When Judge Susan Richard Nelson issued an 89-page ruling granting NFL players their motion for preliminary injunction after hearings in St. Paul, Minn., it resulted in more questions than answers with the fast approaching NFL draft this weekend.

While the injunction was a major step for the players in terms of ending the NFL lockout, the owners will not accept defeat and this setback. The owners have already requested a “stay of execution,” meaning there will be a delay in the time the injunction takes effect and will prolong the lockout until the owners complete an appeal.

So what effect does this ruling have on the draft?

For starters, there is plenty of uncertainty as to the liberties owners will be able to take on draft weekend in terms of trades, especially if Nelson issues a stay for owners prolonging the lockout. If a lockout is essentially still in effect, the owners will be unable to negotiate contracts with players or be able to include players in trades to move up or down in the draft.

However, if the lockout is lifted and Nelson does not grant a stay to the owners, chaos will ensue with attempting to sign free agents, trades and the draft.

This is an interesting turn of events after earlier reports in the offseason that the NFL Players Association was urging players to boycott the draft in response to the lockout. Before Judge Nelson’s ruling was made public on Monday, the NFL confirmed a record 25 prospects to attend the first round of the draft on Thursday night at Radio City Music Hall in New York. This record number of prospects trumps last year’s record of 17 prospects in attendance for the first round, which was held in primetime for the first time last year.

Once again, this record number of prospects in attendance indicates uncertainty. There is not an obvious number one overall pick similar to last year’s selection of quarterback Sam Bradford by the St. Louis Rams. Teams have indicated their desire to move up or down in the draft in order to pick the player they so desperately want or to acquire more picks and build depth through the draft.

Not to mention, the Minnesota Vikings are the epitome of uncertainty with the draft. The Vikings have a win-now roster. They have a veteran defense with playmakers on the defensive line in Jared Allen and Kevin Williams, as well as a solid core of linebackers with Chad Greenway and a healthy E.J. Henderson. They have arguably the best running back in the game in Adrian Peterson and one of the most electrifying playmakers in Percy Harvin. Yet, they do not have a proven NFL quarterback.

The Vikings hold the twelfth selection in the draft, which most likely means top quarterback prospects Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert will be gone. However, Washington’s Jake Locker or TCU’s Andy Dalton could be intriguing choices for the Vikings if they choose to select a young quarterback and possibly pursue a veteran in free agency (granted the lockout is lifted) such as Donovan McNabb, Marc Bulger or Matt Hasselbeck.

The Vikings have also expressed a desire to draft an elite pass rusher to play opposite Jared Allen in the likely departure of defensive end Ray Edwards or implant an infusion of youth on the offensive line with aging linemen Bryant McKinnie and Steve Hutchinson.

The Vikings could also try and trade down if they don’t want to reach for a quarterback prospect and instead try to acquire more selections by moving into the latter stages of the first round. The Vikings’ desire to acquire more picks stems from losing their third round pick to the Patriots in lieu of trading for Randy Moss in the middle of last season.

This weekend’s NFL draft will present plenty of intrigue as teams try to select the cornerstones for their franchise in the future. With Nelson temporarily lifting the lockout, it only adds more questions than gives answers to the results of the NFL draft and the ensuing chaos with free agency and trades.

About the only thing that is certain at this point is the increasing level of uncertainty surrounding the NFL in the coming weeks, starting this weekend with the NFL draft.