By Sam Ekstrom
Rick Spielman has made a habit of splashing loudly in the first round of recent drafts, and we’re not talking small ripples. We’re talking cannonballs. In his three drafts since being given the unshared, uncontested title of general manager, Spielman is batting .1000 for successfully navigating his way back into the first round for a bonus Thursday night pick. And twice he’s fleeced the Cleveland Browns into trading up to snatch the Vikings’ top-10 selection.
The fruits of his labor have been mostly bountiful with the exception of 2014 droughts for Matt Kalil and Cordarrelle Patterson. Harrison Smith, Sharrif Floyd, Xavier Rhodes, Anthony Barr and Teddy Bridgewater still represent a pretty good harvest.
What’s less impressive is Spielman’s track record with fourth round picks and beyond – a.k.a. the boring day of the draft. The most successful later-round draft pick from Spielman’s 2012 class has been kicker Blair Walsh, who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie after completing a perfect season from 50 yards and beyond. Other 2012ers Jarius Wright and Robert Blanton have both started games in the past, but there’s a good chance neither of them start Week 1 at San Francisco this September. Best from 2013’s fourth through seventh rounds was Gerald Hodges, who served as primarily a special teamer until Chad Greenway was injured late in the 2014 season. Last year, Shamar Stephen took the honors as a solid, rotational defensive tackle, while a trio of defensive backs all made the team but struggled to make things click on special teams.
Sure, there’s a few decent names there, but nobody who leaps off the page. No Matt Birks or Donald Drivers or Richard Shermans or Tom Bradys – rare talents who came out of nowhere. This is where Spielman could do better – not that finding Hall of Famers is easy, but bringing in players that can exceed their projected potential and become full-time contributors. The names mentioned above have provided adequate depth, but none have been showstoppers. If Blanton is replaced at strong safety and Chad Greenway retains the outside linebacker job over Hodges, then there’s a very good chance that, of the Vikings’ 11 starters on offense and 11 on defense, none will be Spielman draftees from the fourth to seventh rounds.
To give credit where credit is due, Spielman should receive praise for late-round finds when he was part of the drafting team prior to being named sole GM. Brandon Fusco, Everson Griffen and John Sullivan were all excellent picks. But since becoming the one-man judge, jury and executioner of the Vikings roster, diamonds in the rough have become rare.
Understandably, Spielman pounded home the importance of late-round picks during his Tuesday press conference. “I just look at it as an opportunity when you’re collecting picks that third day, especially when you get into those sixth and seventh rounds. I think those are very valuable, and my philosophy, if you have two or three or four picks in those sixth and seventh rounds, you can take those best players that are down at the end of your board, and you don’t have to go out there and compete after the draft in free agency.
“The more players, the more prospects you can get into the boat, the better chance you have hitting on one or two. I wish we could say we were that brilliant that we could hit on all three, four, five of those guys in the late rounds.”
Those are low-pressure picks for any general manager. If they don’t pan out, nobody’s job will be in jeopardy, but a handful of ‘hits’ can build years of equity. Seattle’s John Schneider, who has become legendary in the Northwest for nabbing Sherman, Kam Chancellor, Byron Maxwell and Malcolm Smith since 2011, was rewarded with an extension in 2013.
The Vikings’ GM is trying to kindle similar fame – as well as recover from a messy 2014 season where his poorly-managed press conference lost the team a sponsor. He says his goal is to have 10 selections in every draft. Through three seasons of captaining the draft ship, Spielman has been true to that: 10 picks in 2012, nine in 2013, 10 in 2014. This year, though, “Trader Rick” only enters the draft with seven selections, and if he has a desire to acquire another first rounder, it may be difficult to hit the 10 mark. “I don’t know if we have the full ammunition — the full currency — that you need to manipulate in the draft,” said Spielman on Tuesday. As it stands, the Vikings will have four picks on Saturday, which will almost definitely fluctuate based on Thursday and Friday’s events.
Whether it’s two, four or six selections, Spielman is due for a gem on Day 3. While he’ll be judged by his work on Thursday and Friday, it’s those final four rounds where Spielman – and the Vikings – can really cash in.
Sam Ekstrom is a staff writer for Cold Omaha at 105 The Ticket and a play-by-play broadcaster in Burnsville, Minn. Hear him on 105 The Ticket Sunday mornings from 8-10 a.m. on “The Wake Up Call.” Follow him on Twitter @SamEkstrom for further insights.