my assessment of Darnell Bing a couple of years ago. I watched Bing play in college and on tape and had no idea what people saw in him. Bing was projected as a late-first round pick but I got killed for saying he was a fourth-round prospect that would be out of the league in three years. Well, I think Bing pumped my gas the other day. I have the exact same feelings regarding Talib. Mel Kiper has this guy going in the top 10? I think it’s time for Mel to consider retirement. Talib does nothing well and all anyone has to do is watch the games Kansas played against teams that could throw the football. Talib got lit up like a Christmas tree. He struggled badly against Nebraska and Missouri and was schooled by the pedestrian Jordy Nelson of Kansas State. Plus, there are now reports that he has issues off the field. Here is my prediction for Talib: He’ll get drafted as a CB (most likely by Dallas) and when that flames out, Talib will be moved to safety. I say he’s out of a job in five years. I wouldn’t touch this guy.

Jake Long, OT Michigan - Oops, nevermind. Good luck Miami.

Erik Ainge, QB Tennessee - One of the five worst college quarterbacks I’ve ever seen. The only thing Ainge does well is dump the ball off to a running back. I wouldn’t take this guy if the draft were 20 rounds long.

Malcolm Kelly, WR Oklahoma - I have no idea why Kelly is a top rated receiver. When you see him play, Kelly has “Good college player” written all over him. I don’t even have Kelly rated in my top 10 at receiver. If he gets selected in the first round, some team is going to be making a huge mistake.

Xavier Adibi, OLB Virginia Tech - Purely a college player. Lived off the play of others on the Hokies defense. I really like his teammate Vince Hall but Adibi is what I like to call “a pile jumper.” He jumped on a lot of piles to make it appear like he was making a play. Hall will get drafted later but he’ll be the much better pro out of the two.

Tom Zbikowski, S Notre Dame - Zbikowski will be fighting in MMA within five years. Book it.