The NFL Draft is full of moments where a slight of hand and quick thinking allow a team to “steal” a player before a rival is able to select them, and this year was no exception.

According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Vikings apparently feel that they “stole” WR Percy Harvin from the Patriots, who were set to select him one pick later than Minnesota. Typically, teams try to not reveal who they prefer to take in the draft, but Vikings head coach Brad Childress was successful in extracting that bit of information from Harvin, who had been told by New England that he was their guy.

“New England was right in there. They were right behind us [with the 23rd pick],” Childress said. “No, they didn’t think we’d take him [because of off-the-field] issues. Remember, they have our receivers coach there now. So they thought they could hold … and he’d come to them.

“They were down there working him out the day after I was there. And [Harvin] wasn’t supposed to tell anybody, and I was trying to pull that out of him, who that was. So, it was a little cat-and-mouse game that occurred.”

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