Rick Spielman's Draft Record

[BGM]

With all the back and forth about Rick Spielman, I thought it might be a good time to take a look at the drafts he has overseen. He became VP of Player Personnel on May 30, 2006, so his first draft was 2007. (Please note: OOF = Out of Football)

2007

1 Adrian Peterson - a home run at the time, that has now soured due to Peterson's off-field issues
2 Sydney Rice - productivie, retired due to concussions
3 Marcus McCauley - OOF
4 Brian Robison - starting DE
5 Aundrae Allison - OOF
6 Rufus Alexander - OOF
7 Tyler Thigpen - career backup, cut by Cleveland September 2014
7 Chandler Williams - OOF

2008

2 Tyrell Johnson - one year as starter, IR in 2011, OOF
5 John David Booty - OOF
5 Letroy Guion - productive DT, now with GB
6 John Sullivan - starting C
6 Jaymar Johnson - OOF

2009

1 Percy Harvin - productive and exciting when healthy, now with Seattle
2 Phil Loadholt - starting RG
3 Asher Allen - retired after 3 seasons
5 Jasper Brinkley - starting LB
7 Jamarca Sanford - backup S, injury settlement, now with WASH

2010

2 Chris Cook - off field issues, currently playing in SF
2 Toby Gerhart - backup, now with JAX
4 Everson Griffen - starting DE
5 Chris DeGeare - OOF
5 Nathan Triplett - OOF
6 Joe Webb - career backup, now with CAR
7 Mickey Shuler, Jr. - currently on JAX practice squad
7 Ryan D'Imperio - OOF

2011

1 Christian Ponder - third string QB
2 Kyle Rudolph - starting TE
4 Christian Ballard - OOF
5 Brandon Burton - OOF
6 DeMarcus Love - OOF
6 Mistral Raymond - currently on IR
6 Brandon Fusco - currently on IR
6 Ross Homan - OOF
7 D'Aundrae Reed - currently on MIA practice squad
7 Stephen Burton - OOF

2012

1 Matt Kalil - starting LT
1 Harrison Smith - starting FS
3 Josh Robinson - backup DB
4 Jarius Wright - backup DB
4 Rhett Ellison - backup TE
4 Greg Childs - OOF
5 Robert Blanton - starting SS
6 Blair Walsh - starting K
7 Audie Cole - backup LB
7 Trevor Guyton - OOF

2013

1 Sharrif Floyd - starting DT
1 Xavier Rhodes - starting DB
1 Cordarrelle Patterson - starting WR
4 Gerald Hodges - backup LB
5 Jeff Locke - starting P
6 Jeff Baca - OOF
7 Michael Mauti - backup LB
7 Travis Bond - OOF
7 Everett Dawkins - OOF

So, there you have it. I will take a look at this later and opine, but I leave it open for your opinions about Rick Spielman's ability to draft. At first look, I have to admit, it is none too impressive (2008 and 2011 are particularly abysmal. 2007, other than Peterson, and 2010 are not very good at all). This certainly shows one reason this is a very young team. Some of those drafts were painfully ugly. I see improvement the last two seasons, but since these young guys have been shoved into roles so quickly, it is difficult to assess.

[Mothman]

Thanks for putting that together. I'll hold off on opinions for now too. It's worth mentioning that Childress clearly had a great deal of input into the draft from 2007 to 2010. However, Spielman supposedly had final say...

[IIsweet]

He seems to get some talent in the 4th -6th rds, at least talent that starts for the Vikings and no one else !!! Is that really talent?
Problem is that the early 1st rder, AD and Kalil, are not too difficult to pick. Anyone would have done so.
The later 1st rders: Harvin, Smith, Floyd, Rhodes, Patterson have been as expected for 1st rd players.
His ability to draft in rds 2-7 suck though. These are important players for a team needing quality talent and depth.

Sure you get lucky and some work out, but not often.
I get it Rudolph is good!, but how often do TE's get drafted earlier than that?

Point noted is that since 2007, only 3 OL, DeGeare (5th),Loadholt (2nd), and Kalil(1st) have been drafted before the 6th round.
Every other OL is a 6th or 7th rd guy with most being OOF. So no one is pushing our OL for playing time.
Competition brings out the players best, but Spielman fails to address this!
Now look at where we are ???? Terrible OL play !

[Pondering Her Percy]

Lets not forget that he was officially calling the shots from 2012 and beyond. Not saying he didnt have a say in past drafts but I think its fair to judge 2012 and beyond simply because before that, nobody really knows how much say/pull he really had.

Also, I notice a very different trend of picks and how he approached the draft in 2012+ which also shows me that he started taking matters into his own hands

[Pondering Her Percy]

Not sure why our 2014 draft wasn't added in there. Granted, it's still early but it deserves to be up there still.

2014

1 Anthony Barr- has been an absolute beast on defense
1 Teddy Bridgewater- starting QB and future of the team
3 Scott Crichton- has been inactive every game. Not sure why? Maybe he is hurt? Not ready?
3 Jerick McKinnon- basically our starting RB now. Has shown some good flashes
5 David Yankey- has also been inactive every game. Possibly not ready yet?
6 Antone Exum- special teams player, could work his way up
6 Kendall James- Practice squad
7 Shamar Stephen- sleeper of the draft. Has done well filling in at DT
7 Brandon Watts- special teamer
7 Jabari Price- another somewhat sleeper that Zimmer has been impressed with


I really like this years draft class. Spielman ended up pulling 10 picks even after moving up. I feel like he has found some quality depth that could stick around here. 90% of the time, 6th-7th round picks won't even make the team or just end up on the practice squad. With this class, one is seeing significant playing time (Stephen), 2 have been special teamers that have filled in at times (Price and Exum), one is strictly a special teamer (Watts), and one is on the practice squad (James). Overall, I think that is very good value in the 6th and 7th round

[VikingLord]

This is really interesting, and thanks for putting that together Brian.

It would be helpful to compare Spielman's draft record against a league average (if that is possible). Maybe assign a certain number of points to a pick that is a starter in a given year, a number for a pick that is a backup, and/or take points away for picks that end up out of football (although that could unfairly punish a GM if a player is out due to injury).

By comparing draft performance across all teams and all GMs in the same way, one could get a more objective picture of a particular GM. I remember reading an article last year that compared Spielman to Ted Thompson. The article implied that Spielman had actually been more successful drafting, at least when it comes to impact players, than Thompson. Of course, if that's true it isn't showing up on the field yet, but it was an interesting take and I wonder if A) it's accurate, and B) if Thompson has made up the difference and/or surpassed Spielman then by finding more value in later rounds.

Maybe something like this already exists and I'm not aware of it, but the merits of this discussion don't depend on whether we believe Spielman has succeeded for failed in recent drafts - the merits depend only on whether Spielman has succeeded or failed relative to his peers in recent drafts.

[losperros]

Thanks for putting that together. I'll hold off on opinions for now too. It's worth mentioning that Childress clearly had a great deal of input into the draft from 2007 to 2010. However, Spielman supposedly had final say...

Nobody had complete final say while Chili was around but Chili. He would have had a temper tantrum.

Heck, the guy even dumped Randy Moss without telling the ownership.

[Pondering Her Percy]

(although that could unfairly punish a GM if a player is out due to injury).

Agreed and basically Spielman is being unfairly punished from critics on here saying there is no talent on offense when a big core of our talent is either hurt or suspended and we're starting a 21 year old kid at QB

[VikingLord]

Agreed and basically Spielman is being unfairly punished from critics on here saying there is no talent on offense when a big core of our talent is either hurt or suspended and we're starting a 21 year old kid at QB

I agree that the Vikes have gotten whacked this year, HARD, with injuries and unexpected stuff like what is happening with AD.

It's frustrating for all of us, and all of us want to find someone or something to blame, but sometimes the universe just takes a dump and you happen to be in the way. We Vikings fans know that all too well, unfortunately.

[Pondering Her Percy]

I agree that the Vikes have gotten whacked this year, HARD, with injuries and unexpected stuff like what is happening with AD.

It's frustrating for all of us, and all of us want to find someone or something to blame, but sometimes the universe just takes a dump and you happen to be in the way. We Vikings fans know that all too well, unfortunately.

[mansquatch]

This comes up a lot. The key question: What is a GOOD drafting record for a GM in the NFL or What is a GOOD hit rate on players? It is really easy to look at Spielman's record and opine one way or the other, but those opinions are quite frankly irrelevant without a means of comparison to the rest of the league.

I did something along these lines a while back and compared our performance to the Patriots. I found that for the most part we were on average no worse than their performance over a small sample of drafts. Likewise with Green Bay. In general, all but the most recent drafts would have 1-2 players still playing.

Keep in mind that the average NFL career is something like 2.3 years. That means you would expect at least half of the 2012 draft class to no longer be on the team or in the NFL. Furthermore, the later years would expect to have even fewer guys still playing.

There was also an article a few years back about draft postion and NFL starters. It basically made the case that something like 75% of NFL Starters come from the 1st and 2nd rounds of the draft. Case in point, a guy like Sullivan really is a needle in the haystack. Also, it brings into focus the need to hit on your 1st and 2nd round selections. This is also why I've never been as critical of Spielman's wheeling and dealing to hoard 1st round picks. It makes sense as this is where the talent is. The bigger question is did he get the right guys?

[Mothman]

Agreed and basically Spielman is being unfairly punished from critics on here saying there is no talent on offense when a big core of our talent is either hurt or suspended and we're starting a 21 year old kid at QB

Losing Peterson really hurts. That's a certainty but if he, Rudolph and Fusco, just three players (one of them a guard) constitute a "big core" of the offensive talent then that speaks to an offense that has an inadequate level of talent and depth. Inexperience is an issue too and I'm not prepared to rake Spielman over the coals for the state of the roster but if losing those 3 players is all it takes to reduce the Vikes offense to a unit that has scored 10 points or less in 4 of their 6 games, I think that points to issues with the talent, the coaching or both.

[PurpleMustReign]

Now, let's be fair here... We need Ted Thompson's and some other GMs drafts posted for comparison. I could look at that list and say that it looks bad, but i have no idea. For all i know, his drafts are better than otjer teams.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[PurpleKoolaid]

I agree that the Vikes have gotten whacked this year, HARD, with injuries and unexpected stuff like what is happening with AD.

It's frustrating for all of us, and all of us want to find someone or something to blame, but sometimes the universe just takes a dump and you happen to be in the way. We Vikings fans know that all too well, unfortunately.

That's true. Whats it have to do with Rickie's drafting?

[PurpleKoolaid]

Also look at the FA's Rickie has brought in to play the WR spot, and the QB spot. Major fail there.